London

Restaurants

About London Restaurants

Unfortunately, for much of its modern life, England has had to shoulder a reputation for tasteless, uninteresting cuisine. These days, that characterization is largely passé. Experimentation and ingredients culled from around the world have revitalized British cookery. Plus, they’ve garnered it newfound respect. Of course, if you want a Sunday roast beef dinner, many pubs still serve it weekly, and fish-and-chips are a standard that’ll never go away. In fact, much pub food enjoys comfort-food status. If you decide to stray from British fare, Indian cuisine is immensely popular (thanks to England’s colonial days), and you can find excellent tandoori chicken and vindaloo without much effort. Middle Eastern cuisine and French fare also prove popular. As a sign of their reinvigorated culinary efforts, British restaurants have even found themselves on lists lauding the world’s best restaurants. At the forefront of the dining scene, then, are institutions like Gordon Ramsay, The Ivy, and Le Caprice. More moderate, but no less popular, are Wagamama, a chain of savory Asian eateries, and Ask! Pizza, a lively, upscale Italian chain. Take advantage of them to offset your splurges! -- Kelly Sigmon, Senior Editor