Indian | Oriental | Italian | Cheap eats | British | Vegetarian | Gastropubs | Best service | Best to impress | Best for grazing
Best oriental restaurants
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| Ba Shan |
Ba Shan
The creators of Baozi Inn and Bar Shu have created this excellent restaurant that focuses on Chinese-style 'tapas', or xiao chi. Small plates of delectable dumplings (choose from boiled pork and chive dumplings swimming in an intense, garlicky chilli oil or chicken and shiitake mushroom-stuffed guo tie, or pan-fried dumplings) make up the majority of the menu. Unique dishes that draw inspiration from classic Chengdu and Xi'an street food is also prolific, such as Shaanxi jia mo, small soft flatbreads stuffed with ingredients such as cumin-spiced beef. The service is friendly and any unfamiliar dishes are always expertly explained.
When to go In a small group (as the tables are rather pint-sized) so you can share plenty of xiao chi.
What to have The northern Chinese speciality of tu dou si, or spicy potato slivers with a very moreish tang from vinegar, is one of the best renditions we've found in the city. We'd also skip the larger noodle dishes and stick to the smaller plates.
Ba Shan , 24 Romilly St, W1D 5AH (020 7287 3266). Tottenham Court Rd or Piccadilly Circus tube.
Sushi-Hiro
To describe
Sushi-Hiro as minimal would be an understatement. Its facade, which
emulates a recently bankrupted restaurant with frosted out windows and
no sign of life within, tends to scare away unknown passers-by. Coupled
with bizarre opening hours and a blatant disregard for self-promotion,
one might wonder about the sanity of the loyal crowds of diners
Sushi-Hiro pulls. The reason is simple – this is where you find some of
the best sushi in London. With all efforts concentrated on perfecting
the sushi on offer, diners have learned not to expect frills such as
noodles or teriyaki; the only hot item on the menu is a simple miso
soup.
When to go When a depressing refrigerated box of supermarket sushi just won’t do.
What to have Anything on the menu – which means: sushi.
Sushi-Hiro, 1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Rd, W5 3LD (8896 3175) Ealing Common tube.
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Hakkasan
A
case-study in Chinese chic done well and without the cringe factor.
Visiting this louche restaurant is to descend (literally; it’s in a
basement) into a world of decadence, of sultry 1930s Shanghai style
with James Bond intrigue. And while Hakkasan is no longer under the
sole stewardship of Alan Yau (he sold it off to an Abu Dhabi-based
company in 2008), there has, so far, been no discernible dip in quality
– food, drink or otherwise. The bar serves up luscious
Oriental-inspired cocktails (a dangerous place to linger) and the
kitchen excels in the kind of creative Cantonese cooking even purists
would be powerless to resist – take sweet-and-sour Berkshire pork, with
its tang taken from pomegranate instead of the usual pineapple. The à
la carte is wonderful to peruse, but the dim sum menu (great value, but
lunch only) offers up equally sumptuous fare – venison puffs and
scallop shumai with tobiko (flying fish roe) are sublime.
When to go At lunch, ask for the dim sum menu and order from that.
What to have
To finish off, ask for the century egg congee (savoury rice porridge)
served with spring onions and thinly sliced fried dough sticks.
Hakkasan, 8 Hanway Place, W1T 1HD (7907 1888/www.hakkasan.com). Tottenham Court Rd tube.
Cah Chi
The
original Cah Chi in Raynes Park has long been one of our favourite
Korean restaurants; this new branch has a different vibe, but it has
the advantage of being slightly closer to central London. You won’t
find watered-down Korean food – all the dishes we’ve tried here have
been confidently rendered with no compromise on flavour. Crisp pa jeon
(a sort of pancake) filled with fresh seafood and spring onions, or
strips of raw beef sizzling in a stone bowl (dolsot) with rice, pickles
and vegetables, being just two of many great examples.
When to go For Korean food without the clichéd barbecue-side theatrics.
What to have Fill up on the panchan (small side dishes) and move swiftly onto the grilled marinated meats.
Cah Chi, 394 Garratt Lane, SW18 4HP (8946 8811/www.cahchi.com). Earlsfield rail.
Indian | Oriental | Italian | Cheap eats | British | Vegetarian | Gastropubs | Best service | Best to impress | Best for grazing
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37 comments
Well, this is my answer to that seemingly impertinent question. ,
Real Karahi Food - Hot Red Chillies in Eastcote all the way
the best turkish and meze to be found is i Olives and Figs restauarant in a small alley way in Spitalfields.I found the food is great value for money. Bring your own booze near Liverpool Street is just amazing. I am surprised there is no mention of the place.
