# I there such a thing as an English restaurant anywhere in the United States? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019 "2002-12-11T16:11:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/21 "2002-12-11T17:36:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tamex \* > **Ethilrist** , there’s also Brit’s Pub on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. I’ve never eaten there–I’ve only heard of the place because they used to sponsor the British comedies shown on channel 2. I was going to bring that place up, too. It’s darn good food-- we go lots. I’m just bummed they discontinued their Guinness stew. Mmmmm. But the Cornish pasties make up for it. [Here are some more](http://www.britsintheus.com/restaurants.htm) around the States. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/22 "2002-12-11T17:40:21Z")
Mods - I think the question of the existence of an English restaurant in the US has been answered - but maybe this is interesting as an IMHO thread now? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/23 "2002-12-11T17:54:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eats\_Crayons \* > \*\*And lotsa Guiness and Kilkenny. \*\* Which are, of course, Irish ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/24 "2002-12-11T17:56:09Z")
If you count pub grub, there’s no end of places. There’s 3 “British Pub” type joints I’ve been to in my general area that serve meals, and have menus with things like Cornish pasties, bangers & mash, fish and chips, shepard’s pie, etc. English food at a level above this harder to find. Probably the most upscale of the three I’m thinking of is “The Duke of Edinburgh” in Cupertino: [http://www.theduke.com/](http://www.theduke.com/) They do Beef Wellington, Yorkshire pudding, etc, but most of their trade is really pub grub and good beer. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/25 "2002-12-11T18:02:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > \*\*They do Beef Wellington… \*\* Isn’t that from New Zealand? For what it’s worth, it would never occur to me to open an English restaurant in the USA - I’d assume there’d be zero interest except for a bunch of drive by insults. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/26 "2002-12-11T18:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eats\_Crayons \* > \*\*You can get staples like bangers and mash. Irish stew. Fish 'n chips etc. \*\* What exactly is “bangers and mash”? (Yes, I am too lazy to do an internet search.) ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/27 "2002-12-11T18:09:59Z")
Sausages and mashed potatoes ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/28 "2002-12-11T18:13:02Z")
There’s a tea shop/restaurant in Wilmington, DE (and, if I’m not mistaken, another location somewhere along Pennsylvania’s Main Line) called [the Flavour of Britain](http://www.flavourofbritain.com/). I’ve eaten there a few times – they serve many different types of teas, finger sandwiches, shepherd pie, petit fours, scones with Devon cream, and other things. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/29 "2002-12-11T18:13:55Z")
[Bangers and Mash](http://home.planet.nl/~bangers.mash/verenig.htm) are a Dutch folk group (who play Irish music). I think a better answer might be [sausages and mahed potatoes](http://maindish.allrecipes.com/az/BngrsndMsh.asp) ---
**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/30 "2002-12-11T18:16:38Z")
The national dish of England (or perhaps it was the UK?) is infact chicken tikka massala (a type of curry created in the UK by Indian immigrants) ---
**Author:** ![\_etalhea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/779978/32.png) [@\_etalhea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_etalhea)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/31 "2002-12-11T18:18:13Z")
We have one! Ye Olde English Inn, in Roanoke, VA. (Cave spring area, if you’re familiar). I’ve never been there, but I know it’s expensive and very nice. Big hit for anniversarys, business dinners, etc. They have a big trough with trout swimming in it, and you get to pick your fish and they kill it and cook it right there. I gotta try that, it sounds so cool, a nice meal with a side of violence! Very English. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/32 "2002-12-11T19:28:30Z")
In Houston, Texas it’s “McGonigels mucky duck” [www.mcgonigels.com](http://www.mcgonigels.com) the “beef guiness” stew is excellent, it comes in a bread bowl, we had a place called “the ale house” but it is gone now and that’s too bad, they had a blue cheese burger to die for (and you could “drink your way around the world” for a t-shirt. unclviny ---
**Author:** ![Alto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alto)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/33 "2002-12-11T19:44:57Z")
There are two related ones in NYC. Tea and Sympathy is furnished in the cozy quaint stereotype, and Assault and Battery is done like a corner fish and chips shop. The food is intensely typical middle class stuff–mushy peas, steak and kidney pie, toad in a hole, something called “butty” (which I haven’t had the guts to try). If you order fish and chips, they come wrapped in not just any old newspaper but an English newspaper. And the people who work there all have English accents. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/34 "2002-12-11T20:12:02Z")
“Haw haw haw! English cuisine? ENGLISH CUISINE? Monsieur, there is no such thing!” - Royal Canadian Air Farce 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/35 "2002-12-11T20:14:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alto \* > The food is intensely typical **middle class stuff** –mushy peas, steak and kidney pie, toad in a hole, something called “butty” (which I haven’t had the guts to try). 😃 Stop it, my ribs are hurting. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/36 "2002-12-11T20:31:00Z")
A “butty” is just a blue-collar name for a sandwich (typically the simplest kind of sandwich). If the menu said “chip butty” it just meant chips between two slices of buttered bread. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/37 "2002-12-11T22:00:57Z")
There’s a restaurant on King Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, called Scotland Yard. I’ve never been there but they advertise they are an upscale restaurant serving roast beef, salmon, with side dishes. Sounds scrumptious. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/38 "2002-12-11T22:12:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alto \* > \*\* The food is intensely typical middle class stuff–mushy peas, \*\* mushy peas middle class? Since when? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/39 "2002-12-11T22:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin \* > \*\*Which are, of course, Irish \*\* Hence, I said English and Irish pubs. In my neck of the woods especially, every other establishment is English, Irish or Scottish. I used to get sick of it actually because I _need_ variety. The locally brewed English style ales are many, but the one thing they all consistently seem to have are the Irish brews. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019/40 "2002-12-11T22:16:02Z")
Hmmm… do the English and Scots _even have_ fine restaurants as we know them for their own traditional ethnic cuisine? Seems that when we are talking traditional “English” food it’s really all some kind of pub grub or derivation thereof. Are there formal, sit down restaurants throughout England that serve fine (however defined) true _English_ cuisine? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-there-such-a-thing-as-an-english-restaurant-anywhere-in-the-united-states/142019.md?page=3)