The London
Restaurant Scene
London, perhaps as a result of our Colonial background, has
long been acknowledged as the Ethnic Eating Capital of the
World, boasting a wide variety of all Far Eastern cuisines.
More exciting, however, is that London has now gained a
reputation for modern world class food embracing every
nationality. The stuffiness of London restaurants with its
attendant dress code, is, for the most part, a thing of the
past, and the emphasis is on healthy food, variety, fun, and
good value for money.
We have seen the death of nouvelle cuisine, which ran in
parallel with what I described as "rustic" cooking. This
involved lentils, slow cooking, and hearty food that made
you feel good in cold weather. The chief exponent of the
latter was Anthony Worrall Thompson, who has been amongst
the most active restaurateurs over the past few years,
setting up promising young chefs in their own restaurants.
We have also seen a number of "new wave Italian" restaurants
opening.
More recent trends include what I define as "New or Modern
English Food". This uses traditional foods in a new, light
and interesting way with a trace of Eastern herbs and
spices. There is generally an emphasis on fish, cooked very
lightly, and fairly plainly, resting on a bed of vegetables
with a rather delectable sauce. Vegetarians are now very
well catered for too with the modern British cuisine.
Pacific Rim and Fusion Cooking have also made their mark in
the late l990s, as has the cooking of North Africa and the
Middle East. At the cheaper end of the market, most recent
trends include the rise of the coffee bar, the fruit and
vegetable bar, and the soup bar.
The trend in restaurants in the mid 90’s until recently, has
been for very large noisy minimalist designer restaurants,
serving brasserie style food. There are signs though of
another trend -- a reversion to smaller neighborhood
restaurants.
There is good news on the pub front too. Several young
British chefs who have been waiting to buy their own
restaurants in London but have been unable to do so because
of the price, are now taking over attractive Victorian pubs.
They became available when the Government decreed that
brewers had too great a monopoly, and ruled that a
significant number of pubs should be sold. They have been
renovated, and turned into "gastro pubs" serving interesting
and redefined pub food. I believe that this is the way ahead
as they serve good food at realistic prices, and in an
atmosphere particularly appealing to the younger generation
who now make up the bulk of the restaurant patrons.
For central London eating, it is interesting to note that in
the late 70's early 80's the culinary centre moved from Soho
to Covent Garden, and then did a reverse swing. Soho has
returned to its premier position as "The" restaurant area of
the West End, but there have been many openings in both
locations, as well as in neighbourhoods such as Hampstead,
Islington, Notting Hill Gate, Chiswick, Clerkenwell,
Marylebone, Fulham, and Brompton Cross. With the great
redevelopment of the South Bank of the Thames, many new
restaurants are opening up on the river, especially in
Southwark and in the neighbourhoods of Barnes, Blackheath,
and Putney. Interestingly, in the late 1990’s, and for the
first time in many years, there have been significant
restaurant openings in the City of London.
In order to attract more, and younger people, into their
establishments, nearly all restaurateurs are now offering
SET PRICE LUNCHES, and many also provide a set price dinner
at a slightly higher cost, but still offering value for
money. The set price lunch is undoubtedly one of the best
ways of making your money go further whilst presenting the
opportunity to sample the food prepared by some great chefs,
many of whom, for the first time are British.
For more information visit the
London Tourist Board's new web site:
www.londontouristboard.com.
Written by BTA food
consultant Catherine Althaus, former Manager of Press
Facilities at BTA, London. The opinions expressed in this
guide are those of the author.
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