Where to eat in central London ?

[Alakazam8]

Hi I’m going to London on 30th July. I want to find somewhere to eat one evening for a meal that’s not fast food.
Has to be central -Leicester Square or near Euston, not too expensive £40 ish and lots of fun for a 9 year old girl.
I’ve been told to avoid the rainforest cafe but coming from further north I don’t know what suitable alternatives there are.
Any suggestions

Is Chinese an option? Leicester Square is just round the corner from Chinatown. That's always my go to place. Lots to see and a good choice of food, easily fitting into your price range.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen near Covent Garden? Or Franco Manca for pizza?

Ed’s diner? It’s themed like an American diner, you can sit at the counter or at a table.

Thanks for the suggestion but We’ve got one up here- it’s that sort of thing but not something we can go to here & maybe a bit more special

All in SoHo - The Palomar or 10 Greek Street for something multi-cuisine fusion and a bit different. Bao, for Taiwanese street food; Dozo for really excellent Japanese ranging from sushi to ramen.

I mean, I take my 8-year-old goddaughter to all those and she loves them because they’re different to the sorts of places (mostly pubs and chains and kiddie cafes) she gets taken to usually. But also Tredwell’s in Covent Garden does a child’s tasting menu which I think is safe.

*Ace, not safe.

Oh! Go to Brasserie Zedel, near Piccadilly Circus! It is super-impressive to walk into, and will feel very special to a 9 year old (hell, it feels special to me and I am 42).

The main brasserie is downstairs, you walk in through a cafe-type bit that looks like a Cafe Rouge clone and makes you think you're in the wrong place, but downstairs is SO different.

I am a proper foodie, and I've been lucky enough to eat at some really amazing places over the years, but I always love going to Zedel - but the best bit is, it is very, very reasonably priced. Two courses start at £10.50.

www.brasseriezedel.com/

BrasserieZedel is a great shout with kids

Benihana on Piccadilly
It’s a Japanese restaurant where you sit at the grill with the chef in front of you

They do all sorts of juggling, tricks and games with the food.
And the food is nice but fairly plain - egg fried rice, steak, chicken etc
They do lots of kids cocktails with umbrellas in them also!

They do reasonable set menus if you book ahead and avoid the weekend peak hours

Snap, Almahart

Yeah, Brasserie Zedel.

just up the road from Euston
www.kingscross.co.uk/eat-drink-shop

my kids love it here
www.happyface.pizza/

Rainforest cafe is fun and pretty, food wasn't great but the dc loved it.
Opposite pizza express in china town there's a nice Chinese, staff are a bit rushed but food is good. Some of the other Chinese restaurant aren't good at all. But again it's an experience.
Sometimes I'll stick to basic food then sit down somewhere else for ice cream and coffee.
Check out Ed's dinner too. There's one in Victoria station and near oxford street.

dftacos.co.uk/tottenham-court-rd

Euston has a lot of places to eat inside and just outside the station. Cheaper than Central London too.

Totally forgot Harrods have a Disney themed dinner. My ds 10 loved it.

www.dishoom.com/

lalafafa

DH and I went to Dishoom for the first time at Easter and it was bloody disappointing. So mediocre and the curry tasted exactly like Heinz tomato soup

That's so disappointing, amused - I've been to Dishoom several times and it's always been great, even DD and my food-fussy PIL loved it. But then, we've only ever been for breakfast/brunch.

Brilliant, thanks for those. I’ll look them all up in advance now I know what to look for. Zedel sounds great for a start.
Is it wheelchair accessible- sorry forgot to mention that is also vital but assume most of them are.

QuantumWeatherButterfly

I was gutted, honestly. I'd heard great things about it and we waited for almost an hour to get into the Carnaby restaurant. The curry was rubbish, the bread was brick hard and there was nothing else to write home about. £60-odd, as well

Alakazam yes, I'm pretty sure Zedel is accessible - there are certainly lifts down to the brasserie. But you might want to double check with them to be sure, I'm not a wheelchair users so there may be other aspects I am not considering.

Thanks- plenty of other options if not. Didn’t expect so many ideas. We could probably go more than once!