1 cover_APRIL2010.indd - Out In The City

EATING OUT
OUR FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS AND
GAY-FRIENDLY DINING OPTIONS
CENTRAL
Aqua, fifth floor, 240 Regent
Street (entrance on Argyll
Street), W1. 020 7478 0540.
Big, signature restaurant from
Hong Kong’s Aqua group
– split into two halves; Spanish
themed Aqua Nueva and
Japanese-inspired Aqua Kyoto.
Around £40 per person. www.
aqua-london.com
Balans, 60 Old Compton Street,
W1. 020-7439 2183. The nearest
Soho has to a gay restaurant,
busy throughout the week and
open throughout the day and
night. Traditional British dishes
with Meditteranean and Asian
flourishes. Approx. £28 per head.
See also the nearby Balans Café
at 34 Old Compton Street. www.
balans.co.uk
Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer
Street, W1. 020 7734 2223.
Gay-run, hugely-acclaimed,
upmarket Italian restaurant,
opened November 2008 and
running Monday-Saturday.
Approx. £29 per head. www.
boccadilupo.com
Bodeans, 10 Poland Street,
W1. 020-7287 0506. Cheap and
cheerful barbecue restaurant,
with counter service upstairs and
restaurant down below. Popular
with visiting Americans, plus the
odd bear from the nearby Kings
Arms! Branches also in Clapham,
Fulham and Westbourne Grove.
www.bodeansbbq.com
Cha Cha Moon, 15-21
Ganton Street, Soho, W1.
020 7297 9800. Very popular
noodle restaurant from Hong
Kong-born restaurateur Alan Yau
(Hakkasan). Great selection of
soup-based dishes, wok-fried
noodles and sides.
Ed’s Diner, 12 Moor Street, W1.
020 7434 4439. Delightfully
kitsch, American-style 50s diner,
at the Shaftesbury Avenue end
of Old Compton Street, great for
burgers and milkshakes. www.
edseasydiner.co.uk
First Out, 52 St Giles High
Street, WC2. 020-7240 8042.
Long-running, gay-run café
and bar, serving homemade
vegetarian dishes, coffee and
cakes. Lots of gay magazines,
community info and flyers.
www.firstoutcafebar.com
Floridita, 100 Wardour Street,
W1. 020-7314 4000. Large,
glamorous Cuban-themed
restaurant and bar, with regular
music acts and even occasional
drag. Approx. £36 per head.
www.floridita.co.uk
The Landau, Langham Hotel,
Portland Place, W1. 020 7965
0165. Grand and glamorous
hotel restaurant, offering a
pricey but imaginative modern
European menu. Approx. £60 per
head. www.thelandau.com
L’Autre Pied, 5-7 Blandford
Street, Marylebone Village, W1.
020 7486 9696. Chic, stylish,
upmarket restaurant from the
same team that created the
Michelin-starred Pied-à-Terre on
Charlotte Street. Approx. £40 per
head. www.lautrepied.co.uk
Profile, 84-85 Wardour Street,
Soho, W1. Daytime gay bar
and diner. Upmarket and smart
surroundings, with gorgeous
yellow leather banquettes.
Offering food and drink
from 11am till 11pm. www.
gaydarprofile.com
Ristorante Biagio, 189
Piccadilly, W1. 020-7434-1921.
Great, authentic Italian food
in contemporary and smart
surroundings, spread over four
floors. Approx. £32 per head.
www.ristorantebiagio.co.uk
Stef’s, 3 Berners Street, W1 020-
3073 1041. Huge, gay-friendly
Italian – formerly Linda’s Pasta
Bar on Poland Street – moved to
the other side of Oxford Street in
2007. Pizza and pasta heaven.
St Pancras Grand, Upper
Concourse, St Pancras
International, NW1. 020 7870
9900. Old-fashioned, art-deco
glamour at this stunning, all-day
restaurant from Searcys (who
also operate the neighbouring
Champagne Bar). Approx. £40
per head. www.searcys.co.uk
Wagamama, 10a Lexington
Street, Soho, W1. 020-7292
0990. Our favourite branch of
the noodle chain, offering cheap,
healthy Japanese delights!
£16 per head. Check website
for other branches - www.
wagamama.com
NORTH
Gilgamesh, Camden View,
Camden Stables Market, Chalk
Farm Road, NW1. Huge, ornate
and lavish pan-Asian restaurant
with one of London’s most
stunning interiors. Food good
rather than outstanding, but
worth a visit for the décor.
Cheaper at lunchtime than the
evening. www.gilgameshbar.com
La Porchetta, 141-142 Upper
Street, N1. 020-7288 2488.
Great value pizza and pasta
restaurant, with possibly some
of the biggest pizzas in London!
Sister branches in Finsbury Park
and Bloomsbury. Approx. £17
per head.
Little Bay, 228 Belsize Road,
NW6. Wonderfully down-toearth
and charming restaurant
serving Modern European
cuisine at very reasonable prices.
Excellent value for money.
Spotted Dick, 292 Caledonian
Road, Islington, N1. 020 7607
5577. Gay-friendly café/bar/
restaurant offering modern and
traditional British grub. Open
from breakfast till late. www.
spotted-dick.co.uk
EAST
Bistrotheque, 23-27 Wadeson
Street, Bethnal Green, E2.
