The Cool Uncle....in London
 

I'm trying to maintain status as the 'cool uncle'. This is not easy given I am not, in fact, cool. That being said, last year when I took my eldest niece to Paris for a graduation-from-high-school celebration I did gain a certain cache (due largely to a restaurant recommendation); my wordly niece had heard of the restaurant, approved of it and the rest is 'cool uncle' history.

This year it is the next-in-line-niece's turn. We're headed to London in late June. I am depending upon you all to help continue to live this lie: where can I take my niece for dinner that will impress?

We probably need a few parameters to limit the universe: (1) nothing too exotic; this niece is coming from a midwest farm and appreciates simpler cuisine; (2) being cool is only worth so much to me; I'll pay up to $250 or $300 for the two of us; (3) we plan to stay in Soho; and (4) the high school girl in all of us is understandably impressed with the coolest styles; so I need a place that will impress as soon as you walk in the door, not just when you take that first bite. If any one has other parameters I should consider, please feel free to share (i.e. cute-ness of waiters?).

Thanks for any thoughts you can share. I hope given the few guidelines, one of you can help.

I think that you'll get better answers from the London Forum.

Is she girly enough to enjoy afternoon tea? It's a must for me on most London trips.

After a lengthy love affair with the Dorchester for afternoon tea, my loyalty has now switched to Claridges.

There all sorts of London cool, however linking simple food and cool is quite tough really.

A few ideas:

Sketch - vibrant design, celeb crowd, mediocre food
The Ivy - simple comfort food, lots of celebrity type people (though how many US citizens would know them?) but would disappoint with design
Wolesley - good food, resembles a Middle Europe grand cafe, great atmosphere
Hakkasan - decent rendition of Chinese food, very cool feel

I doubt conventional afternoon tea would tick the boxes (it can feel a bit stuffy), but I think Sketch do a modern version.

Hakkasan has a very cool vibe and a Michelin star, no less. It is not quite a jaw dropper, though, and is on one of the dingiest streets in London!

Sketch is probably the coolest from a modern design point of view - the pod toilets are like nothing you will have seen before (or will see again!).

The finest dining room in London is The Ritz. It is also laughably expensive. However, Sunday lunch is a relative bargain and you may want to try that. Jacket and tie for men. The bar is also very impressive.

For something a bit way out, take a look at Wapping Food which is a restaurant built into an old power station, with most of the equipment still in situ.

Galvin At Windows, on the top floor of the Hilton on Park Lane, has astounding views and reportedly good food - I am going later this week so can give a fuller view next week if required.

If you're staying in Soho, The Soho Hotel is still a cool place to hang out although you can enjoy it just as much by going for a drink than a meal. (In fact, I can't think of another hotel in Soho - based on definition of Soho - so I assume you are staying here?! It is a super place and very trendy.)

squaremeal.co.uk is a good place for restaurant reviews - this is aimed at a City clientele so you can normally rely on what they say.

Tricky question. The Ivy sprang to my mind first, but as Swanhunter says, I wonder whether the celebs will register with her, and from a design point of view while it's very nice you certainly couldn't describe it as stunning. Meets what you're looking for in terms of food and price, though, and it's likely to be the one she's heard of (if she's heard of any of them). It's worth mentioning Sheekey at this point - sister restaurant to The Ivy specialising in fish, pretty much the same pros and cons apply as to The Ivy.

The Wolseley is more visually impressive - it's a converted car showroom, so high ceilings and quite ornate. I find it a little barnlike and not as cosy as some of the other suggestions, but that's my personal taste. Food and price both what you're looking for, but the celeb factor likely to be lower.

Hakassan is cool and trendy - as Swanhunter says, not jawdropping, but it's a bit like eating in a nightclub (visually, not aurally) which may well appeal to your niece. Personally I think it's a little dated now - its sister restaurant, Yauatcha which specialises in dim sum and is also Michelin starred has the same basement, controlled environment vibe but feels a little more up-to-date to me.

I've not been to Sketch so I defer to those who have. My understanding is that it's certainly very cool in terms of design, but I also have a feeling it's very expensive and might surpass your budget... Similarly, you might consider Nobu - again, I've not been there, and your niece would need to like sushi, but was certainly very popular with the celebs a little while ago.

