Decent chain restaurants?
June 20, 2010 1:24 PM Subscribe
[UK only] What equivalents are there to Pizza Express and Wagamama for different food types? i.e. ubiquitous, reasonably priced, appeals to all ages, and specialises in one sort of food.
Response by poster: You mean like Hummus Brothers, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Yo Sushi's?
Yep, precisely. Any that you can think of along these lines.
posted by djgh at 1:35 PM on June 20, 2010
Yep, precisely. Any that you can think of along these lines.
posted by djgh at 1:35 PM on June 20, 2010
Strada for Italian food.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 1:45 PM on June 20, 2010
posted by chorltonmeateater at 1:45 PM on June 20, 2010
Cafe Rouge and Loch Fyne also spring to mind.
posted by chorltonmeateater at 1:48 PM on June 20, 2010
posted by chorltonmeateater at 1:48 PM on June 20, 2010
Ping Pong, Ask, Zizzi, Chilango, Carluccio's, Livebait, Sofra, The Real Greek, Masala Zone.
Giraffe doesn't quite fit the bill in the sense that it doesn't have one type of food but otherwise qualifies.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:22 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
Giraffe doesn't quite fit the bill in the sense that it doesn't have one type of food but otherwise qualifies.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:22 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]
La Tasca for tapas. Everything else I can think of has been mentioned.
Yum, Nando's...
posted by dumdidumdum at 2:46 PM on June 20, 2010
Yum, Nando's...
posted by dumdidumdum at 2:46 PM on June 20, 2010
Bodeans and Spaghetti House are a couple more that spring to mind.
posted by Hates_ at 3:49 PM on June 20, 2010
posted by Hates_ at 3:49 PM on June 20, 2010
Nthing Nandos. Nandos, nandos, nandos...
Now I really want chicken.
posted by Artw at 4:31 PM on June 20, 2010
Now I really want chicken.
posted by Artw at 4:31 PM on June 20, 2010
Bella Italia is another common Italian chain. Also Zizzi and Prezzo, but they're both a little less ubiquitous in my experience.
Harvester and Beefeater? Both are pub/carvery restaurant chains.
posted by badmoonrising at 5:25 PM on June 20, 2010
Harvester and Beefeater? Both are pub/carvery restaurant chains.
posted by badmoonrising at 5:25 PM on June 20, 2010
Could you clarify if you're looking for restaurants that are ubiquitous to the UK, or ubiquitous within London? There's a big difference. For example, of the restaurants mentioned so far Hummus Brothers, Chez Gerard, Itsu, Belgo, Maroush, Masala Zone, Ping Pong, Sofra, The Real Greek, Bodeans and Spaghetti House only have locations within the London area.
There's also Las Iguanas for Latin American food, Old Orleans for cajun, Frankie and Benny's for Italian and Chiquito for Mexican.
posted by xchmp at 5:52 PM on June 20, 2010
There's also Las Iguanas for Latin American food, Old Orleans for cajun, Frankie and Benny's for Italian and Chiquito for Mexican.
posted by xchmp at 5:52 PM on June 20, 2010
Wahaca for Mexican food, similar service model and prices to Wagamamas, London only (for now).
posted by Happy Dave at 10:34 PM on June 20, 2010
posted by Happy Dave at 10:34 PM on June 20, 2010
I think all the obvious chains have been mentioned, except for another London only one (but set to become ubiquitous), which is Busaba for Thai food. It's got Alan Yau (who launched Wagamama) as a director, so it's very much in the same style of consistent (if unadventurous) quality at a decent price.
posted by iivix at 2:44 AM on June 21, 2010
posted by iivix at 2:44 AM on June 21, 2010
There's a bit of an open competition for this for Burritos. Chilango qualifies. The US Chain Chipotle has entered the market too with a store on Charing Cross, London.
posted by vacapinta at 2:53 AM on June 21, 2010
posted by vacapinta at 2:53 AM on June 21, 2010
Response by poster: Could you clarify if you're looking for restaurants that are ubiquitous to the UK, or ubiquitous within London?
Both are fine.
Great answers so far!
posted by djgh at 12:41 PM on June 21, 2010
Both are fine.
Great answers so far!
posted by djgh at 12:41 PM on June 21, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by vacapinta at 1:27 PM on June 20, 2010