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Unfamiliar_Word t1_jdokavv wrote

I would ordinarily scoff at the idea of eating a an 'American restaurant' when abroad, but this is enough of a curiosity and cheesesteaks are, bafflingly, so rarely well-made outside of their 'native range' that I would encourage you to sample its fare. It would be a Hell of a thing to be able to get in London what seems almost impossible to get in Pittsburgh or Albany^(*).

^(*These are just places where I have ordered inexplicably bad cheesesteaks or seen them ordered.)

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Angsty_Potatos t1_jdp5x3e wrote

Dudes that run passyunk ave are expats from here. So not as much of a gamble in this case

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Little_Noodles t1_jdp5bqn wrote

Eating cuisines where you don’t expect them can be kind of fun. When I was in London, I went to a Mexican restaurant (American didn’t seem like that big of a leap). The corn was baby corns. It was weird and not great!

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Joey_Brakishwater t1_jdq0954 wrote

I got a "cheesesteak" in Syracuse that was steak-ums & Kraft singles on a New England hot dog roll. I wanted to spaz when I got it

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ElstonGunn1992 t1_jdrx26r wrote

I still have nightmares about the cheesesteaks I was served in Pittsburgh when I lived there during law school. Hoagies were also terrible, like 90% bread. Then you’d have to deal with yinzers claiming they had a better food scene than us lol

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ticonderoga- t1_jdolhil wrote

I think even a bad cheesesteak would be preferable to British “food”

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whiskeyworshiper t1_jdpcyie wrote

Nah man British food is good. Sunday roasts, fish & chips, meat pies, a shitload of different cheeses… there’s a lot out of great British dishes. Not even including some of the British Indian cuisine like tikka masala.

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milehighphillygirl t1_jdony95 wrote

Passyunk Avenue is amazing! There’s four locations—the one in Fitzrovia is the best. I understand the Waterloo location is the worst, though I haven’t been to all four yet.

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TwoWilburs OP t1_jdoooaq wrote

The Fitzrovia one is the one near me! Though I do hesitate to potentially waste a foreign meal on it, with a bunch of kids it might be a good call one night

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kopik01 t1_jdpezbt wrote

if it makes you feel better about wasting a meal somewhere else, british food isn’t that interesting.

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TwoWilburs OP t1_jdplipe wrote

Not my first time in England and that’s a somewhat dated stereotype. And I personally loooooovve steak & kidney pies. And Indian food in England is otherworldly. Plenty of great food.

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milehighphillygirl t1_jdqy9kz wrote

After a night out, nothing hits like a cheese and onion slice. That’s just a fact.

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zpepsin t1_jds9jbo wrote

"England has some of the best restaurants in the world"
"What food do they serve?"
"French and Indian."

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bengm225 t1_je5mrqd wrote

I was just telling my friends that London didn't realize food could be color beyond shades of brown until roughly 2010.

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TrustThe_CPA_Process t1_jdplsdi wrote

You got downvoted but it’s true. I went to the Waterloo one and it was great. Didn’t get to try the food, but they had Herr’s which was pretty cool.

Don’t worry about missing out on British food. Try fish and chips then check out and try whatever.

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Hoyarugby t1_jdqsapj wrote

FWIW I had a great time watching the Eagles-Commies game at the Waterloo location last year, plus the space is pretty cool, in a tunnel

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TheHamburgler5 t1_jdon1rm wrote

I went to the Waterloo location during the Phillies playoff run last year.. Lots of fun and I got a city wide for a taste of home. Cheesesteak was okay maybe 6/10 compared to the better Philly spots.

On another note, if you get a free hour, I highly recommend the Dennis Sever's house. They recreate different time periods late 1600s-early 1900s inside an old home. No phones and no talking so they try to make it pretty immersive.

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whiskeyworshiper t1_jdpd0gv wrote

No talking??? Did ppl back in the day not talk?

