1

A lot of Bistro Soho's menu is foreign and it is not a traditionally English venue.
Battersea Pie Station serves good English home made pies. It is in Covent garden.

2

Many of the restaurants you have listed are not typically English. But the real question is what is typical English food? If you are looking for food which would have been eaten in England for hundreds of years then you will be in for a disappointment.

Fish and chips was in fact food of Jewish people in the East End, but became the national dish. However no longer. If you do want fish and chips I would recommend The North Sea Fish Restaurant and the Seashell over the other restaurants you have mentioned.

is a must for a Pie and Mash, again proper East End of London food, although having said that the family are of Italian extraction! If you are after jellied eels, nicer than they sound go to Tubby Issacs

Simpsons in the Strand and The Wolsely are about as English as you will get, expensive but good for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

You could also try Porters in Covent Garden nothing special but very British

Of those on your list;

Gaby's Deli is an Israeli Deli,

Belgo is Belgian,

Rules is overpriced, all ponce no cirmcumstance but don't rule it out

Stockpot is OK, but you will probably be disapointed. Great value for money homestyle cooking but nothing adventurous - jelly and ice cream for dessert

The Cafe in the Crypt is more like a canteen and serves up food like lasagne so not typically British.

I mentioned that Fish and Chips was previoulsy the national dish - now adays it would be a Curry. Balti's and Tikka Masala's were both invented in Britain, so do try a curry Aladin is particuarly good.

Some more good restaurants are mentioned here http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/324/londons-best-british-restaurants

Edited by: griggs

Edited by: griggs

3

Thumbs up from me for Rules (not that I'm biased in any way: none of my family have ever worked there or anything...). You definitely have to have pie and mash if you're in London (though I've never actually tried jellied eels).

Slightly more pricey, and a bit more... experimental, is St John, but definitely still based on British Classics. And their puddings are to die for.

You've missed out the important meal of afternoon tea (okay, so it's not an everyday occurrence, but I often have afternoon tea with friends). You'll pay through the nose in London, of course, but the setting is half the point. Any of the big hotels do afternoon tea, but my favourite place is The Wolseley. The rest of its menu is more Mittel European, with American influences, but it does a mean afternoon tea which combines style and substance. A lot of substance. Have an early lunch and a late dinner. And I mean a late dinner. Like post-theatre late.

My final, and most emphatic suggestion, is the Harwood Arms in Fulham. I am a great fan of the Pot Kiln, in Berkshire, which is a bit of a trek for you, but the Harwood Arms brings rural Berkshire to the city. You don't say when you're visiting, but game is the real attraction. Luckily, venison is in season year round.

I think at some point though, you have to find a supermarket and just go mad on biscuits. Jammy Dodgers, rich tea, digestives, garibaldi/nice/marie, chocolate hobnobs (the king of biscuits), custard creams, shortbread, gingerbread... I could go on.

And that site is sadly lacking in British food. It doesn't even mention regional specialities.

4

Thanks much everyone for the feedback. Indeed, the bistros + Belgo + Deli should have been removed. It was a list of places I had from last year.

5

http://projectbritain.com/food/dishes.htm

Your link does not work because of the comma.

Enjoy

6

Sorry about that, and thanks for the correction. Posts can't be edited afterward.

Here's a rough draft. I'll put all this later into a database + web app so as to be able to sort items by location, occasion (breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, or anytime), or type of food (chippy, pub grub, etc.) and display the locations through Google Maps : http://wholelottalove.free.fr/english.food.html

Thanks everyone for the great infos.

7

J Sheekey for fish that is not just deep fried

Pie and mash at Manze http://manze.co.uk/index.php?app=gbu0&ns=display&ref=FindUs&sid=a7l0599ct34mw1433a7o67678cz8940m

Breakfast or lunch at Pellicci http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2%3A1001/e-pellicci

Breakfast at Shepherdess Cafe on City Road, near Old Street tube - old style "caff" with pictures of celebs visiting over the last 30 years on the wall.

If you want to stay in central London, you could try the Canteen chain - there are about five Canteens in London now.

http://www.canteen.co.uk/#

Also the restaurant in St Paul's cathedral specialises in using British ingredients.

http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Visits-Events/Cafe-Restaurant

I did read that Chicken Tikka Masala and pizza has overtaken fish and chips as the most eaten dish in England now. So really, you should have a curry. Baltis and Tikka Masalas were invented in the UK - you won't find them in a restaurant in India.

8

Fish and Chips are typical English. Any Steak House ... http://travellingdreams.com/postcard-from-london/

Edited by: happyscorpio