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Completely off topic but places to eat in London

Picturesinthefirelight

By Picturesinthefirelight
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Picturesinthefirelight

Picturesinthefirelight

Posted
Posted

As I know lots if you frequent the Covent garden area

 

I'm looking for child friendly places to eat in & around Covent Garden.

 

Definatly has to be somewhere that does very plain, simple pub type food. The kids like pizza & pasta but I don't. Some places do steak but it will be very expensive to eat steak every night in London.

 

The places I've found where I will eat don't have a kids menu & the places that do have a kids menu the adult food is too fancy!

Moneypenny

Moneypenny

Posted
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There is a Pizza Express near Long Acre. Can't exactly remember where, but there is a TGI Fridays. A very nice fish n chip shop I think in the same street as the Dancia shop. There is also either a Natural Burger Co or a Handmade Burger Co in the same area as TGIs and a nice pub called Lowlander on the corner of Long Acre & Drury Lane. There are also places like Pret, Simply Food and Starbucks near the Covent Garden tube.

Terpsichore

Terpsichore

Posted
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My daughter manquée and I took her little boy who was then aged 3 years and 4 months to Café Pacifico which is at 5 Langley Street next to Pineapple after we had seen ENB's My First Coppelia in April.

 

They had a kids menu and I have a lovely picture of him tucking into an ice cream. They also provided him with a colouring book and lots of crayons and he made a right mess of the table cloth which was also made out of paper.

 

Incidentally we asked him what he thought of ballet and he replied: "awesome".

  • Like 3
Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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I always like Zizzi and there is a branch by the Little Ballerina statue:  http://www.zizzi.co.uk/food

 

On Bow Street last year I found a restaurant called Wildwood (which I believe is also a chain):  http://www.wildwoodrestaurants.co.uk/menus/

 

I also love Cote.  There is a branch on Upper St Martins Lane by the Coli so only minutes from CG:  http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/Cote_Food_Wine.html

alison

alison

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Victoria is pretty hellish at the moment: much of it has been knocked down, and although there are some new builds they aren't necessarily cheap. There *is* a Zizzi there, and a Browns (don't know if they have a children's menu these days) but not a lot else at the moment. I'd be tempted to eat somewhere else and Tube in afterwards.

 

TGI Fridays is off Bedford Street. I *think* there's a good pub restaurant somewhere up St. Martin's Lane near the junction with New Row, but am not sure what type of food it serves. Will have to think some more about this.

 

If cost is a concern, it's worth having a look at Moneysavingexpert and a few other websites which put you in touch with various voucher offers (but note that Zizzi offers frequently don't apply to the branches around Covent Garden just when you want to eat there).

LinMM

LinMM

Posted
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Agree anywhere right near Victoria is nightmarish at the mo though there are some restaurants in and just off Victoria street not too far away.

 

In Covent Garden there is also a Patisserie Valerie at the Drury Lane end of Longacre. The Zizi opposite the Pizza Express in Bow street I think has a child menu but haven't been in there for a while.

 

The fish and chip shop is in Endell street just down from Capezio and there are another couple of restaurants next to it.

 

There is a little cafe I like in Drury Lane just before you turn into Longacre but I think it closes about 4ish but is great in the daytime.....just can't think of the name at mo.

Anyway best of luck and enjoy the shows!!

Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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With you mentioning Holborn PITF, I've just looked up a place I used to go to a lot when going to meetings in the area.  It is still there - My Old Dutch in High Holborn:  http://www.myolddutch.com/Menu/A-La-Carte.aspx

 

There's also a spaghetti house in Sicilian Avenue as well as a number of cafes.  https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sicilian+avenue+london+restaurants&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=Vp7aU7mfC8GR-wa3uoDIDw

A frog

A frog

Posted
Posted (edited)

Mishkin's on Catherine Street is probably my favourite restaurant in London, and I imagine children would find somethng to their taste, service is also very quick. I second the Cote recommendation, there is actually one there around that corner so even closer to Covent Garden.

