London help please

[BelligerentGhoul]

Hi all - off to London next week and have a couple of questions, if anybody can help:

1. Is Leon on Carnaby Street a decent place for lunch? If not, are there any other reasonably priced places with good veggie options nearby? I plan to hit Liberty but need an excuse to get dp in the area without him realising said plan!

2. How do you get to Marylebone High Street from Selfridges? Is it easy walking distance - realise I'm being v dim here...

3. Which is the best for coffeee - British Museum, V&A or National Gallery?

Thanks.

1. Yes it is but it gets very crowded. Either get there early or get a takeaway and go and sit in the park on the other side of Regent St

2. If you walk up the right hand side of Selfridges (looking at the store from Oxford St), cross Wimpole St and do a right when you get to Manchester Sq, you are on MB HS. Takes 5 mins tops

3. National Gallery has the best view but can't comment on quality of coffee vs other two

Thank you - I can't believe that MHS is so close; got totally lost last time I tried to find it and ended up at Baker Street!

Don't worry about coffee quality - I'm looking for general 'pleasantness of atmosphere' rather than top coffee!

It doesn't go all the way down to Oxford St which confuses a lot of people

For ambience don't go for the BM - the coffee shop is in a dingy bit past the gift shop. I meant the National portrait Gallery - it's not cosy but it does overlook Trafalgar Square and I don't think you get that view anywhere else. No idea about the other two

We are deffo going to the Portrait gallery, so thanks for the tip.

Yeah, second the portrait gallery top floor cafe. Slightly posho and not necessarily for toddlers, but very decent view.

Is it a proper restaurant, or can you just go for a coffee?

No toddlers - the dds are teenagers and reasonably civilised!

It's a cafe so you can just go for a coffee or tea and cake. And they also do very good cocktails

Thank you.

Any more opinions on Leon, anyone? Or other recs?

I like tea (ie cakes and cucumber sandwiches) at the Wallace Collection which is behind Oxford Street (Selfridges end).

www.wallacecollection.org/

1. I use a couple of the other Leon branches. The food is reasonable though the plastic forks/knives are hopelessly brittle and the cardboard boxes are irritating (in the evenings you get real plates and cutlery).
2. About ten minutes walk northwards - nicest if you walk up St Christopher's Place - almost opposite Bond St tube. The Wallace Collection is practically en route, so worth a visit round and a cup of coffee.

LOVE The Wallace Collection.

Thanks Lily.

No plates? Ahh - I guess that's why it's so reasonably priced?

Leon is healthy fast food rather than a restaurant. It's not really a sit down and eat type of place, but there are tables if you want to. It's great for grabbing something healthy while out shopping or at work but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there on a special trip IYSWIM.

If you are headed to Selfridges, I'd be tempted to eat on MHS or perhaps in St Christopher's Place if you want familiar brands like Carluccios or Sofra.

Otherwise perhaps investigate Soho for lunch? There is all sorts from Indians street food to sushi to Italian... Square Meal or London Eating are helpful places to look for ideas.

Thank you. We usually go to Hoummus Brothers in Soho for a cheapo lunch but this time Hoummus-hating dd2 will be with us!

Will have a look at Carluccio's - never been. Adore Indian street food places but we eat a lot of that at home so would be good to have a change.

If you don't mind going to a normal restaurant with veggie options then try out the Stockpot in Soho. They do really good hearty food (think lasagne, cottage pie that sort of stuff) I'm a veggie and have always eaten well there.

Other questions I can't add to the suggestions suggested already.

Thanks Belly - will google.

Oh yum, hummus brothers! There's one near where I'm working in Holborn and I'm totally addicted.

Just realised you said veggie... I'm sure Carluccios will have veggie options, their pasta and risotto dishes are always good. It's still a quick option but is a bit more sit-downy if you want it to be. And St Christopher's Place is a relaxing place to sit and people watch after shopping in Selfridges.

I wish they'd share the recipe: it's so much nicer than the awful stuff in supermarkets AND nicer than my own homemade!

Someone on here has an excellent hummus recipe - I think it was expatinscotland? It came up on a thread about middle class lifestyles . If you do a search you might find it. I followed the recipe and it was fab!

Thank you.

The V&A has a great courtyard where you can have a coffee or an ice cream - there's a pool with fountains you can paddle in, and the buildings are gorgeous. Inside, the cafe has a few smaller rooms you can sit in - one all in William Morris for example - which are lovely. Food's quite good too. Definitely worth a visit

Thanks Sparky. We go to the V&A a fair bit but have been to any of the cafes there.

Yes definately V&A for the cafe - choose one of the rooms either side of the main room (you'll see what I mean) its totally gorgeous. A long way to go for coffee unless you're going there anyway though.

Can you splash out on some tea at The Wolseley?

Mildred's is just around the corner from Liberty's - more of a restaurant but fab vegetarian food and reasonably priced.

Treat yourselves!