The Knowhere Guide

Eating and Drinking in Central London, Greater London*

Central London, Greater London Pubs, Cafes, Coffee Shops and Restaurants

Food

• Sams Chicken in Harrow!!! £2.50 for two burgers, two chips and a drink!!!
• always tastes like shit
• spitalfields market has little stalls camden has foods of the world in the market by the lock they are so competitive right next to each other.
• The Fryers Deleight. Theobolds Road, Holborn. Try Fish and Chips from here, and you will be back for more. Frequented by Black Cab Drivers.
• For great cheap food try one of many restaurants in China Town. Again avoid the chains (though Wagamummas and Nandos which have grown into chains are still a good bet for an easy, cheapish and reliable meal)
• Rules on Henrietta Street. Only go there if you've just been paid though! Think Merchant and Ivory film 1930s butler service - amazing place, great food, and more whisky than Scotland!
• Loadsa cheap stuff. Great indian place for the occasional splash-out in Bateman Street called Gopals.
• China Town!
• Wong Kei in China Town, while the service may not be too customer-friendly, is definitely very efficient and worth the trip. The food is fantastic and prices are very low. And who knows, you could make some new friends while sitting at a table full of strangers.
• TGI is decent enough, very american and cheery so don't go there if you are in a bad mood. And Wing Kei on Charing cross road has an eat-as-much-as-you-like-for-£4.90 buffet. eat and eat til you burst!
• Bella Napoli/Napole? - Dean St., Amazingly good as right next to Oxford St.! most fantastic Italian food in London, a spinach, bacon & avocado starter TO DIE FOR. Quite small, v. friendly staff (smile sweetly, you might get some comp. drinks like I did!).
• pret-a-manger...any of them. chain, yes, but great take away sandwiches!
• British food is so disgusting I cannot recommend any of it. If you are very rich you can try going to an expensive restauant and you will probably be able to eat it. AVOID all sandwich places these truly suck and you will feel sick later.
• there are 400 restaurants in soho
• North Sea Fish, Leigh Street, Bloomsbury.
• Dionysus, just north of Tottenham Court Road tube: killer chips.
• The Burger King in Baker Street has a bowling alley in the basement.
• Zack's Cafe, Roseberry Avenue near junction with Farringdon Street.
• Other cheap places round Leicester Square.
  • The Moon under the Water - Weatherspoons pub on the square itself, good cheap food and beer - can get very crowded, also no kids.
  • At the south eastern corner of the square leading towards Charing Cross Road is a small street( Irving Street) with a number of eating places. Mr Wu's does a ten item 'eat as much as you can' hot buffet for £4.50. Opposite is an Indian restaurant which also does an 'eat as much as you can' buffet for £5.95.
  • Going north from the Square there are loads of Chinese restaurants which do reasonably priced meals.
• Wong Kei in Wardour St is cash-only and the service is still rude, another potential drawback is that you have to sit where your told invariably at a large circular table with people you don't know, not good for a romantic dinner for two. It is a place to be experienced - once.
• Pollo -- super-crowded, but also super-cheap Italian. Fast turn-round.

Pubs

• r full o guffs
• Epicurean Pizza Lounge 10 clerkenwell green LONDON EC1R 0DP 020 7490 5577
• The colgrave arms leytonstone
• Be a bit adventurous, a short bus ride out of central London will get you away from the tourist traps - try Islington or Camden (you'll be spoilt for choice)
• Coach and Horses in Greek Street. Landlord Norman. It's worth going there to see him being rude to everyone. Quite often interesting people in there who should really be dead. Last time I went the sandwiches were still a quid a shot.
• bartok, chalk farm
• coooooooooooool
• The Intrepid Fox in Wardour Street has the best heavy grungy scene and goth barstaff - a football free zone for a change! Also, The Golden Lion in Dean Street - good loud jukebox and the cutest barmaids in town!!! (the landlord's cute too if you don't like girls!) - lotsa football here.
• Marlborough Head (off oxford street), good lunches, nice drinks, gothic feel, weird noises in the toilets, but way too loud heavy metal on a saturday night.
• The King Arthur in Eversholt Street, opposite Euston Station is worth a visit. A spit and sawdust type pub. But friendly and with decent beer.
• goose in bloomsbury...the upstairs section for a great time with a pint. a pound ninety p for guiness!
• the FoUndry Old St
• Cross Keys, Endell Street. The Old Crown at the top of Shaftesbury Avenue in the summer when you can sit outside.

Cafes and Coffee Shops

• there are many at aldgate east costa coffee. and canary wharf
• starbucks
• Try Old Compton Street - a great mixture of cafes, especially good in the summer. Avoid the chains - Starbucks is a parasite on London's culture, not part of its culture.
• Old Compton Street and around there - loads. Try Cafe Nero. NB There is a strong gay scene around these bars, which is great if you like it - be you gay or straight. If you don't - don't go.
• patisserie in brunswick square in bloomsbury...same lot of buildings as the safeway. cute barista (roberto), awesome coffee, great people!
• there is starbucks now not as good as Canadian/US Starbucks and very expensive but decent enough compared the the Brit usual of Nescafe with steamed milk (a British Cappucino!!!!!!!)
• drop into cyberia (the world's first internet cafe!) in whitfield street, nearest tube goodge street station...friendly staff, good coffee and there's a dead nice pub called The Hope right next door. their website is http://www.cyberiacafe.net

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Credits

Last updated: 2007-08-30