There were a few burgers recommendations, but no one mentioned Meat Market which to me is a lot better, depending on how young the children are, the decor includes a few risqué messages.

 

If you get marginally further, Brasserie Zedel next to Piccadilly does decent French brasserie food at ok prices.

Edited by A frog
Tulip

Tulip

Posted
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Is it maxwells on the corner by The Royal? They do a mixture of good that will accommodate all tastes, they also have a half price menu mid week and that included cocktails.

  • Like 1
Lisa O`Brien

Lisa O`Brien

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This is great.!! I`m hoping to go over to Manchester to visit my sister and her husband for a few days,around this time next year. Decided ,while we were in the same country ,that it would be nice to extend the trip by about 5 days and spend them in London. I haven`t been to London since 1991.!  We will probably stay in a cheap hostel somewhere. Was going to stay in a Premier Inn ,like we did in Manc a few years ago but the price of them in London compared to Manchester is really scary.!! So a hostel it will have to be. But will definately be referring back to this thread with ideas of where to eat. Now I just need to try and convince Sean, my 17 year old son. He has got it into his head that London is incredibly dangerous and he told me a few weeks ago he doesn`t want to go to London, as he is afraid of being stabbed. Oh dear.I think he has lived too much of a sheltered life in this little village.!

Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

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Depending on when you can book and what days you can go the Travelodge Covent Garden can be very reasonable.  In May, we got a Friday evening there for £58 (the Saturday evening was considerably more expensive!).

 

It may be worth checking university accommodation too, as their holiday lets can be very good value.

  • Like 2
aileen

aileen

Posted
Posted

Thequays, is your son nervous about going to any big city or just London. Does he ever go into Belfast? I don't feel nervous going out and about in London, but I've lived here for over 25 years. I would be a bit wary in other big cities, particularly Manchester which has a reputation for gun crime, because I'm not familiar with them.

Lisa O`Brien

Lisa O`Brien

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aileen,he doesn`t go to Belfast that often,and it has always been with me,usually to see Oasis at the Odyssey Arena or spend a few hours at the W5 Exhibition,also based at the Odyssey. He doesn`t have any friends in Belfast. We have been around West Belfast in the daytime on numerous occasions. There`s a great cafe on the Falls Road which also doubles as an Irish Language bookshop [sean went to a Bunscoil,an Irish language Primary school]. But I certainly wouldn`t want to be wandering around the city centre at night,in ANY city,be it Belfast,Manchester,London or anywhere. When we went to Manchester for 4 nights [i wasn`t on speaking terms with my sister then so i didn`t see her], we were up and out of the Premier Inn fairly early every morning,and glad to be back in our rooms by say,9.30 at the latest every evening,just relaxing watching TV,until bedtime,simply because we had walked our legs off. Of course, I want to go to CG when I go to London as i`ve never seen a performance there. But I would imagine that by the time the performance is over we would probably get a taxi  back to wherever we will be staying anyway. For our evening meal, I couldn`t imagine us venturing too far away from where we will be staying,especially as we will most probably have been walking around and around for hours all day and be exhausted,trying to fit everywhere "touristy" in. It just kind of shocked me that he was fearful, especially as most stabbings are gang related,and are very rarely inflicted on tourists. I explained all of this to him, but he still didn`t seem happy about the thought of being in London at all.

aileen

aileen

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Well, I hope that you do make it to London, thequays. There have been a lot of changes since 1991, with many improvements to public spaces, museums, galleries etc partly as the result of grants from the National Lottery. In particular, the South Bank has been transformed and it is a pleasant place to wander around even if you don't want to go into the Globe, Tate Modern etc. The road in front of the National Gallery running alongside Trafalgar Square has been paved over which has made Trafalgar Square a much pleasanter place. It would be lovely if you could go to a performance at CG. Be aware that the RB's season usually ends in early June but most years either the Bolshoi or the Mariinsky Ballets visit the ROH for three weeks from around the third week of July. Alternatively, ENB usually has a programme at the London Coliseum towards the end of July. Although the public areas are not as attractive as the ROH's the auditorium at the Coli is very impressive.

