Rete

A dear friend of mine is going to London during Thanksgiving weekend in November. I told her I would ask if any of you could give me names of restaurants that are in the London area that are not tourist traps and where the locals like to go. Pubs as well. She does like her drink and is sociable and outgoing.

Also about the London theater, how does she go about obtaining tickets at the last minute or should it be done now rather than when she gets there. Does anyone have a website that I could use to look up what is currently playing?

Also what other places would you recommend that she see other than the usual tourist things in the London area. She was thinking of crossing the English Channel via the tunnel but didn't know how long this trip would take for a roundtrip.

BTW she does not have internet so she can't look it up and I said I would ask here.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Jerseygirl

I found these two threads which may help:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534694

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ghlight=London

MsElui

there is a last minute ticket booth for theatre tickets in Leicester Square.

kins

What kind of things does she like? Shopping? Art? History? Modern culture?

How many days will she be there?

NC Penguin

London's like NY and has so many different cuisines and restaurants to suit all budgets so please let us know what kind of foods your friend likes and her budget for entrees (a range would be helpful).

The half price ticket booth in Leicester Square sells tickets for the same day. It's a bit like TKTS and I imagine you'd have to get there early to snap up the hot tickets.

It depends on how long she will be visiting the UK. If she's only in London for a week, if I were her, I wouldn't spend more than two days outside of London.

I don't quite understand crossing the Channel though. Does she just want to ride on the Eurostar? It'd be kind of silly to take a round trip from London to Paris without actually spending any time in Paris. One way from St. Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord is 2 hrs 15 mins. I did this trip about three weeks ago.

<<snip>>

Rete

Thanks for the info and the links. I will tell her about the Channel. She is only going to be there for 5 days so the crossing will be out of the question then. She's been to Paris before so seeing it again is not a priority.

As for food, she loves everything. Italian, Chinese, Indian, good ole pub dishes like fish and chips. Don't know about her budget but would assume that being alone she would prefer to eat in an atmosphere that is congenial and not formal.

She mentioned that she booked a tour on the double decker for the usual sites, i.e. Westminster Abbey, etc. Will definitely tell her about Leicester Square as she would like to see one, if not two, plays where there.

She lost her husband in October of last year and she doesn't want to spend the Thanksgiving holiday here so opted to go out of the country instead. She's young only in her 40's and enjoys life and new adventures.

geeandtee

I like the off the beaten track parts of London, like Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath, Pimlico, Richmond and Chiswick. Unfortunately, my memory is completely shot when it comes to restaurants. The only two I remember are Chimes of Pimlico which is very bright and sunny and does nice pub grub and serves a lovely glass or three of Elderflower wine. The other one is Luba's Bistro, which I think, was in Kensington, however, I've tried Googling it and I don't think it's there any more. They did great Russian food (a bit of a oxymoron, I know,but it was good) and you took your own booze and sat at long tables with everyone else.
I do miss London, even though I got fed up to the back teeth of it, when I was schlepping back and forth to South Bank Poly.

NC Penguin

London's Chinatown is a must if she wants to eat Chinese. Rule of thumb is to go to places where there are Asians eating. More diners, the better.

Harden's is somewhat similar to Zagat for restaurant reviews. There's the printed publication but the contents are available online too. I recommend this website.

On arrival in London, your friend could buy the latest Time Out for theater and all other attractions information. The magazine has a website too.


If your friend is a real adventurous eater, she may enjoy splurging out by dining at St. John in Clerkenwell. It's known for "nose to tail" eating. I'd describe the food as "new British". I went there for Thanksgiving 2005. The food is fabulous but it's pricey.

lisa67

It's been a while since I spent any time in London, but I bet she can still get a travel card with unlimited use of buses and the tube.
I used to live near Richmond. You can get there by tube and spend a lovely afternoon in a pub by the River...also walk through Richmond park or go to Kew Gardens.....ah beginning to feel a bit homesick thinking about it

Sarah

Tell her whatever she does do not eat at Garfunkels or Angus Steak House

Agree with the above poster, I used to live in Richmond and its beautiful, lovely shops and restaurants too.

