Autumnal trip to London

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Planning a trip in the next couple of weeks, staying in Richmond. Obviously Richmond park and a river walk are on our list, plus Kew Gardens. We’re also going to the Richard Dadd exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Looking for food recommendations, whilst acknowledging that Richmond itself is pretty shit for food!

Has anyone been to Pravaas in South Kensington? The lunch menu looks good and we could combine it with the V & A. Or anywhere else people might recommend with a decent set lunch menu at around £45 per head?

In Richmond, we like the Roebuck and White Horse pubs for a drink, but the food doesn’t look very inspiring in either. Any recs for pub food or a restaurant that isn’t a chain?

Or lunch on Bloomsbury or Marylebone that feels cosy and a bit autumnal? Somewhere pretty?

Hopeful bump!

Il Portico in South Kensington might stretch your budget a bit but the food is glorious.

https://ilportico.co.uk/this-months-menu-at-il-portico/

Thank you. I’ll have a look.

£30 for a bowl of pasta?! Ouch!

Yes, it’s definitely not somewhere I can afford to go often - but their food tastes incredible!

I believe you, but I don’t think I like pasta enough to justify it. I’ve had three courses of Michelin star before for not much more than a bowl of pasta there.

I’m currently shortlisting Pravaas, Pahli Hill and Chishuru as potential lunch options.

Will you report back? Always good to hear about new lunch options.

Best set lunches I've had recently (I work in central London and am often entertaining clients)

Noble Rot Mayfair or Soho - £28 for 3 courses
St Clement Cafe - £28 for two courses, onglet main
The new Simpsons on the Strand is worth a visit too - Romano's has a £28.50 prix fixe but you could get out of the main restaurant for under £45/head if you choose wisely
Cafe Murano in Marylebone had a £28.50 three course autumn set menu
Quo Vadis was two courses for £30, three for £35

Also you could have lunch at Maggie Jones in Kensington and walk to the V&A kicking autumn leaves through Kensington Gardens? Their three course set lunch squeaks in at £44.95 and I think the interior is the most autumnal you'll find anywhere - all those baskets!

Or, walk in the other direction down Ken High St to the Design Museum, and there's a very nice new Hagen coffee shop just past Holland Park.

Also the Infatuation has a good set lunch menu article but I haven't eaten at a lot of these myself: www.theinfatuation.com/london/guides/best-set-menus-london

Kicking leaves in Kensington Gardens is exactly the vibe I’m after!

Thanks for the recs. I’ll check the menus out. I’m a bloody awkward vegetarian, so set menus don’t always work for me, but you do tend to get more bang for your buck with them.

Ceru - close to the Tube station

CERU South Kensington Restaurant

Ah I feel the pain of the veggie staring down the one option on the set that has something they hate like stilton or hard boiled eggs. My auntie is veggie and the last time we went out for dinner they only had steak and chips on the set menu. She asked nicely and they swapped the steak to a veggie main from the main menu, and honoured the set menu price (was probably cheaper for them than steak anyway?!) Always worth a try when they haven't offered a veggie option!

Thanks, both. I've booked Pravaas but Ceru looks lovely for something more casual on another occasion.

@Xiaoxiong Yes, it's a pain - aubergine, eggs and tomatoes are my pet hates, which can make things difficult!

Oh gosh that's hard. I just made the most delicious autumnal veggie dinner myself last night but unfortunately...tomatoes...

(Was sliced up red onion/butternut squash/cherry toms, roasted hard, then torn up pieces of ciabatta spread on top with walnuts and thyme, roasted again, and finally you dollop on spoonfuls of dolcelatte just as it comes to the table.)

The other places that treat vegetables right are Bubala, Toklas and Rovi which might all be worth a look for another trip. The celeriac shawarma at Rovi is absolutely amazing.

Minus the tomato, that sounds fantastic!

Bubala has been on my list for ages, but I still haven’t made it there. Must rectify that. I’ll go and have a peek at the menus at the others - love celeriac.

Mildreds is great for veggies. Also Mallow at Borough Market.

I went to Mildred’s for dinner recently & it did my head in, though in the best possible way - being used to two or three veggie options & suddenly having a menu full of them!

Thanks, both. I really rate Mildred’s for breakfast, but not so much for lunch or dinner.

“Looking for food recommendations, whilst acknowledging that Richmond itself is pretty shit for food!”

Richmond is known for having lots of good restaurants - not sure where you got the idea it’s bad for food?

Scotts, Tower House for very high end dining
Ottolenghi has just opened a restaurant there
Migonette or Chez Lindsay for French food
Sticks and Sushi (noting that’s a chain), but there’s an independent sushi restaurant on Red Lion Street.
‘Napoli on the road’ has just won ‘best pizza in the world’ and that’s in Richmond too.
Thai upon Thames is nice - or the Red Cow now hosts an asian restaurant which is good and affordable

There are countless restaurants at all price points.

Other than the very high end, which I can’t justify on this trip, Richmond has always seemed mostly chains on previous visits. And I understand that the prize winning pizza branch was the Chiswick one, although thanks for reminding me about this as it might be a decent call. French generally no good for me, unfortunately but I’ll check out the menus. Thanks for these.

I think the pub we like might actually be called the White Swan. I’ll also check the menu there.

Petersham Nurseries cafe is very atmospheric, and so many nice walks nearby.

Interesting. I’ve walked past there a few times but never been in.

It looks beautiful. Would love to have afternoon tea there one day. We walked past it once and there were soooooo many cars - it’s very popular!