Not gonna lie, you’ve got great taste in food 😋.
To non-British folks: please don’t take Mike’s meals as the baseline for British restaurants; you’ll end up disappointed.
Yes, there are pockets of excellence here, but the average stuff Mike posts is often outside 2, maybe 3 standard deviations in a normal distribution of British food.
I disagree.
That used to be the case until the 1980's when we were still hampered by memories of rationing during and after WW2.
In fact as a child, going to restaurants was a relatively new thing and there were limited options, but these days, food in major cities is some of the best in the world and food in most places is exceptional.
Admittedly we can also do bad food very well, but apart from holding more Michelin stars that any other comparable size country, we have also held the title of worlds best restaurant frequently with chefs like Heston Blumenthal, Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsey showing the world how to cook.
The Roux brothers were part of the catalyst for this, having trained many of the current cohort of great chefs and the second generation of Roux's are just starting to retire having played their part.
Another catalyst was our introspection, knew we didn't have a great food culture, so, like Australia, we stole from the rest of the world and brought it to the UK. Our street food scene is among the best in the world and most major cities have the best of pretty much every cuisine imaginable.
Where we differ is our native cuisine, which can and is highly criticised. The Sunday roast or Fish and Chips is traditional uninspiring food for the masses and still loved by much of the older generation.
One thing we share with Australia which is unique and misunderstood by much of the rest of the world is the savoury pie. Steak and Kidney or Chicken and Ham pies are divine and most cultures will never get to appreciate this great culinary delight.
Many cultures have great local cuisine that we lack, but few cultures have as great an international cuisine as we get to enjoy on a daily basis.
I love a good Sunday Roast, but we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one Mike.
I arrived in the UK back in 2016, and I’m not going to lie: the average restaurant here (I’m talking £8 - £50 meals, not Michelin-starred fine dining) just isn’t great compared to relatively poorer countries like those in the Mediterranean, Turkey, Syria, or Central and South America. I’ve got a British passport now, so I don’t need to hold my tongue; the average meal here is basically tasteless.
This isn’t about ingredients. The UK is well served by both local and imported stuff. Britain often gets higher-quality Brazilian goods than I could buy in Brazilian supermarkets. And I don’t think it’s a hangover from pre-80s rationing era either.
It’s more about culture: the average Brit seems to reject seasoning, flavour, and imagination. Sorry, but stuff like Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, for example, would be considered bad quality and bad value anywhere else. And I’m not even talking about Italy, go to São Paulo and grab a £5 pizza from any random corner shop if you haven't already. Big-name chef’s stamp of approval here doesn’t necessarily mean much.
Then there’s the "Britannisation" of great international food. You can walk into a deli or Italian joint with actual Italian chefs and still be served flavourless food, simply because that’s what’s expected. And it goes far beyond the chicken tikka masala phenomenon. I’ve even had flavourless Reuben sandwiches here. That shouldn’t be possible! Just look at the ingredients... How do you make a deli sandwich bland with that combination? And don’t get me started on the average Sushi joint or bistro. Walk into three random ones in London and see if your dish looks anything like the ones you’ve shared above.
Back to pizza: speaking some Italian helps a lot. Same for most Asian cuisines, either speak the language, know someone who does, or be a proper foodie willing to hunt for hidden gems. Otherwise, you’re stuck paying a lot of moneywith no guarantee of quality.
So apologies, Mike, but I’m not backing down. This isn’t just a stereotype; when it comes to food, the UK really does deserve its reputation. You’re not the average Brit, and what you’re sharing isn’t the average Brit meal (well, maybe it’s average for the Hairy Bikers). Or maybe I’ve just been unlucky. But after almost a decade of eating out regularly, if what you’re posting is representative of the "average", then I’ve been spectacularly unlucky.
PS: Not to say it’s all bad. Living in the UK has actually made me healthier. And to be fair, after all this time, I’ve started finding my home country’s food a bit much too: too rich, too salty, too sweet. So maybe British food is an acquired taste that slowly rewires your taste buds. Ask me again in another 10 years 🙂🇬🇧
You are quite right. It starts with the low quality ingredients and most English food is highly processed. I noticed the UK have obese people on a par with the US now. You can't even buy fizzy drinks without aspartame in them.
I’ve found that keeping it simple is often the best solution here. Mike mentioned Sunday Roasts — and yes, they’re delicious. I’ve learned to really enjoy gravy; it fixes... a lot of things with british food 🙂.
Pub food in general is a safe bet too. I had an amazing gammon steak with eggs recently: simple, well done, full of flavour. You generally can’t go wrong with a schnitzel (and you don’t even need to go to a German restaurant), pastries, or stuff like that.
There are exceptions of course, absolutely common foods like lasagna, beef stroganoff, etc. can be disastrous, so it’s better to ask around first.
Catch the next flight from JFK, go anywhere in London and eat anything.
Stop eating that slop we serve to yanks in Irish pubs in Brooklyn so that you don't bother coming over here and stealing all our proper food 😂
Sure. Name a place, I'll "fly" there and even post a photo on Nostr :). And I promise to be fair in my assessment. There's good food in the UK. Its not the average, but there are good places.
Here's some random shots of various restaurants from London (mostly Soho and Covent Garden), where you say you live 😂
Your "New Yorker" accusation may backfire sending someone that lives in London to Soho 🤣🤣. But I'll bite. The Thai one looks amazing.
Is this the one?
Yes, it was very good 👍
Also Copita:
Flesh and Buns:
https://www.fleshandbuns.com/restaurants/japanese-restaurant-covent-garden/
Parsons:
