PJ London - where to eat before the shows?

kid canada

Never been to London, staying at a hotel in Covent Garden...are there places to eat in or around the O2 or should we eat before heading to the show? Not sure how long it will take us to get to the O2 from where we are staying. 

Brisk.

The O2 arena itself is full of awful awful chain restaurants. Plus they will be rammed so forget it. London isn't exactly the food capital of the world but if you're coming from the centre I'd definitely eat there first.

Muffin The Mule

Find the nearest Nando's. Everyone in the UK loves a cheeky Nando's!

Gingerlou77

Greenwich itself will offer you a good selection, if you don't want all the overpriced chain places. 

silva

I kind of disagree with brisk, I think London has one of the best food cultures of any city. Depends on what you want, and how high priority it is for you. If all you want to do is get down to the venue and get in line, that's cool, but if you want to eat some really good food, then you are staying in a good part of town. Let me know if you want some suggestions.

kid canada

silva said:

I kind of disagree with brisk, I think London has one of the best food cultures of any city. Depends on what you want, and how high priority it is for you. If all you want to do is get down to the venue and get in line, that's cool, but if you want to eat some really good food, then you are staying in a good part of town. Let me know if you want some suggestions.

Would love some suggestions! As I said I've never been to London and have no real concept of how far away everything is from everything else. I'm from Toronto which is a big city but I suspect London is a whole other animal. We are doing GA both nights so I figure one night we may go wait in line and the other we will take it easy.

derbydave

I'd be interested in this info as well.
We're staying at the Holiday Inn Express that is close to the venue & would love some tips for good places in the neighborhood!!

Brisk.

silva said:

I kind of disagree with brisk, I think London has one of the best food cultures of any city. Depends on what you want, and how high priority it is for you. If all you want to do is get down to the venue and get in line, that's cool, but if you want to eat some really good food, then you are staying in a good part of town. Let me know if you want some suggestions.

I guess its getting better. Especially for us veggies

What do you like to eat Kid Canada? You could go to Dishoom in Shoreditch for an Indian. If your feeling flush then Amaya is a 1 star michelin Indian restuarant.

Gibson

Before the shows, come to Hollywood Bowl. It’s a standard restaurant, but I reserved space for PJ fans! 

Otherwise, sneak over to Greenwich for local fare before the shows. 

silva

Let me have a think and I'll put a few suggestions together.

silva

Dishoom is nice though.

kid canada

Gibson said:

Before the shows, come to Hollywood Bowl. It’s a standard restaurant, but I reserved space for PJ fans! 

Otherwise, sneak over to Greenwich for local fare before the shows. 

Is that an actual bowling alley?
I assume there will be an official Vitalogy Foundation meetup somewheres?

kid canada

Brisk. said:

silva said:

I kind of disagree with brisk, I think London has one of the best food cultures of any city. Depends on what you want, and how high priority it is for you. If all you want to do is get down to the venue and get in line, that's cool, but if you want to eat some really good food, then you are staying in a good part of town. Let me know if you want some suggestions.

I guess its getting better. Especially for us veggies

What do you like to eat Kid Canada? You could go to Dishoom in Shoreditch for an Indian. If your feeling flush then Amaya is a 1 star michelin Indian restuarant.

I don't mind Indian food but I'm not sure it's the best pre-concert meal if I'm going to be standing for 3+ hours after...

Muffin The Mule

If you want something other than your typical chain I'd recommend Brasserie Zedel, 20 Sherwood Street, W1F 7ED. I think you'd need to book in advance as lunchtimes can get busy unless you go for a midday sitting. Their number is 0207 734 4888. It's close to Piccadilly Circus Tube station.

Gibson

kid canada said:

Gibson said:

Before the shows, come to Hollywood Bowl. It’s a standard restaurant, but I reserved space for PJ fans! 

Otherwise, sneak over to Greenwich for local fare before the shows. 

Is that an actual bowling alley?
I assume there will be an official Vitalogy Foundation meetup somewheres?

There’s a spot to bowl but we won’t be near it. It’s a legit restaurant with beer and food. You wouldn’t even know they had lanes if it wasn’t In the name. 

Im sure there’s other parties. I just figured I’d reserve space and beat the crowd. 

silva

Yep, zedel is nice. Staying in Covent Garden, you are really close to Soho which has some of my favourite places to eat.

Frith street has 2 really good options. There's Koya Bar which does really great Japanese Udon, very authentic, and then Barrafina which is Spanish tapas. again very authentic, very very good. barrafina in particular will get busy for lunch and neither of those places take reservations (which goes for most of the places I'm suggesting actually)
Also in Soho on Lexington Street is Bao, for Korean (I really like this place) queues get kind of ridiculous though so better for early lunch. Polpo is good for Venetian style food. They have 2 places, one in Covent Garden and one in Soho.

Can't go wrong with any of those. They are not in any way fancy, but they are not cheap either! But all good quality.

Or, you can grab some fish and chips and go and sit by the river and watch the world go by.

let me know if you need any more info.

have fun.

lastexitlondon

Fish and chips for the win. Cheap and wonderful 

wall232

If you're in London for a few days and want to check out some really good Italian food go to Tozi. We found this place last year while there and it was one of the best Italian meals we had since being in Italy in 2014.