Assuming you're in town for more than one meal you may also try Joe Allen. I don't think it's hitting what you want from your main event, but it's a fun post-theatre place with American style food that can attract a smattering of recognisable faces after the show.

Also, I can second Raffles' suggestions of Soho Hotel and the squaremeal website. If views are important, you might consider The Oxo Tower as well as Galvin. I can think of other hotels in Soho: Hazlitts on Frith Street, the Best Western on Shaftesbury Avenue and the Courthouse on Great Marlborough Street...

I'll give you Hazlitts .... ;)

The others fall outside my definition of Soho!

Soho has a number of definitions. The smallest is the area bounded by Oxford Street to the North, Charing Cross Road to the East, Shaftesbury Avenue to the South and Regent Street to the West. All the hotels mentioned all fall within this bounday, so I'm not sure what definition you're using... ;). Some people include Chinatown in the definition, in which case the Southern boundary drops to Coventry Street and the Northern edge of Leicester Square. A purist might define Soho as the area whose boundaries are defined by pubs call the Blue Posts, the name Soho deriving from a hunting call and the Blue Posts being used to delimit the hunting area (or something like that, at any rate).

ETA: here's a source, of sorts:
There are four pubs in Soho, London called The Blue Posts: blue posts used to mark the extreme edges of the hunting area, for which Soho was used before it became built-up.

Hmm, how about Bibendum? Pretty non-threatening menu, but a great building and a great location and some cool Conran stuff as well. Food is good as well, just not too inventive. If memory serves me right, wasn;t it just redone as well? Also, the area seems just right for a midwestern farm girl.

Might also think about Yauatcha in Soho for dimsum, as Wingnut recommends. As well, I'd second the Oxo tower for the views (and maybe for an oh so hip drink), but I've been disappointed with the food there.

Good idea, some of the best Chinese cooking in London
Another good one (though for ambience more than food), and as there is also an NYC branch it could enhance the cool factor back across the pond.
Galvin is rather good, though Windows on the World always reminds of old men and their young 'nieces'. :eek: Like jabrams72 I've always struggled to have a good meal at the Oxo tower. When I think I can do better at home, I realise the kitchen is nothing special, though the view is nice.

Okay as my last reply was killed by the PC resetting itself f%&@!$g Windows.

If in the west end I would reccomend starting the evening off with a drink at the Absolut Ice Bar for coolness, the whole bar is made of ice so if you can get cooler than that I'd like to know how.

Matsuri is good for Japanese food (St James) looks cool and the Teppan-Yaki cooking is excellent, ask for Tepan Ice (fireball icecream) for desert ^. The next door neighbour Quaglinos is good, I'm told and cool but I've not managed to go there yet.

Babylon and The Tenth are a distance away from your chosen hotel area being on Kensington High Street but worth considering, both have excellent views. In the case of the Tenth it is over Kensington Park, Kensington Palace & beyond, I have been recently and the food was very good. Babylon offers vistas over London looking south, as well as the Roof Gardens below it, which you can walk around before dinner.

Normally I reccomend Le Gaveroche, because the food is excellent, but it is not cool and is probably beyond your price range.

Wasn't so taken with Windows the views are stunning but the food so so, they have revamped it into Galvin but someone in the office went recently and wasn't impressed either.

Just thought I'd mention: I assume your niece is 18? Even if she's under 18 I don't think that would be an issue with most of the above recommendations. but you might want to check if that's the case: totally un-cool to take a girl somewhere and find they won't serve her.

As long as she is with an adult and the adult buys, she can drink wine, beer or cider with a meal in a restaurant from the age of 16.

My point it that there are few london restaurants, normally ones that have night clubs on the premises, that have a minimum age requirement, even for the restaurant area. I do not believe that any of the ones mentioned above would fall into that category. I think the one that is most notorious is the Roadhouse in Covent Garden. By the nature of its name and location it has a tendency to sound attractive to a younger crowd, but in fact in operates an over 21 policy even in the restaurant. The only one in the list above that might be problematic is The Absolut Ice Bar which allows minors before 7pm, but after that it's 18 +.

Sorry my original post did ask whether both parties were 18+ but thanks to the crash & rewrite I failled to include that.