  • Like 1
LinMM

LinMM

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To,be honest London is so crowded even at theatre turning out time that you generally feel pretty safe certainly up to Midnight. Admittedly in the Early hours when not so,many people about one would have to be a bit more wary.

 

I lived in London for 30 years and nothing happened to me in all those years including going home from Covent Garden on many many occasions .......in the days when you could stand in the stalls Circle for 50p!!!

 

Having said that some areas are slightly more dangerous than others and it's not having this "local" knowledge which makes other Cities seem more scary than they probably really are.

Most people who live there will tell you areas to avoid ......which usually turn out to be pretty obvious in the end.

  • Like 3
LinMM

LinMM

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Also just wanted to endorse what Janet said about Premier Inns. The more you book in advance the cheaper they will be so once you know exactly when you intend to come then book well before. You can get rooms as cheap as £19-39 if you book in advance and try to include a Sunday night!!

My friend stayed recently at the one right by the river near the London Eye in a family room for £29 a night!! But this was booked months in advance.

  • Like 2
Lisa O`Brien

Lisa O`Brien

Posted
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Thanks for the info aileen and Lin. Good job you mentioned to me about the Royal`s season ending in early June. Hmm. That changes things. I wouldn`t really want to go to the Royal Opera House to watch anyone other than the Royal,whoever the other company may be. 

Anna C

Anna C

Posted
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I second the Maxwells suggestion, along with TGI Fridays. There is a Pizza Hut on the Strand, although if you've ruled out Pizza Express that may be a no-no. Personally I love Pizza Express' salads, Leggera pizzas and their mini desserts which come with a hot drink.

 

My dd loves Prezzo and there is one on St Martin's Lane. If you have a Tesco clubcard you can get vouchers for Prezzo which can be used to pay for food.

  • Like 1
LinMM

LinMM

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Posted (edited)

The little cafe in Drury Lane just before you turn left into Longacre is called "Wings" but could be good for children in the day time as it's one that opens really early in the morning and then closes at about 4pm.

Their scrambled egg and tomatoes on toast is excellent!! ......incidentally good for anyone doing any ballet courses in the area.....the cafe I mean......as I think they do breakfast all day sort of thing......so good to get those calories in before a session!!

 

I love the Pizza express salads too especially the tricolore one (avocados mozzarella and tomatoes) and their salad nicoise!

 

Patisserie Valerie do very good salads too their Greek salad is great!

Edited by LinMM
2dancersmum

2dancersmum

Posted
Posted

The Fresh Pizza Co within Victoria station is quite nice and inexpensive - a pizza, pasta and salad all you can eat buffet with quite a lot of choice. My son is living in Victoria at the moment and we had a nice meal there when we were finding accommodation for him/moving him in.

alison

alison

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I wonder if Garfunkel's still do their all-you-can-eat buffet? I think there's one down the Strand.

 

There's another, less-frequented, Prezzo up on New Oxford Street: might be a viable solution for going to see Charlie, at least - I'd guess 10 minutes' walk away.

  • Like 1
  • 4 years later...
RuthE

RuthE

Posted
Posted
57 minutes ago, alison said:

Does anyone have any actual experience of Wildwood (in Bow Street, or elsewhere)?

 

I had a bad service experience with them back in 2012 when I organised a group dinner during the long interval of Die Walkure.  They made us wait for ages because they somehow hadn't registered that I was the person they had on their system as having made a reservation, and then the food wasn't that good either.  However, the fact that they're still there more than 6 years later, with a plethora of decent restaurants in the area, suggests that maybe they've improved.

Jan McNulty

Jan McNulty

Posted
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I ate there once 5 or 6 years ago and it was fine but haven't been since.  (I was on my own ... how often we hear about issues over service with groups (been there and got the T-shirt to prove it!!).

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