We Make Fondu

[This is a guest post by Meghan Fay, a Fondu Ambassador in London]

We all want good food, but it’s also really important to get the right atmosphere for the occasion. No one wants to end up shouting the same thing over & over because you took your half-deaf gran to the loudest place on the high street. Or worse yet, do you want to go on a first date and end up at a table so small you awkwardly knock a glass of red wine all over your hottie-date’s white blouse?

No, I didn’t think so.

Here is a list of places in London that serve up some tasty eats while offering a pleasing atmosphere for your purpose.

FAMILY FRIENDLY:

Belgo Centraal. Take a stroll around Covent Garden and then have lunch here. The trip to the dining room alone is enough to get everyone excited. Walk in, go across the steel bridge and get greeted by waiters dressed as monks. Then, take the lift downstairs for a hearty Belgian meal. The Moules frites and rotisserie chickens are oh so good!
(£4.50 kids menu, 5 pm – 6:30, Mon-Fri, pm “Beat the Clock” menu, e.g., order at 6 pm and get it for £6, £15-25/person regular menu; Covent Garden, 50 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LJ; 020 7813 2233)

And, if the kids are good, treat them (and yourself!) to a right-out-of-the-oven Ben’s Cookie afterward. Pure heaven!
(Opening Hours: 10 am -8 pm, Mon-Sat; Covent Garden, 13a The Piazza WC2E 8HD; 0207 240 6123).

The Riding House Café. Head here for an eclectic brunch with the fam. The kids will love the pancakes, dad will love the steak tartare, and mum will love the décor. This place will tickle everyone’s fancy.
(£15-25/person; Fitrovia, 43-51 Great Titchfield Street W1W 7PQ; 020 7927 0840).

DATE NIGHT:

Yauatcha. Impress your date with Michelin-starred food, without the usual stuffy white tablecloth atmosphere. Sit in the uber-trendy, dimly lit ground floor that features stars on the ceiling and a fish tank bar. Ordering lots of dishes to share seems to work the best. Don’t miss the venison puffs. Service can be a little slow, so I hope your chat is good!
(£20-40/person; Soho, 15 Broadwick Street, London W1F 0DL; 020 7494 8888).

Cecconi’s. Elbow your way into the bar here and hoist yourself up onto the plush green leather chairs to start your date night with a glass of champers. Look around the restaurant from your central perch and the elegant hustle and bustle of Cecconi’s is sure to take your breath away. Well-clad couples linger over perfectly prepared pasta while dozily staring out the windows onto the dreamy streets of Mayfair. The nights in Cecconi’s start off quiet but grow livelier as the bar becomes more crowded, the bottles of wine empty, and the customers get younger. Come around 7:30 pm on a weekend to get the best of both worlds.
(£30-40/person; Mayfair, 5A Burlington Gardens W1S 3EP; 020 7434 1500).

GIRLS NIGHT OUT:

Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro. There is something strangely exciting about dingy places where people get dressed up. If you’re from NYC, it’s La Esquina. In London, it’s Ciro’s Pizza Pomodoro. So girls, make a reservation for a weekend night (after 8 pm is when it gets fun), put on the heels that make your legs look like Giselle’s, and grab your best handbag. After walking down the stairs into the dark cellar of a restaurant you’ll be shoved into tiny tables, be forced to shout above loud music, and, no doubt, your elbows will bang your neighbors’. Yet, among the walls plastered with pictures of Hollywood’s greats, as you eat your divine and unique concoction of a pizza next to your best girlfriends, you won’t be able to help feeling glamorous.
(£10-20/person; Knightsbridge, 51 Beauchamp Place, SW3 1NY; 020 758 9127).

Dehesa. This cozy little charcuterie and tapas bar is in a lovely square in Soho. Dress up or dress down and you’ll fit in. It’s the perfect place for an intimate meal surrounded by your girls. The menu, comprised of small plates, is inspired by Spanish and Italian cuisines and changes each season. The hams, charcuterie, and cheeses are particularly tasty.
(£20-40/person; Soho, 25 Ganton Street W1F 9BP; 020 7494 4170).

PARTY TIME:

Lemonia. This place is seriously good for a casual group gathering. It’s a family run Greek restaurant full of laughing people passing around plates of mouthwatering hummus, pita, kebabs, etc. The wine, food, and people seem to flow continuously through the restaurant’s indoor garden and traditional dining room. They have two set menus for large groups.
(Group set menus £23-25/person; Primrose Hill, 89 Regents Park Road; 020 7586 7454).

Great Eastern Dining Room. For the group that wants a bit of a fancier affair, the Great Eastern Dining Room is a perfect place in the fashionable area of Hoxton. For pre and post-dinner drinks, there are two options where seats can be reserved: the normal bar upstairs and the cocktail bar downstairs. The restaurant serves top-notch pan-Asian food. The only downside is that, even for a large party, they are very strict on their two-hour time limit policy.
(Three different set menu options for groups: £20.50, £24.50, £40; Hoxton, 54-56 Great Eastern Street EC2A 3QR; 020 7613 4545).