......
Harsh.
Usual cliche's then, from the uneducated.
Some of us who live outside of London have some great food thanks. You just need to know where to look for it.
I find it a bit harsh to call people who do not like British food "uneducated"...
Are there good restaurants in the UK? Sure.
What's the average like? -3 on a scale from 0 to 10.
Do tourists find the good retaurants? normally not.
It's the same in large parts of Germany... but somehow do Brits love to bash German food while they typically have not even been there and shout "prejudice" the very moment somebody brings out the stereotypes about the deep fried snickers...
I would say a hit rate of 8/10 are good in South Wales in the area I used to live. London does the rest of the UK no favours. Nothing about not liking the food, it's that the poster indicated it was "unlikely" to find good food, which is of course crap..
I responded to a stereotype with a stereotype
90% of the UK it's very easy to find very good food if you apply the following rules.
Stay away from fast food joints, chain pubs and London. Apply said rules and you may find places like this.
Try some of the lamb/meat in South Wales, like black beef etc. Just awesome.
I love German food btw.
Deep fried snickers are specifically a Scottish invention as far as I know.
Ya, und...?
I hope you don't include greasy spoon cafs in that...
As an aside, it is hard for tourists to spot the chains...
The problem is that self-assessments do not really work. It's like a Frenchman saying "I don't think we are arrogant"...
Maybe that helps? If people's expectations are low it makes it easier to surprise them in a positive way.
Also concerning the London thing, I agree that as an uninformed tourist in London you're probably going to get ripped off and get some mediocre food with inferior service at a ridiculous price in a city that is over-hyped, crowded, dirty and not at all welcoming. It is also a fact that the vast majority of Swiss and Germans who I have met have been to London at some point in their lives but very few have never ventured beyond and are so taking home a somewhat skewed picture.
People like Mr Grapefruit are doing a wonderful job in presenting a different aspect of Britain.
I've done a couple of business trips outside of London to Guilford. It didn't improve my image of the UK. The cantine was so crap that only thinking of it just improved my lunch today... I constantly complain about the food we have here, but even in the cantines I ate at in Russia was lunch better than in Surrey.
And the student exchange back in highschool to High Wycombe didn't really fix it either... so where should I go to find the "cool UK"?
Guildford is outside London?
Everything south of Oxford is "London" as far as I'm concerned.
I was wondering, but the taxi driver insisted on it (And based on the fare I had to pay I guess it is true...).
Guildford is definitely outside London. Of course, coming from a Midlands backwater, anywhere with more than three streets must seem like a big city.
Geographically of course not part of London, but as far as getting ripped off at mediocre/appalling restaurants (nearly all chains) - yes.
Lived there for almost 10 years and would never have gone into Guildford town centre for a good meal.
Careful you include Cornwall in this which is definitely uber cool.
But do they proudly display the Union Jack there?
If the taxi fare was a rip off, then that would prove that you were still in London.
No that would prove you were making a London taxi driver drive a ridiculously long way "Sowff of the river"
Funny enough no! They fly this one...Then again I never burn/wear/fly a union jack only the cross of St George.
Some Blurb
Saint Piran is the patron saint of tin miners. The flag of St Piran (or St Perran) features a white cross on a black background. This symbolises the tin metal set in a black background of charcoal ashes and represents contemporary Cornish pride in a sense of identity .
Saint Piran is supposed to have rediscovered tin-smelting when his black hearthstone, which was evidently a slab of tin bearing ore, from his fire caused some white tin to melt into the shape of a cross. It is this white cross on a black background that is now the recognised symbol of Cornwall.
St Piran's feast day is the 5th March and is celebrated worldwide wherever there are Cornish people.
You're far more likely to see this one
Are You Hannah Haywards brother? Well done the R.L. boys.
What's this big downer on London? You can find some excellent food there. In truth one of the few places in the UK where you can relatively easily find cheese to match GG's selection for example.
You just won't find it where the tourists usually go. But isn't that true everywhere?