Local restaurants
As with pubs there are a ridiculous number of restaurants in the immediate surrounding area particularly on Drummond Street (for Indian) and Charlotte Street (for everything else). There are hundreds of restaurants in Soho and Covent Garden which are about one mile away. Every taste / nationality is accommodated if you venture further afield. Below we just give a few choice selections sorted by genre which are particularly close to UCL and for the (rich) connoisseur we've included a gourmet/get a new mortgage section. For those hopeful of finding the Holy Grail - British cuisine - then you may be disappointed, we've simply stolen the best of everyone else's cuisine and passed it off as our own although a number of gastro-pubs get close. Vegetarian options are available at almost all restaurants and a number in the Indian section are exclusively vegetarian. Prices vary from £5-£100 but it is never wise to translate the price into dollars/euros/etc. if you want to enjoy your meal (conversion to CHFs might be ok). If you cannot find something you want on this list feel free to ask one of the local organisers. Undoubtedly they will know where something that can meet your food needs can be found.
British
1. North Sea Fish Restaurant : 7-8 Leigh Street
Traditional fish and chips. Has both a sit down restaurant
and a separate take away.
2. Gigs Fish & Chips : 12 Tottenham St
Has some of the best fish and chips in London. Has both a sit down restaurant
and a separate take away.
3. Andrew Edmunds : 46 Lexington Street
Small and intimate serving mixed English/European menu that changes daily. Booking is advised.
4. The Newman Arms : 23 Rathbone Street
A pub with food upstairs which arguably serves the best British Pies in London. Pies are the often ignored pinnicle of British food (in my opinion).
5. Norfolk Arms : 28 Leigh Street.
A simple gastro-pub. Technically there are many of these around. Try any you see, they are usually quite similar. Some of best ones tend to be further out of the centre though, for example try the Juntion Tavern just north of Kentish town.
Burgers (gourmet or otherwise)
6. MEATliqour : 74 Welbeck St
Trendy burger joint, no reservations, just queue for dead hippie burgers and strong cocktails. Interior decor is somewhat like a post apocalyptic graffiti artists dream. See also MEATmarket to the south.
7. Five Guys : 1-3 Long Acre
International chain, but far above McDonalds. Burgers come with a rediculous amount of toppings.
Cajun fries and infinite refill sodas from a machine with 100's of options.
8. Gourmet Burger Kitchen : Marchmont St & 15 Frith St
UK chain, but again far above McDonalds. More of a sit down restaurant than above, but good.
9. Honest Burger : 251-255 Pentonville Rd
London chain, lovely burgers and craft beer
Chinese
10. China Town Gerrard St./Wardour St./Lisle St./Newport Pl. :
Not technically a restaurant, but an entire area of restaurants, nestled behind Leicester Sq. it takes up a few streets. Full range on offer here from quick takeaway/streetfood style
to full banquet dining to cover all price ranges. Plenty of bars in the local area with Soho being next door. This area also includes many other Asian cuisine restaurants, see the following sections for examples. Also recommended are the Chinese bakeries which can provide either an alternative location for dessert or a savoury snack.
French
11. Elena's L'Etoile : 30 Charlotte Street
Simple French food in nd old-fashioned dining room with pictures of its thespian patrons. Also next to Pied a Terre, if you want something pricier.
12. Belgo Centraal : 50 Earlham St.
Not technically French, but close enough in style to avoid writing a Belgian section. All the moules frites you can handle and a range of lovely Belgian beers, Rocheforte, Mort Subite, La Chouffe (see it's French language at least).
13. Brasserie Blanc : 8 Charlotte Street
Run by celebrity chef Raymond Blanc, a simple brasserie offering hearty French cuisine rather than haute cuisine.
There are Michelin starred French restaurants (Pied A Terre and L'Escargot) listed below in the Get a New Mortgage section.
Gourmet / Get a New Mortgage
London has many Michelin starred restaurants. As you might expect a full tasting menu experience can set you back well over £100 per person. Many however offer lunchtime menus or discounted 2-3 course deals. If you want to experience this end of the market you will need to book in advance and look for deals if you do not want your wallet/purse to hemorrhage money.
14. Hakkasan : 8 Hanway Place.
Michelin starred for over a decade and the first of Alan Yau's London ventures. Gourmet Chinese at least an order of magnitude more expensive than a Chinese takeaway. Much beloved of footballers wives. Approach road is narrow so amble idly to ensure maximum frustration to the Bentley and Ferrari owners.
15. Gauthier Soho : 21 Romilly Street
Feels more like a private home than a restaurant: you have to ring the doorbell to gain admittance & are ushered into one of two small dining rooms with fireplaces. Excellent 1* dining, from Alexis Gauthier who used to run another 1* restaurant Roussillon.
16. L'Escargot : 48 Greek Street
Fine French dining in a 18th century Georgian town house. Under new ownership in early 2014, hopefully the rennovations are complete.
17. Pied A Terre : 34 Charlotte Street
Michelin starred French restaurant. When it isn't open (Sat lunch/Sunday) you can try its amusingly named sister restaurant l'Autre Pied.
18. Kitchen W8 : 11-13 Abingdon Road
More on the Imperial College side of town but this Michelin starred restaurant offers excellent food and not ridiculously small portions.
19. Angler : 3 South Place,
If you want excellent seafood then this hotel restaurant is an excellent Michelin level choice.
Indian
There are at least 10 Indian restaurants on Drummond Street but there's also a healthy supply elsewhere.
20. The Agra : 135-137 Whitfield Street
By virtue of being the closest to the Jeremy Bentham pub and physicists being creatures of habit this is the default Indian of choice for your HEP officianado.
