Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
beer. Teetotalers can order from a wide variety of soft drinks. Children are served food
and soft drinks in pubs, but you must be 18 to order a beer.
Eating Indian food is “going local” in cosmopolitan, multiethnic London. Take the oppor-
tunity to sample food from Britain's former colony. Indian cuisine is as varied as the coun-
try itself. In general, they use more exotic spices than British or American cuisine—some
hot, some sweet. Indian food is very vegetarian-friendly, offering many meatless dishes to
choose from on any given menu.
For a simple meal that costs about
£
10-12, order one dish with rice and naan (Indian
flatbread that can be served plain, with garlic, or other ways). Many restaurants offer a
fixed-price combination called a
thali
that offers more variety, and is simpler and cheaper
than ordering à la carte. For about
£
20, you can make a mix-and-match platter out of sev-
eral sharable dishes, including dal (lentil soup) as a starter, one or two meat or vegetable
dishes with sauce (e.g., chicken curry, chicken
tikka masala
in a creamy tomato sauce,
grilled fish tandoori, chickpea
chana masala,
or the spicy vindaloo dish),
raita
(a cool-
ing yogurt that's added to spicy dishes), rice, naan, and an Indian beer (wine and Indian
food don't really mix) or chai (a cardamom- and cinnamon-spiced tea, usually served with
milk).
(See “Central London Eateries” map,
here
.)
I've arranged these options by neighborhood, but they're all within about a 15-minute walk
of each other. Survey your options before settling on a place.
Near Soho and Chinatown
(See “Central London Eateries” map,
here
.)
London has a trendy scene that most Beefeater-seekers miss entirely. Foodies who want to
eat well skip the more staid and touristy zones near Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square, and
head to Soho instead. Make it a point to dine in Soho at least once, to feel the pulse of Lon-
don's eclectic urban melting pot of international flavors. These restaurants are scattered
throughout a chic, creative, and borderline-seedy zone that teems with hipsters, theatergo-