??? no mention of Tayyab's? the most popular restaurant with the pakistani and bangladeshi community in London - always huge queues for a tabel - and unbeatable home cooked - on Fieldgate street
The Prince of Wales in Putney, is a hidden gem when it comes
down to Gastropubs. I go there regularly with my partner or friends and we travel over the water from fulham to eat/drink there. I really rate this place.. Has anyone been there?
this website rocks
It is one thing to debate about suitability of omnivorous critics reviewing vegetarian cuisine. I do feel that one may find such a standpoint to be a 'slippery slope' argument – surely such logic would conclude that only vegetarians would be competent to review veg meals, and one might similarly go on to argue that as the subtle differences between different Moroccan herbs may be lost to those unaccustomed (i.e. foreign), only native Moroccan food eating people (note: this is irrelevant of their race/colour, such a category only concerns that one's 'home food' is Moroccan) should be deemed truly competent to review Moroccan food, and so on. What I believe (and correct me if I’m wrong) to be the fallacy here is that the herbivores amongst us must remember that the meat eaters go vegetarian quite often (porcini risotto with truffle shavings anyone?) and it is only suitable that critics represent the mainstream. Like it or not, even for dishes which do not contain meat, the omnivorous palette IS the mainstream and therefore justifies an omnivorous critic. In any case, I accept that this itself is a contentious line of reasoning and do believe debate on this topic may not necessarily be unhealthy.
It is, however, a completely different animal (pardon the pun - I couldn’t resist) to talk about ‘the harmful effects to the environment’ eating meat indirectly causes, and I suspect I am not alone in being quite irritated by the veggies’ pretentiousness in the matter. Sure, cattle may consume part of the Earth’s resources. But are you suggesting that we cull all cattle and livestock in order to ensure that there are more resources left for humankind? Or is your proposed solution to let them all go back into the wilderness? For surely, they will consume as much resources in the wild. Why stop at livestock anyway? Why not start terminating humans whom you deem unfit and a waste of Earth’s resources? For surely, humankind as a species uses up the Earth’s resources the most – makes more sense to address the real issue at hand. Yes, I am being sarcastic. All I’m trying to say is- since when did preferring broccoli to beef suddenly make you guys rulers of the universe?
Let’s also not forget that there are a million ways in which veggies themselves can help reduce the burden to mother nature that they themselves are causing. Recycle more. Invest and donate into research for renewable resources. Cycle around, don’t drive. Watch your carbon footprint. Instead of acting like you are the saints of this world simply because of your dietary preferences, get off your high horse, and if you care about the environment so much, go do something about it. Otherwise, the L.s and S.s, and Tommos – you really are just full of organic fertiliser.
Michael,
Buy the Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide. There is a section on Haute Cuisine. Just be aware in London that there are some expensive restaurants that don't have very good food and some cheap ones that have very good food. Also try the red star recommendations in each section, you can tell by the average pricing which are the more expensive/ "exclusive". (Note Hakkasan is expensive & has very good food) but is far from exclusive (as it is basically a canteen style restaurant with a beautiful interior).
Could someone out there please tell me where I could get a copy of a guide/brochure of the best restaurants in London eg Simpson the Strand, Rules, La Gavote, Connaught Hotel,Gay Hussar etc.
In a nut shell - expensive, exclusive, up market!
Vegetarian/Vegans out there do not seem to understand that the majority of people in London are not vegetarian. Hence restaurant numbers in the review are weighted towards those catering to omnivorous diets.
We recently went to Amaya during our first visit to London and had an unforgettable meal. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
M.moss - your argument falls over at the first hurdle!!! If you object so much to the resources it takes to produce wheat, you'll be comforted to know that 70% of grain and cereals grown in the US are fed to animals reared for the meat industry. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. According to Compassion in World Farming, about 20% of the world's population could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to US cattle alone!! On top of this, a 2006 United Nations report summarised the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Need I say more?!
i used to live in Snaresbrook, England and The Carvery was a great resturaunt!
it really bothers me the way that ciprianni, zuma, nobu, jaks ( the most amazing well priced food i have ever had in my life on walton street) are not mentioned. I should be a bloody critic
Hey, i think the following places are worth a shout for ultra cheap eats...all up the west end
Bodean's, best burgers in town from 5quid with chips.....
Indian YMCA...unfussy authentic indian food, curries from 3quid...
Rasa,,,,South Indian food....there lunch box menu is really amazin
Icco....pizza from 3.50.and they are actually really nice...much better than pizzahut....though that wouldnt be hard
Italia Uno(charlotte st)amazin meatballs with rice for