Member-only story
Navigating British Food — And Pub Etiquette
British food is a joke throughout the world, and thus those who visit the islands might worry about finding anything good to eat. “Nobody goes to Britain for the food.”
You might be (pleasantly) surprised. It’s a matter of knowing how to navigate the landscape. Here are some tips.
Go Indian
If you have any tolerance for spicy food at all, then Indian food in London is reputed to be better than that in New Delhi. Whether or not this is true (and given British Indian is a very specific thing the comparison may not be valid), the fact is that London…and many other British cities…boasts a plethora of excellent curry houses.
British Indian restaurants come in two ‘levels’ in much the way Italian does in the United States. There are fine dining, sit down Indian restaurants that generally charge more, sell more authentic food and may or may not sell alcohol (depending on the religion of the people running them). These kinds of restaurants can be found in smaller towns as well as big cities, and while they aren’t “special occasion,” they’re definitely above fast casual.
The other level is the curry house. Remember that Italian comparison? They’re like your subs-pizza-pasta place. Curry houses generally sell every kind of curry there is, at all kinds of heat levels, in a…