This is one thing that really irritates the shite out of me even though I live in a large regional town.
There is only:
Pub food
Chinese
Indian
Pizza
Burger
The occasional 'noodle dive'.
The lack of variety is dreadful. This is why I wish I lived somewhere more like London.
Same here. The choice is a little better in Liverpool, though some places are those chain restaurants that have perhaps a more unusual 'genre' of food but lack that independent feel.
And while Chinese restaurants are very common across the UK, some of the Chinese restaurants in Liverpool are just out of this world thanks to the centuries old community in the city.
I quite like Polish & Russian restaurants even though I don't like all the food. There's Wodka in Kensington, Daquise in South Ken - which is dead cheap & been there for years, & Trojka in Primrose Hill.
In terms of variety, London must be one of the best (if not the best) cities in the world for restaurants and I'd be staggered if there was a cuisine you couldn't eat.
The first ever real Indian Restaurant was opened in London in the early 1920s but it seems we had types of Indian food hundreds of years before, surprisingly.. The history of Indian food in Britain is now almost four hundred years old and not only has the cuisine undergone a great change in the United Kingdom but also in its native land. Apart from the reports of occasional explorers, the story really starts with the arrival in Surat of the English merchants of the East India Company in 1608 and then again and more successfully in 1612.
Soon lascars - seamen, mainly from Bengal - were helping to man British ships and despite The Navigation Act of 1660 stating that 75% of the crew of a British ship had to be British, a number began appearing in London throughout the century.http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/restauranthistory.html
I think London is very lacking in Mexican restaurants!! There are plenty of places that do Tex-Mex but nowhere "authentic" and traditiona (nowhere that I have been anyway!!)
I think London is very lacking in Mexican restaurants!! There are plenty of places that do Tex-Mex but nowhere "authentic" and traditiona (nowhere that I have been anyway!!)
That's a fair point - but there's never been much of a Mexican population in London or the UK.
Go to any city in the US and you'll get really good and really cheap Mexican food everywhere.
Wow- that Kiwi restaurant looks fabulous- just been drooling over the menu.
Manchester is great for food but has nothing like the choice Londoners have. Mind you we went to a new Pakistani restaurant in central Manchester ( as opposed to Indian which are mainly Bengali here anyway) and it was superb- really different from your bog standard curry house.
My favourite food is Thai- can any Londoners recommend a great Thai place for next time we go down?
I wonder what the smallest country is to have a restaurant dedicated to its cuisine in the UK? I bet there's a Maltese restaurant somewhere. I bet there isn't one for San Marino!
I think London is very lacking in Mexican restaurants!! There are plenty of places that do Tex-Mex but nowhere "authentic" and traditiona (nowhere that I have been anyway!!)
Try Benito's Hat on Goodge Street. I'm a Yank and I know good Mex and this is good, and also run by Mexicans. It is super cheap too. My hubby and I had a great meal and got change from a £20.
Aren't Mongolian restaurants the ones where you pick the raw ingredients and then they are cooked in front of you? There's quite a few 'Mongolian' restaurants all over the place
My favourite restaurant in London is this little Iranian place called Alounak in Westbourne Grove. It's amazing. Unfortunately I haven't been for a while now as I live on the other side of town, but I can't recommend it highly enough!
Sorry to go a bit off-track here (on my own thread!) but have you ever seen a genuine British restaurant outide the UK (not including the tacky "chips just like Mum makes" in Benidorm"!)?
Sorry to go a bit off-track here (on my own thread!) but have you ever seen a genuine British restaurant outide the UK (not including the tacky "chips just like Mum makes" in Benidorm"!)?
Try Benito's Hat on Goodge Street. I'm a Yank and I know good Mex and this is good, and also run by Mexicans. It is super cheap too. My hubby and I had a great meal and got change from a £20.
