Agreed about Wetherspoons pubs - I should have paid more attention to the link I gave, which also points out that they haven’t actually reviewed that pub themselves.
A movie in the West End is £8-10, £7.00 is for local cinemas. In terms of budgetting, assume that whatever you are used to paying in dollars will be the same for pounds (ie what costs $30 costs £30). London is pricey.
I drink regularly in a few of those. Also, the Ship on Wardour st, the Captains Cabin on Norris st, just off of Picadilly circus, are good boozers. But if you come out with us, i’m sure we’ll end up in one or more of these.
And there’s the intrepid Fox in Wardour St which is worth a trip just to see another side of the city.
One more day! I am unbearably excited.
OK, crossing Crosse Keys off the list, then. I should have known, what with it being so convenient and all.
OK so who is up for a night of drinking at good pubs? I leave tomorrow night, so if we had something even tentative in place before then, that might be good. Not entirely sure what my internet access will be like from the hotel, but I should be able to get on from the office without a problem. It looks like next weekend (the weekend of the 17th) is my best bet, as it appears likely that I’ll be leaving again the following Friday.
Any takers?
And thanks everyone for all the fantastic suggestions. I’ve taken them all down, so I will definitely have no shortage of things to do while I’m there 
Yeah, this is definitely what I’ve noticed. Wish I was earning GBP instead of USD while I was there. (Or at least that it was a 1-1 exchange 
)
You’ll have to count me out for this one. I have tickets to see Ross Noble at the Alexandria Theatre in Birmingham that evening.
Let us know how you get on. It’ll be interesting
(The Counting House on Cornhill is nice, and handy for your hotel as are Dirty Dicks and the Woodins Shades)
Heh. The Fox. I used to be in there every Friday night. Havent been for a few months though. RAWK! Gets well packed in there though.
I’ll post across on NADS in a couple of days, theres people there what like drinking, for certain.
Well, here I am, in London. Exhausted, jet-lagged, overwhelmed, and excited Saw a million and one things yesterday (all by foot) - the Tower Bridge, London Bridge (it didn’t fall down, either!) Westminster Abbey (hands down, best abbey I’ve ever seen!) 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, and everything in between. Now I’m at work, and trying not to fall asleep. More info later, just wanted to say…
London rocks!
May i apologise for the poor weather . So far this year we have had a rotten summer. Last Thursday was the coldest July day on record and a planned open-air opera concert in the centre of London was washed out . We shall keep our fingers crossed and hope that things improve. Things are usually not this bad.
Ha, color me relieved that no one is blaming ME for the weather. I’ve been waiting for the accusations Actually, Saturday was rather nice, and Sunday, if a bit cloudy, wasn’t too bad at all. It’s a little gloomy today, of course, but that’s what Mondays are for, right?
I’m feeling a little bit like a sore thumb with my American accent and complete incompetence with British currency. I look pretty silly, I’m sure, standing in front of the register with the coins in my hand while the cashier helps me count out the right amount of money. But I am doing better with that. Practice makes perfect!
Amusingly, I was chatted up by a Greek guy on the London Bridge, who insisted that I used to live near him in Tottenham (sp?). And a guy with the Cockniest of Cockney accents bummed a cigarette off of me in front of the shop where he works, and correctly guessed that I’m half-Thai - which is amazing in that nobody, but nobody, ever guesses my nationality correctly. Ever. I was floored. He could be a circus act - correctly guess your nationality, cost 1 ciggie.
I’m having a blast. Once this jetlag goes away, I’ll be doing much better. It doesn’t help to look at the time on my laptop, which is set to NYC time, and see that to my body clock it is 8 in the morning, and I’ve been awake for 5 hours already.
Oh, and navigating around London is a lot easier than I’d feared. The map I bought was amazingly clear, and as convoluted as some of the streets are (and this constant changing of street names throws me for a loop) I haven’t gotten lost yet. Knock on wood. If I don’t report back in a long time, you’ll know I’ve jinxed myself.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (about 5 mins from where i’m sitting now) is good during the week but crap at weekends - they shut down most of the pub.
I’ll be up for a few this weekend probably.
I walked right past there yesterday - on (or near) Strand/Fleet, right? Who could forget a name like that? It even rated a mention on my map. Of course, by 7 yesterday evening, I was looking at the map every five minutes, just aching to be home and off my feet. Then I pulled out roomservice.co.uk’s guide, thinking room service was a good way to recuperate (Delivery 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! it claims) only to find out that they close on Sunday nights because not that many restaurants are open.
BTW, are fish and chips always so full of bones? I swear I had more bones than fish in the meal I had yesterday (Bag O’ Nails on Lower Grosvernordale/Buckingham Palace Road)
The olde Chesire Cheese is very good - it is very touristy but is still popular with the people who work in the area. Food is OK to good. The beer is Sam Smiths, and VERY good (also being a northern brewery, very cheap).
Fish and chips is the most variable meal in the capital it ranges from sublime to inedible. Some fish are bonier than others - eg Plaice, skate and Rock eel( nicer than it sounds) are quite bony but cod and haddock should be reasonably free of bones.
Two places in the areas you likely to go are Rock and Soul Place, Endell St Covent garden and the Seashell in Paddington, both are very good.
It’s a generalisation, but avoid places that are principally kebab or chicken take aways for fish and chips.
If you are stuck for something to eat any night, jump in a cab and go to Brick Lane (not far from your hotel) a strip of Indian restaurants and have a curry. There really isn’t a more typically British meal than a decent ruby.
Oh and Geales in Notting Hill (combine with a trip to Portobello Rd Antiques market?) is also very good.
Don’t get me wrong - the Cheese is great when the whole thing is open - and the beer is superb. Just not at weekends.
Just up from the Cheshire Cheese is the Old Bank of England - i highly recommend a visit. They’re doing a nice Summer Ale at the moment.
Of course the pinnacle of Sam Smith’s pubs is about 10 minutes walk from your hotel - the Princess Louise (my work local).
Not sure what the plan is for saturday, but i’m tempted to say we meet there…
Oh… I don’t believe that anyone (including myself) has mentioned this, but if you want a REALLY good cheap meal, try “The Stockpot”. The one I’ve visited was on Panton Road, near Piccadilly Circus, but they do have additional locations. Ignore what people on this site say and google it - most every review says it’s really awesome! Bring cash though - no credit cards! - and be sure to get the apple crumble.
Do you mean the Princess Louise in Holborn? - if so I’d second this recommendation, good beer and a fabulous building - a real victorain gin-palace (look up at the ceiling). The gents is good as well - lovely old plumbing and fixtures.
p.s I used to work near there too - In Great Queen St by the Masonic Temple, and handy for the Elite model agency, which was nice. Most of the drinkers in the PL seem to work for digital.
There’s a nice old pub around the back of the tube station (I think it’s called the ship) which is nice at weekends but full of briefs during the week.
Anyone else up for Saturday at Princess Louise?
I just have to mention that I went food shopping here for the first time. There’s a Marks and Spencer right on the corner near me, so I popped in there, not knowing really what to expect. It was definitely an experience. I think I circled the refrigerated section five times before finally figuring out where things were. And the coolest foods.
OH and before I forget (again)
What is tipping etiquette here? I tipped the guy who brought me room service (that only seemed right) but I have no idea if I should tip at someplace like Bag O’Nails (where you order at the bar) or not. I’m clueless. I even leaned over to ask the fellow American sitting next to me but she had no idea either. I finally just left a tip - better to err on the side of caution, but I have no clue what’s “normal”. Any, er, tips?