What Restaurants Do You Miss?

I can't say that I want US restaurants to be a thing in the UK , because why create a homogenous world? It's already becoming that way in so many respects (e.g. being able to get anything off amazon, international shipping places, chain restaurants expanding, etc) and it drives me mad. I moved to Scotland, I don't want it to be like the USA!

That doesn't mean I don't miss stuff though.  I would love some really good biscuits and gravy right now. And a Chicken Kitchen Chop Chop would go down a treat.  Cracker Barrel cinnamon apples have been on my mind.  Some Cuban food would be amazing to have. Dairy Queen dipped cone. Some Dippin Donuts coffee.  Greek style pizza -  hamburger or taco pizza please.  Some really good hot and sour soup.  A Philly Cheesesteak.  BBQ food in all ilks.  Things I miss, but doesn't mean I want it near me everyday.

This is really wise.  I also believe that the key to settling into a foreign culture is to embrace Nando’s and forget about the crappy copy of Taco Bell that doesn’t even have Baja Blast.   Soon, you’ll be right at home.

Wahaca has fabulous cocktails.  The mojitos are awesome too.  Their just too small.  A few sips and they are gone.

I've not tried the margaritas at Blues...  go on, twist my arm, I guess I'll try.   

I will agree that in a LOT of places the drinks are just too small for what you pay! The margaritas in blues are also quite small but I think it's less "London pricing" than Wahaca so that softens the blow! haha but they are reallyyy nice! I agree that disappear too quickly!

I can't say that I want US restaurants to be a thing in the UK , because why create a homogenous world? It's already becoming that way in so many respects (e.g. being able to get anything off amazon, international shipping places, chain restaurants expanding, etc) and it drives me mad. I moved to Scotland, I don't want it to be like the USA!

That doesn't mean I don't miss stuff though.  I would love some really good biscuits and gravy right now. And a Chicken Kitchen Chop Chop would go down a treat.  Cracker Barrel cinnamon apples have been on my mind.  Some Cuban food would be amazing to have. Dairy Queen dipped cone. Some Dippin Donuts coffee.  Greek style pizza -  hamburger or taco pizza please.  Some really good hot and sour soup.  A Philly Cheesesteak.  BBQ food in all ilks.  Things I miss, but doesn't mean I want it near me everyday.

I can't lie...I LOVE the fact I can pretty much get anything off Amazon...and within 24 hours in most cases haha  But I do think that I don't realllyyy like the idea of US places trying to pop up over here because I think they just end up altering the taste/menu anyways to meet the local taste buds and it would just end up being a let-down in 95% of the cases...

RE Cuban food, we have a cuban restaurant in Reading...not sure how it compares with traditional cuban food as never really had cuban food (and not tried the place in Reading) but it looks to be a chain so maybe there's one near you that might do the job even if it's not perfect? It's called "Revolucion De Cuba"

RE Cuban food, we have a cuban restaurant in Reading...not sure how it compares with traditional cuban food as never really had cuban food (and not tried the place in Reading) but it looks to be a chain so maybe there's one near you that might do the job even if it's not perfect? It's called "Revolucion De Cuba"

Mmm, couple hours away on a train. And well if I'm going that far just for food, I want something amazing.

This area just got a Nandos.  But I've not been in it. 

Hubby and I just went out for a dinner meal a few weeks ago.  Nando's wasn't even on our radar for food.  We don't think we have been out for a dinner meal in this area since our anniversary last Dec.    We do frequent a few garden centres/cafes at lunchtime if we're out and about. 

I will agree that in a LOT of places the drinks are just too small for what you pay! The margaritas in blues are also quite small but I think it's less "London pricing" than Wahaca so that softens the blow! haha but they are reallyyy nice! I agree that disappear too quickly!

Sometimes we take the train to Cambridge to go to las iguanas. Their cocktails are two for one and not that tiny! So you don't feel so guilty drinking them down.

Plus if you stay at the bar long enough the bartender breaks the rules and gives you free shots in your drinks

Be At One does happy hour as well I think. KF I think we just need to have a night out in Reading to taste-test all the different options for cocktail places. Then we can effectively rate them for others. We would be doing the expat community a service! 

I've had Nando's a couple times. I thought it was good and I'd go there again, but I'm also in no rush to go back. I do like their marinades though and occasionally use them for chicken.

I miss Panera Bread, Wendy's, Olive Garden, Chik fil a, Bob Evans/any kind of restaurant with an extensive breakfast menu, ice cream places with tons of options, Subway, Menchie's (frozen yogurt, like Pinkberry). I read there's a Pinkberry in London but we are very far from there! I've had Subway here a couple times and it just tasted really bland to me.

When we move back, I'll miss afternoon tea/cream tea, proper fish and chips, Thai food. I'm originally from a really small town area where ethnic foods aren't very easy to come by (fun fact: I didn't even know what curry was until I visited England for the first time at 21!). You can buy Thai ingredients in some grocery stores but the  nearest Thai restaurant is about 45 minutes away, near the city. Where we currently live, there's a wonderful Thai restaurant in the next town. I also really like Chaophraya! 

I'll take great mexican and huge margaritas, Texas Roadhouse, and Dairy Queen please!


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I'll take great mexican and huge margaritas, Texas Roadhouse, and Dairy Queen please!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Definitely agree with those - I just went to Texas Roadhouse for the first time a couple of weeks ago and the food was so good .