Benito's Hat sounds a lot like Tortilla that I went to on Sunday. It was very good! I'm from Texas and I thought it was good... though the salsa wasn't nearly spicy enough for me. I was just happy to find something that resembles Chipotle Grille in Texas.
I had a look at the menu and it seems mostly just a taco/burrito bar? Does it offer more than that?
While I have NO problems at all with that, my trips to Mexico really broadened my horizons - admittedly I was staying with foodies - we had wonderful moles, empanadas, huitlacoche (corn mould - sounds rancid but was delicious)...... it was such good food and much broader than the mexican food we seem to get over here.
Has anyone tried Oaxaca the Thomasina whatsername from Masterchef's restaurant?
Just out of curiousty - what do people think is "tex-mex"?
I had a look at the menu and it seems mostly just a taco/burrito bar? Does it offer more than that?
While I have NO problems at all with that, my trips to Mexico really broadened my horizons - admittedly I was staying with foodies - we had wonderful moles, empanadas, huitlacoche (corn mould - sounds rancid but was delicious)...... it was such good food and much broader than the mexican food we seem to get over here.
Has anyone tried Oaxaca the Thomasina whatsername from Masterchef's restaurant?
Just out of curiousty - what do people think is "tex-mex"?
I've been to Wahaca. Nice food, can't vouch for it's authenticity as never been to Mexico. Bit rushed though, very much like a Wagamama type experience.
Comments
And while Chinese restaurants are very common across the UK, some of the Chinese restaurants in Liverpool are just out of this world thanks to the centuries old community in the city.
Meh. Just had a look at their website and it's far too poncey to be proper Scottish. Where's the square sausage, haggis supper and tattie scones...?
Is that Alsation or Poodle??
Good ones are.
Do you really believe that?
Kiwi Kitchen: http://www.thekiwikitchen.co.uk/
In terms of variety, London must be one of the best (if not the best) cities in the world for restaurants and I'd be staggered if there was a cuisine you couldn't eat.
Soon lascars - seamen, mainly from Bengal - were helping to man British ships and despite The Navigation Act of 1660 stating that 75% of the crew of a British ship had to be British, a number began appearing in London throughout the century.http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/restauranthistory.html
http://www.mandalayway.com/restaurant/index.html
That's a fair point - but there's never been much of a Mexican population in London or the UK.
Go to any city in the US and you'll get really good and really cheap Mexican food everywhere.
Manchester is great for food but has nothing like the choice Londoners have. Mind you we went to a new Pakistani restaurant in central Manchester ( as opposed to Indian which are mainly Bengali here anyway) and it was superb- really different from your bog standard curry house.
My favourite food is Thai- can any Londoners recommend a great Thai place for next time we go down?
Try Benito's Hat on Goodge Street. I'm a Yank and I know good Mex and this is good, and also run by Mexicans. It is super cheap too. My hubby and I had a great meal and got change from a £20.
I've never been to Fuddruckers! GBK is nice though.
Yeah, i've seen loads.
Benito's Hat sounds a lot like Tortilla that I went to on Sunday. It was very good! I'm from Texas and I thought it was good... though the salsa wasn't nearly spicy enough for me. I was just happy to find something that resembles Chipotle Grille in Texas.
http://www.tortilla.co.uk/
I'll be trying Benito's Hat soon, very soon!
I had a look at the menu and it seems mostly just a taco/burrito bar? Does it offer more than that?
While I have NO problems at all with that, my trips to Mexico really broadened my horizons - admittedly I was staying with foodies - we had wonderful moles, empanadas, huitlacoche (corn mould - sounds rancid but was delicious)...... it was such good food and much broader than the mexican food we seem to get over here.
Has anyone tried Oaxaca the Thomasina whatsername from Masterchef's restaurant?
Just out of curiousty - what do people think is "tex-mex"?
I've been to Wahaca. Nice food, can't vouch for it's authenticity as never been to Mexico. Bit rushed though, very much like a Wagamama type experience.