While I was in London I went to one of my all-time favorite restaurants and found a new favorite. They are different cuisines, and different looks, but they are equally wonderful and should be on everyone’s “places to go in London” list. 

The Tamarind, 20 Queen Street, W 1. Just a block off Piccadilly where Green Park ends, it is the best Indian restaurant in the world as far as I am concerned. It is designed to look like a classic French restaurant – including an excellent wine list and it carries Glenmorangie which makes my evening perfect. The food is exquisite, and the service is absolutely perfect. One can get all the classics – saag paneer (spinach and cheese), murgh makhni (butter chicken), naan, vindaloo (spicy lamb), but the chef also makes many wonderful combinations of new dishes with scallops, dips, and beef. You can choose between your favorites or be adventuresome and try a new combination such as a spicy dip with gooseberries in it. They are excellent at recommending wines to go with your combination of food. The average dinner is about 60 pounds which, depending on the exchange rate, still works out to be about the same as a good restaurant in DC. – depending on your wine choice.

Then there is the opposite in décor and type of food but equally delicious preparation, The Santorini at 10 Moscow Road W2 (Bayswater). Owned by a charming man, Petro, who is there all the time, this small restaurant is light and airy like the island of Santorini, and the food is divine. We let Petro give us a variety of dishes, and all were perfect. Grilled octopus, fried pork, lamb shoulder, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes with feta, eggplant, and fried cheese with honey are but a few of the wonderful items. Inexpensive for London – especially for the quality of food and the excellent service. Sunday lunch is especially fun there, and you have a great view from the window seats of all those going by – including a small black dog that we decided was the Mayor of the street since he patrolled it with no known human attached to him.

London has many great places to eat, but these are a couple to try on your next venture to the city. If you go when Washington is freezing cold, even the weather will seem balmy – it was 47 degrees and I thought that it was almost summer. Even an occasional drizzle couldn’t dampen my mood. Of course, stopping by The American Bar at The Stafford Hotel, 16-18 St. James Place, SW1, to have a scotch and sit on the comfortable bar stools was a perfect way to catch up with a close friend.

So go to London and enjoy!