21. Diwana Bel Poori : 121 Drummond Street
Inexpensive South Indian Vegetarian. Don't let the vegetarian menu put you off, everything here is delicious even if you don't always know what you have ordered.
22. Sagar : 17 Percy Street
Modern Indian Vegetarian close to UCL.
23. Ragam : 57 Cleveland Street
Don't be put off by the decor/frontage : this is pemier league South Indian cuisine/Dosai
impervious to the march of the high-street tandoori and the trend for posh Indians serving meat miscellaneous in all-purpose curry sauce. Unchanged in 30 years with 1970s prices to match : a bargain.
24. Palms of Goa : 12 Charlotte Street and 4 Meard Street (Soho)
South Goanese dishes.
25. Rasa Samudra : 5 Charlotte Street
Specialises in seafood and vegetarian dishes from Kerala.
26. Dishoom : 12 Upper St Martin's Ln
Vintage Bombay-style cafe with marble tables and ceiling fans, serving all-day Indian street menu.
Italian
27. Franco Manca : Tottenham Court Road
Specializes in soughdour based pizzas. Fairly cheap and delicious.
28. Pizza Express : 93 Euston Road & 7 Charlotte Street & 10 Dean Street
A chain but very good pizzas - especially the new Pinglestone. The Dean Street restaurant doubles as a Jazz Bar.
29. Ask : 48 Grafton Way
Very close to UCL : standard Pizza/Pasta chain but reasonably priced for central London and also a good lunch choice.
30. Sardo : 45 Grafton Way
A warm informal, family-run Sardinian restaurant with a strong seafood representation. The house specialities are spaghetti alla bottarga, salsiccia sarda & grilled steak topped with Sardinian blue cheese.
31. Spiga : 84 Wardour Street
Fine Pizza and pasta in the heart of Soho.
32. Zilli Fish : 36 Brewer Street
Aldo Zilli made his reputation with cookbooks and for going out on drinking benders with Paul-Gazza-Gasgoigne and Chris Evans in the late 1990s but he's since calmed down.
33. Pescatori Fish & Seafood Restaurant : 57 Charlotte Street
Plenty of room for bigger parties.
Japanese : Sushi / Noodles
34. Kurobuta Marble Arch : 20 Kendal Street
Brand new Japanese restaurant from the head chef of Nobu London. Unpretentious, laid back atmosphere with high level inventive Japanese food.
35 Japanese Canteen : 162 Tottenham Court Rd
Simple, stripped back Japanese take-away/restaurant. Does excellent chicken katsu curry and K.F.C. (Korean Fried Chicken). Also conveniently close to the JB (see pubs).
36. Tokyo Diner : 2 Newport Pl.
Simple Japanese cuisine, excellent (and large portioned) katsu curries are recommended.
37. Wagamama : 4 Streatham St ; also 10 Lexington Street (Soho)
Generous portions of udon, soba & rice noodles come in soups or stir-fries, along with a number of rice dishes & salads, plus sides of steamed dumplings & chicken yakitori skewers.
38. Niko Niko 19 Percy Street.
Sushi with private Karaoke rooms downstairs.
39. Satsuma : 56 Wardour Street
Fine tangerine decor sponsored by Blackpool FC. Sushi and Noodles in the heart of Soho. Handy stop off when on the Soho pub trail.
40. Kikuchi - 14 Hanway Street
Sushi. Unpretentious and authentic.
Korean
41. Han Kang : 16 Hanway Street,
One of the finest Korean restaurants in London.
42. Koba : 11 Rathbone Place
More modern, upmarket and thus expensive than Han Kang.
43. Kimchee : 71 High Holborn
Smart contemporary Korean restaurant with shared tables, open kitchen and charcoal barbecue.
44. Asadal: 227 High Holborn
Traditional Korean basement restaurant with carvings, varnished partitions and table-top barbecues.
Mediterranean
45. Vasis : 56 Maple Street
A family-run Cypriot paradise : blink and you'd think you were in Nicosia.
46. Efes : 80-82 Great Titchfield Street
Turkish : a favourite place for kebabs and also has belly dancers,
47. Gokyuzu : 26-27 Grand Parade
Turkish : **WARNING FAR AWAY** It might be far away but this can be recommended as one of the best (if not the best) Turkish restaurants in London. Excellent food in large portions.
Mexican
48. La Perla : 11 Charlotte Street.
Tapas, tacos & quesadillas are all present & correct in a lively and entertaining atmosphere as well as copious amounts of Mexican beers and tequilas. Has a separate bar downstairs.
49. Texas Embassy : 1 Cockspur St
10 metres from Nelson's column on Trafalgar square. Tex as well as Mex.
50. Wahaca : 19-23 Charlotte St
Mexican street food from a Masterchef winner. Excellent authentic Mexican food in a modern setting.
51. Cantina Laredo : 10 Upper St Martins Lane
Traditional Mexican dishes with a modern twist, with signature guacamole prepared at your table.
Spanish / Tapas
52. Salt Yard : 54 Goodge Street
A wine and Tapas bar.
53. Ember Yard : 60 Berwick Street
Sister restaurant of the Salt Yard.
54. Copita : 26 D'Arblay St
Informal tapas bar with stools at wooden counters, wines, sherries and leche y leche coffee.
55. Navarro's : 67 Charlotte Street
The antithesis of the modern styled Salt Yard : no contemporary design or chrome finishes here. Booking advised.
Thai
56. Thai Metro : 36 Charlotte Street.
Also good for lunch.
57. Siam Central : 14 Charlotte Street.
Good food opposite the Fitzroy Tavern.
58. Busabi : 22 Store Street and 100 Wardour Street (Soho)
Another Alan Yau classic - The Thai calamari is a gem. Best if there are not so many of you since seating is done ad-hoc on large shared square tables holding 16.