Traditionally, England may not be famous for its food. But in the past decade this seems to have changed quite a bit. With the opening of numerous London restaurants that rival many of the top restaurants around the world, London can now rightly consider itself one of the culinary capitals of the world. Even more impressive is the sheer number of excellent London restaurants catering to just about every taste and budget. In a recent survey of chefs for Restaurant magazine, 11 out of the 50 are best restaurants in London, with another three located in other areas of the UK.
London, the quintessential world city, evidently contains cuisine drawn from every corner of the world. From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, you are sure to find a venue in London that specializes in cuisine from every country.
The highest concentration of restaurants can be found around the city center, with Soho containing a sizable collection of tasty eateries. Chinatown is the best place for Chinese, of course, with similar concentrations around parts of East and West London, notably Bayswater (around Queensway) – an area also renowned, along with Edgware Road, for Middle Eastern cuisine.
For Indian/Sub-continent cusine, you need look no further than the nearest High Street, but two areas worth considering are Southall in West London (where in some shops you can pay in rupees!) or Brick Lane in East London (although this is less genuine). Italian and French restaurants are everywhere as well, not to mention the many gastropubs where you can find traditional and modern British or fusion cuisine. The many restaurants which act as Bars in Central London during late night.
London restaurants really do cater to all, from cheap jellied eels in Bow market up to Haute Cuisine at Claridges or the Ritz. Sea Food and Chinese Cuisine is also very popular in London One thing is for sure — you won’t go hungry here! That said, London is rather expensive, therefore it is difficult to find a higher-end restaurant, which doesn’t cost the world especially, if you are on a budget. You will have browse through the restaurant section in your London travel guide a bit closer, but rest assured, there are enough places to choose from where you can truly enjoy yourself without breaking the bank.
