for the last week of March. Any Londopers want to ease my disorientation?
Hi.
You will also find London Dopers, both current and of the past, at http://nadsters.com/nads/.
Have a great trip. 
I would, but I’m disoriented myself, despite having lived here for 27 years and counting. If it isn’t Leicester Square station, I have to whip out my A-Z.
(It’s a map, you perv)
I should be around then, and Crusoe might be too. Any ideas as to what you fancy doing?
Compared to Montreal, the weather should be quite nice. Don’t be shy about asking for directions. It seemed like everyone was helpful in that regard.
Hi Jenny,
I’d love to spend an evening out, although I understand it’s scandalously expensive to do so. Faut faire avec, I guess. Also… blush if any of you have gay friends who could show me around Old Compton Street and environs, it would be much appreciated.
Its not that expensive, to be honest, you just need to avoid the tourist traps where you end up paying a fiver a pint. And Bonzer and I should be around too if you do fancy a night out, although I doubt that neither of us is qualified to show you round Old Compton Street. 
Did you mean to say that, Angua?
Gah! Stupid me! I meant to say:
“I doubt that either of us is qualified”
:smack: I blame Pearson R coefficients.
Sounds like fun!
There seems to be a few of us around on Friday 31st Matt, how does that grab you?
Sounds like fun - just before I ship out eh!
That sounds like a plan to me then! I can even convince my advisor that I’m working from home, and get to London at a reasonable time! So, I guess a place is needed. Would you prefer something close to where you’re staying, or just somewhere not hideously expensive?
Would you like to eat first, or go straight to a pub? If you do want to eat, what sort of thing do you like?
Sorry for all the questions, but we want to make sure you have a good time!
I’d love to just go eat, anyplace that’s not expensive; as long as the food is edible I’m not fussed. Thanks!
Right, couple of suggestions:
Masala Zone - for the authentic Brit dining experience - curry!
Gili Gulu - had some pretty bad reviews for the service, but we’ve always enjoyed ourselves.
If none those appeal, here’s a link to some more budget restaurants, though I can’t comment on any of them except for Wagamama - which is nice but not exactly conducive to relaxed socialising.
Angua et al may have some more ideas.
I’m jealous. I’ll be in England this weekend, but it’s not for a happy, celebratory occasion.
Sorry to hear that Barbarian. Hope whatever it is doesn’t go too badly.
matt_mcl, scifisam on Nads (who you may remember from here) has offered to show you the gay scene:
“From what I remember of reading his posts he’d like Popstarz (actually, most people would - it’s not as trashy or juvenile as it sounds, and it’s friggin’ huge) and maybe GAY Bar (NOT club) and, for a cheap start to the night, the Vespa/Conservatory, while it’s still open.”
She’s not available on Friday, but as you’re here for a week, maybe you could meet up before then. Let me know if you’d like me to pass on your contact details - or pop over to Nads and contact her yourself.
Speaking as a one-time tourist to the UK, I’d say it’s absolutely essential to have the advice of a local on dining out.
Here the US we are used to something like a potential 95% success rate on picking a restaurant at random and finding it palatable, at the very least.
From my experience, the rate in London is around 60%*, and all the guides I had read beforehand said the food situation had gotten better than it used to be. :eek:
Don’t get me wrong, there is spectacular food to be had, but you’re better off taking the advice of someone who knows the territory to make sure you find it.
From my own limited experience, I can recommend, for a really fancy dinner, The Ivy, for the best fish, chips, bangers, and mash I’ve ever eaten, the Cheshire Cheese Pub (the oldest currently standing, IIRC), and great little Italian place that was near the docks in Greenwich 3 1/2 years ago.
*Unlike me, my wife hates Indian food, so I will readily concede that if we’d included those restaurants, we might have had better luck.
But you’d have had to have booked months ago…