To think why is it so hard to find somewhere decent to eat?

[anothergilmore]

Whenever we go away as a family, whether it's abroad or at home food always becomes such a big issue that it ruins most of the day! Food should be enjoyable! DD is 5 and is quite fussy (which is infuriating but a seemingly unavoidable situation atm) and whenever it comes to lunch time or tea time we have the usual trawling round everywhere to find something she will eat. Places like pizza express are ruled out because other than the dough balls she won't actual eat anything they make (and in her defence I think the food there is fairly dire too).

We are currently in London, have come down for a few days for a nice pre Christmas treat. Can anyone recommend any good family friendly pubs in central London? She is usually ok with pub food because it looks how she expects it to look - for example a roast or sausage and mash can only really look one way whereas a pasta dish or risotto she'd eat at home she won't eat when we're out because it looks/smells different.

Please help, I'd really like to enjoy the next few days!

Thank you

We've always gone for places like Bills or Spaghetti house in London. Our fall back favourite us Wagamama. Would she go for that? The children's options can be plain grilled chicken breast with plain noodles and veg on the side. The squad comes separately in a dish so can be added if you want. They also have lovely side dishes.

Squad? Sauce.

You're in London, one of the best places to eat in the world. There's no way you can't find anywhere to eat.

5 guys are good burgers
All the usual chains
Byron Burger all over London
Bill's
For somewhere nicer, the Ivy Cafe's all do great kids food
The food stalls in Camden market are good and varied
Franco Manca is a good pizza chain
Brasserie Zedel is varied and good value
Chinatown is full of places where you can order a plate of noodles / noodle soups or a chicken & rice
Sticks and Sushi in Covent Garden is amazing for adults and has one of the best kids menus I've ever seen for £8.50

I second Canteen. Good quality food but recognisable to kids.

TripAdvisor, especially the mobile app. It should find restaurants based oin where your are currently stood. Pick the one that looks the best.

No, not Trip Advisor! The restaurant recommendations on there are insane. There are enough suggestions on this thread for a break in London.

What's wrong with TripAdvisor? I use it all the time and it never steers me wrong?

Search by location, filter by preference, pick from the list?

It's crap in London. Used a lot by US tourists so the ratings shoot up for overpriced, bland tourist trap places just because they go there, and then it's on TA, etc. etc. And then you get totally dull local places that have inexplicably got good reviews, and they end up near the top. The current London top ten list has got a few chippies, and two local Indian restaurants in the suburbs.

This thread has good personal recommendations from people who live in London and take their kids out to eat. Why start looking up reviews from people who do neither?

I'd recommend a trip to China town and yens cafe. It's a green wood framed place where there is someone in the window making dumplings. It's really inconspicuous but better food you'll be hard pressed to find.

Ok the OP hasn't come back but I agree with everyone about it being crazy to think you can't find somewhere to eat in London. That said, there are so many places I can see it could be overwhelming. Here is a great list of places where kids eat free! So even if she doesn't eat anything, no money wasted and you can give her a banana afterwards :) londonist.com/2016/01/where-can-kids-eat-for-free-in-london

I have 2 fussy DCs too. Even in London we are stuck with wetherspoons.

They won't even eat McDonald's!

I don't think people with easy kids realise how limiting it is.

Chicken shop is another good one, there's a branch in holborn. I simply can't believe that however fussy a child is the only option in the whole of London is Wetherspoons, it's just not possible.

Stop pandering to your fussy kids. If they're hungry, they'll eat.

Stop pandering to your fussy kids. If they're hungry, they'll eat.

If only it was that simple!

Eat somewhere nice and buy her a cheese sarnie from tesco.

I use TripAdvisor everywhere I go, just don't pick the fine dining..

We found a pub and had mediocre expensive food but she ate plenty (she loves school dinners so overcooked food seems to be something she enjoys ) To be honest I do think it's a bit of a London thing. There's places back home where all 3 of us can eat loads of delicious food for under £40 but it doesn't seem possible here. I shall look up canteen and bills for tomorrow, thank you very much for all the useful suggestions.

It's really not a London thing, there are so many places to eat well for that ball park and there's just no reason in London to eat mediocre food even with a super fussy eater. Honestly. The suggestions people have given you are so good, definitely follow them up. A lot of the independent places will go off menu for you too, just tell them what your DD likes and they will often make it for you.

Henrys in Covent Garden - or Slug and Lettuce on the south bank near London Eye are where we took my fussy son. Otherwise I would also suggest Bills.

LOADS of good ideas in these replies but you go to a crappy pub and then declare it London's problem.

I wouldn't dream of going to a crappy overpriced pub anywhere in the country. Honestly OP if you can't find anywhere fun and decent in London you are stuffed. Where is it that you eat at home?

To be honest I do think it's a bit of a London thing. There's places back home where all 3 of us can eat loads of delicious food for under £40 but it doesn't seem possible here

To be honest, I think you just haven't taken any recommendations on board.

The problem with London in tourist areas, is probably similar to a lot of tourist areas that they don't rely on repeat business and probably have enough trade from people just walking in when they are in the area and want to eat, so don't necessarily have to be that good.

London isn't particularly expensive either, and can often be cheaper than elsewhere with less competition. In particular, you would be hard pressed for '3 of us can eat loads of delicious food for under £40' in most chain restaurants unless you had a load of vouchers as many chains like Pizza Express or Wagamama seem to cost £15-20 pp for a starter, main and drink.

If it's a three day trip might not the solution be to not pay too much attention to your dd (and maybe keep a sandwich or something in your bag for if she grows hungry later)? Having had one very fussy child, I decided early on that I was never going to let his grumpiness spoil my enjoyment of a good time out. He'd have to eat the boiled spuds or the bread or something.

Obviously I am aware that there are children with sensory issues who will land themselves in hospital by refusing to eat over a longterm period, and that is something you have to deal with in a different way.

But here we are talking about a short holiday and a child who does actually eat some ordinary food; it hardly seems worth ruining the whole day over.

I sometimes wonder if we don't make a mistake as parents by expecting our children to see food as one of the great pleasures in life, and feel disappointed if they don't actually enjoy it. Some children are born foodies, but ime most of them aren't; it's more of an adult thing.

My DS is v similar. He will eat cod cubes at wagamama, comes with rice.
Could someone please post which part of town/tube for Canteen? Sounds like a future hope for us.
He will eat at nandos too.
Vapiano do pizza shaped like animals for Children, and pasta too.