British Consul

Try Visit Britain at www.visitbritain.com or 1-800-GO-2-BRITAIN

Dean

Folinskyinla

Of course, Hampton Court is in Richmond. One of my favorite movies is "Man For All Seasons" from 1966 -- Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Actor of Paul Scofield. I think it really helped not having to build a set. Of course, one of the other locations used was the Tower of London. If Rete's friend does visit the tourist site, I recommend getting there first thing in the morning and making a bee line for the Jewel House. This is one of the better tips I've heard from someone familiar with London.

MsElui

and if she does go to Hampton Court and is interested in gardens and the like - a nearby attraction is Kew Gardens!

pejpm1

Tell her that Leicester Sq should be visited for the sole reason of picking up Theatre tickets. At all other times it should be avoided like the plague.

Is she going by herself? I guess that makes a difference to the kind of places she will visit...anyway, off the top of my head...

Ciao Bella on Lambs Conduit Street near Russell Sq tube station is my favourite Italian. Very reasonably priced with a really good neighbourhood family feel.

Le Boudin Blanc is in Shepherds Market in Mayfair. A really good French restaurant. Menu isnt exactly vast, and its expensive, but I highly reccomend it.

Paul is a french bakery/pattiserie that does really good Sandwiches and cakes. Ideal for a quick lunch/coffee whilst doing touristy stuff.

Piano is a piano bar opposite High Street Kensington tube. Its really cool with a nice vibe. Baz, the owner, plays classic songs on a really cool grand piano with a glass top. Get there early and you can actually sit at the piano. Its just a doorway so she'll have to keep her eyes peeled, but its opposite the tube station next door to the McDonalds. I've never had a bad night there.

Does she like Indian food? If so, tell her to avoid Brick Lane. Most tourist guides mention it, but the restaurants are crap. The only good thing about Brick Lane are the bars and clubs. If she wants a really authentic curry, she could head on the Northern line down to Tooting Broadway and eat somewhere like Mirch Masala. Its a fair trek, and tooting is a bit of a dump but the food is good.

She should definitely go to Chinatown. Whilst there she should go to De Hems which is a Dutch pub, in Chinatown. I know that sounds weird, but its great. For authentic and CHEAP chinese food she should go to Wong Kei. Its a bit of a dive, but its really famous. The waiters are fairly rude, you'll sit with people you dont know whether you like it or not, but you'll pay about a tenner for more food than you can eat. Chinatown is like brick lane in that you'll find lots of dodgy restaurants, Wong Kei has never failed me.

She could check out Spitalfields market which is alright for food, although its essentially the same crap as any other market. She could also check out Portobello Road antiques market on a Satruday morning, its fun but it gets really busy. A good option might be Columbia Road Flower Market near Bethnal Green. Its open on sunday mornings. If she likes flowers and 'authentic London' then I'm sure she'll like it.

As for general areas to go to......tell her that the West End is obviously worth seeing, but its not the be all and end all. It saddens me when tourists go to London and dont go further than a couple of miles from their hotel. It'd be like visiting NY and staying in Times Sq the whole time (which is another thing that I regularly see tourists doing!). All the areas mentioned in the posts above are really nice so tell her to check them out.

Finally, heres a good idea for a Saturday afternoon walk....go to London Bridge station >>>>>> walk to Borough Market and marvel at the high quality food, drink, number of people >>>>> walk along the cobbled streets past the clink museum and hit the south bank just by southwark bridge >>>>> check out the globe theatre and then the tate modern (she could walk across the millenium foot bridge over to St Pauls Cathedral and back as well) then keep going along the South bank all the way to Waterloo bridge or even further to Westminster bridge. Cross the bridge and she'll be right next to the houses of parliament, westminster abbey etc etc...

anyway, hope that helps!

Ray

Hampton Court may come under The London borough of Richmond
but its actually in East Molesey.