Modern, contemporary, classy
restaurant with basement bar
and cabaret room, and fine
dining upstairs – modern British
cuisine and French bistro dishes
– approx. £35 per head. www.
bistrotheque.com
The Easton, 22 Easton Street,
WC1. 020-7278 7609. Cool
gastropub just off Exmouth
Market. Sunday lunch is packed
with Clerkenwell-istas and
the food is top notch. www.
theeaston.co.uk
Green and Red, 51 Bethnal
Green Road, E1. 020 7749 9670.
Fiesta-style restaurant with
Mexican food and a huge tequila
selection - with basement
bar and dancefloor area for
afterwards. www.greenred.co.uk
Kenza, 10a Devonshire Square,
EC2. 020-7929 5533. Delightful
and sumptuous subterranean
Middle Eastern restaurant a
stone’s throw from Liverpool
Street station. Arabic interior and
mezza menu – approx. £35 per
head. www.kenza-restaurant.co.uk
Les Trois Garcons, 1 Club Row,
Whitechapel, E1. 020-7613
1924. A former Victorian boozer,
stuffed with baroque decor
and antiques, creating a camp,
culinary haven near Old Street.
British/French menu. www.
loungelover.co.uk
The Luxe, 109 Commercial
Street, E1. 020 7101 1751. Large,
recently-opened Spitalfields
venture offering several dining
areas – including takeaway
kiosk, ground-floor café and fine
dining restaurant. It offers a wide
selection of classic British and
European dishes, and is great for
breakfast, lunch or dinner. www.
theluxe.co.uk
Saf, 152-154 Curtain Road,
Shoreditch, EC2. 020 7613
0007. A stylish and upmarket
vegan and raw food restaurant.
Approx. £24 per head. www.
safrestaurant.co.uk
The National Dining Rooms will – appropriately enough – be coming over all patriotic for
St George’s Day this month. Part of Oliver Peyton’s food empire, the Dining Rooms will be
offering a special menu in honour of England’s patron saint. On offer between 19-26 April, and
featuring locally sourced produce, dishes will include John Dory with marsh samphire, Beef
Wellington with Lincolnshire Poacher potato gratin, and rhubarb fool with butter biscuits. It
will cost £26.50 for two courses and £29.50 for three.
Fly the flag at the National Dining Rooms, The Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar
Square, WC2N 5DN. 020 7747 2525 www.thenationaldiningrooms.co.uk
Tinseltown, 44-46 St John
Street, Farringdon, EC1. Want a
double cheeseburger and Mars
Bar Milkshake at 5am? Then
24-hour, subterranean American
diner Tinseltown is the place to
head. Popular with late-night
clubbers – very near Fabric.
Cool when quiet but avoid if
there’s a queue for entry. www.
tinseltown.co.uk
Volupte, 7-9 Norwich Street,
EC4. 020 7831 1622. Trendy,
popular supper club offering
avant-garde cabaret and
burlesque performance. Approx.
£37 per head. www.voluptelounge.com
SOUTH
Bonnington Café, 11 Vauxhall
Grove, SW8. Cheap, cheerful
and very gay-friendly cooperatively
run vegetarian café
in Bonnington Square. Pig out
on three courses for £10! http://
s208303316.websitehome.co.uk
Donna Margherita
Restaurant, 183 Lavender
Hill, SW11. 020 7268 2660.
Traditional, Southern Italian
restaurant that’s very gay-friendly
– even offering a ‘Pizza Gay’ on its
menu! Pizzas from £5.90. www.
donna-margherita.com
El Panzon @ The Dogstar,
389 Coldharbour Lane, SW9.
Authentic Mexican and Tex-mex
restaurant and fantastic prices
in the trendy Dogstar bar. Don’t
miss the burritos or the taco
plate to share. Approx. £14 per
head. www.elpanzon.co.uk
The Loft, 67 Clapham High
Street, SW4. 020-7627 0792.
Upmarket and stylish restaurant,
bar and late-night haunt.
Classic British dishes and lots of
cocktails. Approx. £40 per head.
www.theloft-clapham.co.uk
The Riverside, 5 Hamilton
House, 5 St George Wharf,
Vauxhall, SW8. Great pub food
in upmarket, riverside gastropub
that boasts terrific views of the
Thames.
Roxy Bar and Screen,
128-132 Borough High
Street, SE1. 020 7407 4057.
London’s unique, gay-friendly
cinema restaurant. Free film
screenings – everything
from recent blockbusters to
arthouse documentaries. www.
roxybarandscreen.com
Royal Teas, 76 Royal Hill,
Greenwich, SE10. 020-8691
7240. Delightfully charming café
offering tea, scones, cakes and
other delights for an eclectic
crowd. Brit camp fabulousness.
www.royalteascafe.co.uk
Upstairs Bar and Restaurant,
89b Acre Lane, SW2. Hidden
gem and local secret. Critically
acclaimed, eclectic European
menu, with emphasis on French
cuisine. Limited choice but menu
changes daily. Open Tue-Sat.
www.upstairslondon.com
WEST
Balans Chiswick, 214 Chiswick
High Road, W4. 020 8742 1435.
Gay-friendly service and British
and Meditrerranean dishes.
www.balans.co.uk