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TheHamburgler5 t1_jdpohne wrote

Nah... I'm sure there was actually talking.. they take a daredevil approach there. Basically they're saying your other senses are heightened if you're not "allowed" to look at your phone or talk with others. They play big into smells and "ambient noise" of the past.. just an offbeat experience that I thought was fun to check out

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ChristmasJonesPhD t1_jdp2ae6 wrote

I went here on a trip to London shortly after the Super Bowl win and it was a lot of fun. Had a lovely chat with the owner about the Kensington heroin crisis! (His choice of conversation topic, not mine lol)

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Hanpee221b t1_jdplg02 wrote

My boyfriend and I went back in 2018, it was actually a really fun experience, I’d recommend. But please bring a $1 bill to write your names and say you are from Philly on it, they had a few on the wall but of course we had no US money on us. Have fun!

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TwoWilburs OP t1_jdpqaq9 wrote

Oh this is good to know. I roll deep with 4 Philly daughters. Should we do 4 singles or one family one? What’s the vibe of the wall?

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Hanpee221b t1_je8nog0 wrote

I’d do one family one, they just had them taped to the wall behind the bar and it was a bar probably the size of Oscar’s on Sansom. It was your typical dive bar type area, stickers, dollars, notes, whatever. I really liked it, cheesesteak was mid tier but seeing your home away from home was so worth it. Plus the people were great.

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napsdufroid t1_jdojsid wrote

At least there's no green peppers on their steaks

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gnartato t1_jdolxnn wrote

I went to a Philly cheese steak food truck near bishops gate in the city in 2017ish. Wonder if they are related or upgraded.

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sparky2212 t1_jdoyvtd wrote

I remember the chinese food being really good in London.

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thomasorgeron t1_jdp5jvr wrote

If you’ve never had Nandos I highly recommend getting some for a lunch. Great peri peri chicken. Closest location to Philadelphia is in D.C. area but London is full of them

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TwoWilburs OP t1_jdplryx wrote

Oh I’ve had it in DC and did t realize it was English. I love their spice level!

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BoardwalkKnitter t1_jdprpm3 wrote

I was surprised to find some Nando's sauces for sale at Lidl (in NJ) recently! I don't know if it was a rotating special buy like the Greek foods are, or if they were one time only.

They are really good sauces.

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Hoyarugby t1_jdqsev6 wrote

They have Nandos sauces in the Acme on girard too

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Robo-boogie t1_jdrrv0q wrote

its south african. but they have restaurants everywhere

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Angsty_Potatos t1_jdp63k6 wrote

If you eat meat, check out Blacklock in Soho. Went in 2017 and I still have the meat sweats

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BirdLawyer6 t1_jdp2fxa wrote

Are you staying near the Waterloo location? Lots of fun pubs in that area but the wellington is a great place to watch a game (match?). Cubana is a Spanish restaurant with a great happy hour. Go walk along southbank on the river and there’s a lot of cool pop ups.

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TwoWilburs OP t1_jdpn7m2 wrote

Nah near the Fitzrovia one

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BirdLawyer6 t1_jdqzxzp wrote

Ah well pretty close either way. Go walk around the market at southbank (right near the eye) it’s a pretty cool spot.

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kosnosferatu t1_jdp2ll6 wrote

Go to Beijing Dumpling in Leicester square, they have incredible soup dumplings!

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ElenorWoods t1_jdpud9a wrote

There’s also a polish restaurant hall called mama masuka. Definitely recommend. It’s near passyunk ave in London.

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tonberryjr t1_jdr2tqq wrote

It’s called Mamuśka (a cute way of saying Mom in Polish)

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HistoricalChicken t1_jdqa62a wrote

I went there with my family when we visited in 2018. Good food, good place in general. I recommend the fish and chips.

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azsqueeze t1_jdqoff3 wrote

I went to watch Iggs vs Packers a few years ago while I was visiting. The place is cool, good food.

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