Eating Out

Because of London's cosmopolitan character and it's multi-cultural population there's not many nationalities' cuisines that you won't find. From Peruvian to Prussian, Chilean to Chinese, Venetian to Vietnamese?and of course traditional British, London is a foodie's haven.
As well as presenting six of the top restaurants in the capital, we give you the low-down on etiquette, areas famous for their food, and miscellaneous facts you should know about British cuisine. For example, the Cockney's love of pie and mash!

Etiquette
Generally the British public are very polite; if you don't want to queue then you should book in advance. Even today, people are judged by their table manners, especially when eating out so like in many other cultures try to eat courteously saying please and thank you to the restaurant staff.

Tipping: People in London generally leave a tip that's 10 per cent of the total bill. If you're not happy with the service then the tip's up to your discretion, and visa versa if your service is astounding you can leave more. Always check if service has been included in the bill.

Pie and Mash
This is the Cockney's traditional staple diet (look at www.cockney.co.uk to learn more about the London Cockney). If you want to sample an authentic pie with mash then you're best to head east and south-east. A particularly traditional meal is pie and mash with liquor and jellied eels. Eels are also meant to have aphrodisiac qualities!
Where: A classic Pie and Mash is Goddards Ye Olde Pie House, 45 Greenwich Church St SE10 9BL, 020 8293 9312.
Tube/Train: DLR Cutty Sark

Fish and Chips
This is a classic British takeaway meal, and you'll find a 'Chippie' on practically every street corner. However, if you want to taste some above average cod and fries, then try The Golden Hind, near Bond Street.
Where: The Golden Hind, 73 Marylebone Lane W1M 5GA, 020 7486 3644.
Tube: Bond Street

British cuisine
If you imagine boiled beef with over-cooked veg' as British food, you're wrong. You'll find high quality steak and kidney pudding, roast meats, platters of cold beef and game pies in many of the top restaurants. In Clerkenwell's Quality Chop House, keeping it simple is the culinary art form. The interior's designed to look 'working class' and the dishes vary from steak tartare to salmon in sorrel sauce. Also near by is the Top Floor at Smiths, which is dedicated to cooking top quality meats.
Where:Top Floor at Smiths, Smiths of Smithfield, 67-77 Charterhouse St, Clerkenwell, EC1, 020 7251 7950
Where: Quality Chop House, 94 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, EC1, 020 7837 5093
Tube: Farringdon

Italian
The capital's full of fantastic Italian restaurants serving wonderful food - simple, passionate and stylish. Soho - frequently referred to as Little Italy - is the place to go for variety. With a Mediterranean caf? and restaurant on practically every street corner, you won't fail to find your perfect eatery that serves a simple style based on the finest ingredients and generations of culinary tradition. If you're going to sample Italian out of Soho, you couldn't do much better than going to Assaggi, a modern, light venue above the Chepstow Pub in Notting Hill. Its food is highly recommended by the critics. Enough said.
Where: Assaggi, The Chepstow, 39 Chepstow Place, Notting Hill, W2, 020 7792 5501
Tube: Notting Hill Gate

China Town, W1
China Town or 'Tong Yan Kai' as it's called in Chinese evolved in the 1950s on Gerrard Street. Originally drawn by cheap rent, the Chinese built an area guarded by oriental gates and lions. Now its main attraction is myriad restaurants. Because of the immense choice in the area, the best way to pick a restaurant is by watching where the Chinese eat themselves. The area's cuisine is not renowned as much for quality as good value Cantonese slap-up meals.
Where: China Town, Gerrard St, Soho, www.chinatown-online.co.uk
Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Circus, Leicester Square

Brick Lane - Banglatown
The Bengali capital of London, otherwise known as Banglatown, has curries that reflect the area's culture. Dishing up diverse khana (the Bengal for cuisine), the place becomes a colourful clash of neon lights with crowds of waiters and potential punters merging on the street bartering for discount meals. On the whole it's quite the norm to buy your drinks from the off-licences near by and take them in. This makes eating-out here incredibly cheap - the average main dish is around £4. Restaurants that have just started up tend to offer better service than those which are established - ironically, you'd be better picking one off the main strip that's fairly quiet!
Where: Brick Lane, nr Spitalfields, E1, www.bricklanerestaurants.com
Tube: Bethnal Green, Liverpool Street, Aldgate East

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