Micromanage my Life - London Edition

[mongo_jones]

so this is what it is currently looking like for before i head off to slough and kingston-on-thames on the weekend:

 

1. i will attempt a walk-in at the bar at the st. john mothership my first evening there.
2. lunch tasting menu at trishna by my lonesome.
3. lunch at clove club with me, myself and i.
4. dinner at dishoom with cousins.
5. dinner at noble rot in company of august mouthfuller.
6. probably a couple of breakfasts at st. john bread & wine.
7. lunch or dinner at hoppers.

that leaves a few meals to be accounted for but i'll probably just keep them casual. took hedone and typing room off my list as they require potentially non-refundable credit card holds for reservations and given that i still have a few meetings left to schedule i'm a little wary of getting locked into anything i can't get out of for the remaining meals--will get to them and the ledbury next spring. oddly, clove club seemed to also require a deposit but i wasn't charged for one as i went through the tock reservation system--perhaps not at lunch? if the friends i'll be staying with the last few days at kingston are up for it i might try to hit gymkhana for dinner on the weekend as well.

 

suggestions highly welcomed for casual, walk-in friendly, non-heinous options for inexpensive meals in the vicinity of the british museum and the tower of london.

[balex]

Antidote changed chef in July. I haven't been since then.

 

I went to Bar Shu last week -- the food was excellent and the service was rude but competent; presentation was poor. It's definitely deteriorated on the non-food aspects but what is on the plate still tastes good. But all of the good Sichuan restaurants in London are dumps really. (Chilli Cool, My Old Place etc. ..)

 

ETA: this was a response to an earlier post ..

Chilli Cool is not that far from British museum -- cheap, good Sichuan place near UCL.

[Wilfrid]

Anyone tried Chutney Mary? I was recommended that over Gymkhana.

 

Ah, more than twenty years ago, so I can't contribute much of utility.

[johannabanana]

Balex, that's useful to know the Antidote chef changed.

 

Mongo_jones, I'd choose St John Bread and Wine over the mothership personally (but I haven't been to the mothership in a long time). Sweetings on Queen Victoria Street and Manze, the one on Tower Bridge Road, would be characterful places to eat not far from the Tower of London.

[bolderite]

"Dinner at Dishooms with cousins" -- are said cousins going to wait in line at whichever of the Dishooms you choose for hours on end in order to secure a table?

[changeup]

"Dinner at Dishooms with cousins" -- are said cousins going to wait in line at whichever of the Dishooms you choose for hours on end in order to secure a table?

 

If he has 5 or more cousins, they take reservations.

[mongo_jones]

"Dinner at Dishooms with cousins" -- are said cousins going to wait in line at whichever of the Dishooms you choose for hours on end in order to secure a table?

 

i dunno. it'll be early on a weeknight. if no go i guess we'll go somewhere else. the cousin who proposed it also recommends some place called mala near tower bridge, which appears to be more of a standard-issue curry house. but i don't really care too much--wherever we go will be superior to most indian places in the u.s and this meal is not about the food as much as about catching up with cousins. if we can get into dishoom or hoppers, great; if not, whatever.

[balex]

Smoking goat is good too -- quite near the British Museum -- you can sit at the bar and it's quite friendly. Good Thai barbecued meats etc and some interesting wines and craft beers etc.

[IanT]

Smoking Goat is very good, we had a special 8 course tasting menu for a group of 20 last two weeks ago and it was top class. Also a perfect place for solo dining. The British Museum is less than 10 minute walk from Soho so there are a huge range of good options. You could do your Hoppers lunch then?

 

Given your interest in whisky, you probably already know Milroy's? Well worth checking out.

 

The bar at St john is a favourite of mine but just to make sure you understand it is a very different menu? It's more snacky and can be very bread heavy. If I were visiting from abroad I think I'd want to eat in the main room to get the proper "St John" experience. You'll be here in grouse season and, in my experience, they do grouse better than anywhere else in London. Rules would also be an option for grouse, not quite as good in my experience but it's certainly characterful, and there is a great bar upstairs for a pre-dinner cocktail.

 

If you want an alternative to St J B&W, Hawksmoor Guildhall (also walkable from where you will be) does the best breakfast in London. You'll need a second person to get the full experience.

 

From Tower of London, Sweetings is a good recommendation, certainly characterful (make sure to have a tankard of Black Velvet). Or you could walk to Tayyabs (maybe 20 mins) or Pitt Cue (you probably aren't coming to London for BBQ but it's really very good).

[mongo_jones]

thanks!

[mongo_jones]

reservation in at the mothership for late dinner on the friday.

[Daisy]

I went to Hawksmoor Guildhall on Ian's recommendation and had a fantastic breakfast.

[Wilfrid]

Hawksmoor New York coming to the WTC at the end of 2017.

 

Now that's what I call an obelisk.

[IanT]

I heard that, it's pretty cool. Continuing the education of the 'mericans in the ways of grass fed beef. It will be interesting to see if they are any more successful vs. the American chains which have tried (and largely failed) in London - Palm, Cut, Smith & Wollenskys etc. I suspect they will do well. I've been a customer since Day 1 and they have impressively maintained standards (of everything meat, cooking, cocktails, sides, winelist etc.) as they've grown.

 

I'm actually bringing a couple of my team to Hawksmoor Guildhall tonight.

[mongo_jones]

 

"Dinner at Dishooms with cousins" -- are said cousins going to wait in line at whichever of the Dishooms you choose for hours on end in order to secure a table?

 

i dunno. it'll be early on a weeknight. if no go i guess we'll go somewhere else. the cousin who proposed it also recommends some place called mala near tower bridge, which appears to be more of a standard-issue curry house. but i don't really care too much--wherever we go will be superior to most indian places in the u.s and this meal is not about the food as much as about catching up with cousins. if we can get into dishoom or hoppers, great; if not, whatever.

 

 

a london whisky maven that i will be dining/drinking with separately (location unknown) reports that i am unlikely to have much trouble getting into dishoom or smoking goat.