Where to eat in London

If you know a few of the places on this list I hope you will agree that ‘cheap eats’, or in other words gorging on (usually large quantities of) maximum flavour delicious food, while possibly bringing one’s own booze, is something London does extremely well.  It is something I like to do as frequently as possible!

So I hope you enjoy this list, six years in the making.  Let me know if you think any others should be on there.

Ryo, 84 Brewer Street, near Piccadilly Circus (no website)

Perfect for a lunch while shopping nearby or en route to a meeting if you are as obsessed as I am.  Mix soy sauce, Japanese vinegar and chilli oil to dip gyoza into.  Have a massive chicken katsu curry or a ramen.

Hammersmith Café, 1 Studland Street, Hammersmith (no website)

Recommended by Jonny Haughton, original chef of the Havelock Tavern (long gone now).  Superb Thai food.  Byo.  Recommend the massuman curry.

My Old Place, 88-90 Middlesex Street, near Liverpool St tube (www.oldplace.co.uk) 

Incredible Chinese food.  Massive portions.  Noisy atmosphere and a mixed smell of barbeque and hot oil.

Get the Foccacia, Crown Passage, St James, and 23 Bride Lane, Ludgate Circus (www.getthefocaccia.com)

I used to work nearby and would go here pretty much every day.  Lovely pasta, risotto and focaccia.

The Japan Centre, 14-16 Lower Regent Street (www.japancentre.com)

I would go here when I didn’t go to the one above.  Sushi, Japanese dim sum, miso soup etc.  Get the sweetcorn fritters if they have them. 

Lahore Kebab House, 2-10 Umberston Street (off Commercial Road a 10min walk from Aldgate East) (http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/)

Everyone knows this one!  Famously good.

The Beiteddine Express, 19 Clarges St, Mayfair (http://beiteddineexpressmayfair.co.uk)

Now we are talking.  Follow the flowing clouds of charcoal smoke up the street and ask for a chicken shawarma.  Comes in a wrap with garlic sauce, tomatoes and gherkins.  O yes.

The Empress Indian, 141 Leman Street, nearest tube Tower Hill (www.empressindian.co.uk)

I haven’t actually been here, however it comes highly recommended by the former private secretary to a certain former communities minister, who certainly likes to eat.  Best thing, I am told, is to order a curried leg of lamb two days in advance.

Sofra, 36 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden (among others) (www.sofra.co.uk)

Having now lived through three incarnations of the Sofra Turkish ‘healthy meal’, I have seen it change a little, but it is still absolutely lovely.  They now do it for just one person though, which, while entrepreneurial, results in a slightly stingy portion.  Go with three friends, order 4x healthy meals and 2x bottles of house red and you are laughing.  (healthy meal: http://www.sofra.co.uk/menus/coventgarden_healthy.htm?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&width=825&height=600)

The Perseverance, Shroton Street, Marylebone (http://www.perseverancepub.co.uk/)

A slight outlier on this list being a sit-down European food venue but definitely worth knowing about.  A very short walk from Marylebone tube, with a daily changing menu and wines by carafe.  Highlights have included a suckling pig belly piece with macaroni cheese, and a fresh strawberry jelly with clotted cream ice cream.

Two favourite takeaway options:

Xiong Mao (www.xiong-mao.co.uk) 

Very superior Chinese takeaway company delivering to a range of postcodes.  Have the softshell crab.  Avoid the token Thai section of the menu.

Lily Road Tandoori (http://lilytandoori.com)

Best Indian takeaway place I know in London.  Only deliver to Fulham though.  That really was back in the day!