I do miss Wendy's, I admit.  I also miss Yard House--not that I have a lack of beer here, but I miss getting that big nacho plate to share for dinner with friends and trying lots of things.  Ours was across from the cinema that had assigned seating so we used to drink til the previews ended and then walk across the hall and watch a movie.

The number one place I miss is actually an independent restaurant.  It's an Italian place near my hometown. 

I can't say that I want US restaurants to be a thing in the UK , because why create a homogenous world? It's already becoming that way in so many respects (e.g. being able to get anything off amazon, international shipping places, chain restaurants expanding, etc) and it drives me mad. I moved to Scotland, I don't want it to be like the USA!

That doesn't mean I don't miss stuff though.  I would love some really good biscuits and gravy right now. And a Chicken Kitchen Chop Chop would go down a treat.  Cracker Barrel cinnamon apples have been on my mind.  Some Cuban food would be amazing to have. Dairy Queen dipped cone. Some Dippin Donuts coffee.  Greek style pizza -  hamburger or taco pizza please.  Some really good hot and sour soup.  A Philly Cheesesteak.  BBQ food in all ilks.  Things I miss, but doesn't mean I want it near me everyday.

Yes. I actually agree with this. My BIL and his family have never travelled abroad before and when he finally does (It's my mission) I don't want his first meal in the UK to be a bloody McDonalds! haha My wife already was shocked at how much American fast food we had in the UK.

I literally feel the exact opposite. Maybe it's because fast food here is slightly better here than in the US and visiting Americans don't like better quality fast food? hehe 

I do feel that in the UK, the fast food is a teeny bit better quality than in the US, yes! And Nando's is only in the DC area last time I checked. (I've been here seven years and only visited 3 states. Why the heck can't there be cheap domestic flights in the US?!?!

Yes. I actually agree with this. My BIL and his family have never travelled abroad before and when he finally does (It's my mission) I don't want his first meal in the UK to be a bloody McDonalds! haha My wife already was shocked at how much American fast food we had in the UK.

I am surprised at which brands of American things come over here.  I can count on one hand the number of times I went to TGIFriday's in the US, and only the first time (when I didn't know any better) was voluntary.  But it's here.  I prefer Popeye's and/or Church's to KFC. But KFC is the one the UK gets.  Little Caesar's?  Nope... we get Domino's and Pizza Hut.  And now Denny's (which I'm pretty sure is dying out in America), but not Waffle House (which is hugely popular in the US, still!)

I can't tell you how many times I've said, "Wait, that made it over here?  REALLY?!"

I do feel that in the UK, the fast food is a teeny bit better quality than in the US, yes! And Nando's is only in the DC area last time I checked. (I've been here seven years and only visited 3 states. Why the heck can't there be cheap domestic flights in the US?!?!

The thing with fast food for me is I've known going in that I'm getting junk.  In the US, it's like staying at a Travelodge.  Cheap and cheerful.  Not a high standard, but you know what you're going to get, and you don't have to pay a lot for it.  Over here, the fast food prices are much higher (where's my 99¢ McChicken sandwich?), the food is slightly different (not always a good thing, but not necessarily bad), and the quality is not superior enough to offset that higher cost.  If I paid American prices for the crap food (I'm saying it's crap in both countries, but that's why I want it... It's an indulgence), I'd be fine with the differences.  But seeing how much McDonald's is over here for just my husband and me...?  I can't even justify that.

Having said all that, I also agree that I don't want to see global homogenization.  I miss some things, but I've learned to either live without them or re-create them.  I'd love a trip to Taco Bell, but five-and-a-half years in, I'm coping without it.  (It helps to know that there are Taco Bell options somewhere in the UK, even if I have to travel a bit.) 

  Over here, the fast food prices are much higher (where's my 99¢ McChicken sandwich?), the food is slightly different (not always a good thing, but not necessarily bad), and the quality is not superior enough to offset that higher cost.  If I paid American prices for the crap food (I'm saying it's crap in both countries, but that's why I want it... It's an indulgence), I'd be fine with the differences.  But seeing how much McDonald's is over here for just my husband and me...?  I can't even justify that.

That's why I stick to a double cheeseburger only, no drink, no fries. Always to go!  Nice and cheap

That's why I stick to a double cheeseburger only, no drink, no fries. Always to go!  Nice and cheap

That sounds like how I got through undergrad.  Dollar-menu items from Taco Bell (usually), Wendy's or sometimes McDonald's (and, very rarely, Burger King), and I'd keep a case of Mountain Dew behind my seat.  Yeah, I was healthy. 

Maybe I should try just a McDonald's regular hamburger to see if that tastes the same.  I've only tried the chicken McNuggets and the Big Mac, so far.  The special sauce on the Big Mac was too distracting to notice if the bun and meat were right.  And my husband has decided I can't have Chicken McNuggets anymore because I started wheezing and coughing the one time I had them in front of him (my grandmother always did, too... she had the same asthma triggers).

My favorite restaurant - The Outback! I think there is one in the south of England. Oh a what I would do for a bloomin' onion! Chik-fil-A, Wendy's, Americanized Chinese food would do too :-P

But I would be happy with all of that if there was just a Publix here! Ok, so Publix isn't a "restaurant" but Publix subs are the absolute best - as is their chicken, deli meats, potato salad, and iced tea!