According to Forbes this week, Brick Lane is the place to go in London if it’s mouth watering curries you’re after. This is thanks to the mainly Bangladeshi population living and working there. Borough Market is of course the place to go for its many specialist stalls and organic food options and there is a never ending stream of innovative restaurants opening up across London making it a major Foodie destination for tourists. However! (& theres always one isn’t there?) A recent column in the ‘Diners Journal’ of the New York Times by Kim Severson says quite the opposite. Kim thinks that for all the excitement about Londons gastronomic revolution, the basics can still be bloody awful. She says that certainly, there is no argument that the food in London has gotten much better but Severson warns that at the highest end where Ramsay also rules, London’s food is very good but frighteningly expensive. She says prices are almost exactly double that of New York and she sums up by saying that the current London food revolution is an overstatement, asking the question: Does a marked (& much needed) improvement in really bad food make a place a great food town? What do you think? Is London overrated as a culinary destination? I’d like to also add that on a list of top ten travel destinations for American tourists released last week, London scored highly ONLY with travellers over 50. Make of it what you will!Saturday, August 4, 2007
Is London Overrated as a Culinary Destination?
According to Forbes this week, Brick Lane is the place to go in London if it’s mouth watering curries you’re after. This is thanks to the mainly Bangladeshi population living and working there. Borough Market is of course the place to go for its many specialist stalls and organic food options and there is a never ending stream of innovative restaurants opening up across London making it a major Foodie destination for tourists. However! (& theres always one isn’t there?) A recent column in the ‘Diners Journal’ of the New York Times by Kim Severson says quite the opposite. Kim thinks that for all the excitement about Londons gastronomic revolution, the basics can still be bloody awful. She says that certainly, there is no argument that the food in London has gotten much better but Severson warns that at the highest end where Ramsay also rules, London’s food is very good but frighteningly expensive. She says prices are almost exactly double that of New York and she sums up by saying that the current London food revolution is an overstatement, asking the question: Does a marked (& much needed) improvement in really bad food make a place a great food town? What do you think? Is London overrated as a culinary destination? I’d like to also add that on a list of top ten travel destinations for American tourists released last week, London scored highly ONLY with travellers over 50. Make of it what you will!
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3 comments:
I remember the time about 8 or 9 years ago when the pound was so low to the German mark that one night I said to my friend "when I have one more beer I'll be actually making money". Not two years later I read the menu of an Italian restaurant in Westend with starters such as chicken-brest with arugula for a humble 12 quid. That's still the price for a regular main course in Frankfurt/Germany. Today.
So, when I'm in London, I stick to the corner Indian or Thai.
Yes I know what you mean Fressack,
I dont mind shelling out if its something absolutely delicious that i might not be able to make myself, but some of the so called 'fine dining' experiences I've had in London (& in Spain for that matter) have left me feeling very ripped off! Regards Kel
Dont know about London but we recently had a dismall coupe fo slices of sushi at Trader Vics Puerto Banus, obviously it had been sitting in the fridge all evening, if not longer. 3 litle slice of california roll each for a whopping 22 euro! Highway robbery! Really enjoy your radio show by the way kelly. Sally Edmonds.
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