weekend in london-places to eat

[helenmh]

We are going for a family weeknd to London. Boys aged 11 and 13 plus grandma. Boys are fairly adventurous eaters. We have tickets for the lion king at the Lyceum theatre but want to go for a pre theatre meal. any recommendations? Also any good places around Kensington high st where our hotel is. Thanks alot

Can't help with food recommendations. But the Lion King is FANTASTIC. Have an excellent time.

theres this sticky fingers owned by Bill wyman. Its a nicer version of TGI fridays.

There may also be a wagamams somewere near

LION king is AMAZING AMAZING ,make sure you buy the cd after the show.

yes there is a link{http://www.wagamama.com/wayto/index.php\wagamams}in Kensington. They now do a great kids menu too.

sorry bout that dh was moaning to get me off of here !!

here again
wagamams

This is a useful website

We've been to Giraffe on Kensington High Street which is lovely.

melsy do you really think that about sticky fingers? I'm sorry, I went there once and it was utterly foul. Dreadful food, appalling staff, filthy tables. Never again.

If they like chinese Ken Lo's Memories of China is fantastic (I haven't been to the Kensington one but I'm sure it's as good as the other one)

Lion King is FANTASTIC..
Why don't you go around Covent Garden for a meal?
Joe Allen's springs to mind or Tootsies, and there is a Wagamama there too (great food- very quick)
Loads of places- go to Covent Garden/Leicester Square/Strand or Piccadilly.
Oh and the boys may like the Belgo experience - mussels and chips (+ very strong beer - not for them of course!)
Don't bother with Rainforest Cafe though (real toursity hype- and food fairly rubbish)
Have fun!

I agree with the Kensington High Street suggestions on here: Wagamama, Giraffe and Memories of China (the latter may be a little stuffy, CD, do you think?) If you go to Wagamama, though, DON'T TAKE THE LIFT. Dd and I got stuck in there a few months ago & the fire brigade had to be called--a regular occurence, apparently.

Unicorn's right about Belgo being v good too. There's at least one in Covent Garden (none on the Ken High St, though) and that might solve the pre-theatre question. Another pre-theatre suggestion is Ed's Easy Diner in 12 Moor Street, a 50's style American diner gimmicky experience but ALWAYS PACKED. I've only ever had milkshakes from there (yummy!) but people seem to love it. You'll also not be terribly far from Chinatown & there are lots of good restaurants there. Check www.squaremeal.co.uk for some of the better ones. In fact, that's a v. good website in general--v. user-friendly which gives you the ability to search by neighborhood & cross reference it with types of cuisine, price restrictions & any other specifications you have.

It's a bit further out (Putney Bridge Road) but the Gourmet Burger Kitchen is fantastic. Really fabulous burgers (not at all fast-foody) and the boys wil love it. It would mean a few stops on the tube but well worth thinking about.

Try this website

Bank is oddly family-friendly while being a relatively proper grownup restaurant with a bit of a wow factor. there's one in holborn (recently refurbed, a shame really since i really dug that mid- 90s vibe) so not far from theatreland and another further west i THINK

CD I was remembering back some years ago , its shame how places deteriorate. Sounds DREADFUL , dont go there !!!
Id have to say wagamamas, some kids may go eaurgh at mussles in Belgos , I used to love them until preganancy.Although it is quite cool with allthe fruity vodkas too!!

Agree with wagamamas and Giraffe, both are great.

If you're looking for cheap eats nearish to your hotel, there are three I would recommend close to South Ken tube station - a pizza place, a chinese place and a kind of greasy spoon cafe. But they might not be grandma's cup of tea?

There's a lovely place run by Iranians near the top of Gloucester Road (i.e. near Kensington High St.) Can't remember the name right now but if you're interested I shall try to dredge it up from the depths of my brain. They do loads of middle eastern stuff like couscous, tabbouleh, stuffed peppers etc.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen definitely good (we used to live in Putney) and you can catch the 14 or the 74 bus from South Ken if you want, or go to Putney Bridge tube and walk over, cos East Putney is the wrong end of the High St.

Oh yes I agree memories of china would be a bit stuffy, in fact i drove past it tonight and looked throught the window and thought hmmmm....

Melsy it was about 5 years ago I went to Sticky fingers, maybe more, so it may well have improved since them!

agree wholeheartedly with Gourmet Burger Kitchen, best burgers in town without question. I have only been to the Putney one too, but I think there are others too.

I went to Sticky Fingers 11 years ago and really enjoyed it. I still wear the T-shirt. In fact, I just looked on the website and they still have the exavt same T-shirt!

Depends on your budget: if you've got money to blow, try The Abingdon on Abingdon Rd (just off Ken High Street). If you want to keep costs down, try the Blue Lagoon (Thai), Ask Pizza & Pasta, Giraffe - all on the high street.

Do your boys like Lebanese food? Because there's lots of good Lebanese cafes and restaurants in the area. I quite like Phoenicia, also on Abingdon Road.

Thanks for all your really great suggestions. I am sure our boys would be happy to try Lebanese food. We have a wagamamas in Nottingham which the boys love. All great ideas . will mull itover