Most of us have been there. Whether we be just out of high school kids, college kids, entering the work force kids… We have no money. Or, virtually no money. Our part-time jobs we had as teens did not make us rich, especially when we were constantly buying gasoline and Taco Bell. But we still want to do things. Go places. Have fun. Just on a minuscule budget. And often, like in our case, we become cheapskates. ‘Paying $10 for a burger is preposterous!’ we think.
Then, we grow up and realize, $10 really isn’t that bad. In fact, we’ve paid $40 for 3 scallops and a dollop of grits and thought it was worth it. But at 22, $10 seemed like a lot. This mindset had a negative impact on our London trip. Almost every video we filmed back then featured one or both of us complaining about the price of something.
Now, 8 years and many expensive trips later, we realize that London, like all cities we’ve been to so far, is more expensive than small town GA. Shocking, we know. How could it be so?
All of this to say that the reviews of the restaurants below may be a bit skewed by our 22 year-old mindset of cheaper is better. Since it has been so many years, we’re relying heavily on our old McTravels videos to do the talking. So take it all with a grain of salt. Also, it is good to remember that this was 8 years ago so many of these restaurants may have changed in some ways by now (or, for all we know, are no longer in business).
Il Fornello
Mallory- I got a decent sized pizza for only $7 pounds, which was a plus to my younger self.
Courtney- I got the pasta carbonara and you could see the eggs in it, which is no good. It also had ham instead of bacon. The sauce was peppery which made it seem more like gravy than sauce.
The bread also cost extra, which we thought was a bummer, but overall, it was a decent place.
Hard Rock London
This location is actually the first ever Hard Rock. We’ve made it a mission to visit as many Hard Rocks as we can, so of course we had to go to this one. The food is virtually the same as all Hard Rock Cafes we’ve ever been to. What made it different was the company. We went with two guys from our group, one of which led us into the restaurant through the back entrance. This might not have been such a big deal except they were having a private party in the back and we had to walk through it to get to the main part of the restaurant. We joked that he’d led us in VIP style.
Cagney’s
Courtney- I got the Dirty Rat hamburger and it was just okay. I have to imagine that the only reason I got this burger is because of the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
Mallory- I got the French onion soup and it was more like vegetable soup with noodles and cheese than the French onion I was used to.
This is a James Cagney themed restaurant with a variety of foods. We thought the guy ripped us off at the time apparently, but we couldn’t be sure. Overall, if you are a really big James Cagney fan, then this place is probably worth a visit. If you aren’t, it’s probably a pass.
Night and Day
Mallory- I got fish and chips because I couldn’t go to London and not eat fish and chips at least once. I also got a Smirnoff Ice because it was St. Patrick’s Day and, at the time, I really didn’t drink anything else.
Courtney- I got a loaded baked potato and a Guinness to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
This place was open late and was close to our hotel, which made it great for us. Many places closed early and that doesn’t work for us most of the time as we are major night owls. It appears that it is now open 24 hours, so it’s a good spot if you’re in the area.
KFC– The main reason we wanted to mention eating at KFC is that they had milkshakes, and we thought that was hella cool. Our KFCs didn’t (and still don’t as far as we know) have milkshakes.
Nando’s
Courtney- This place has really taken off since we were in London. I’ve read articles about it on BuzzFeed and seen Nando’s Piri Piri sauce at our local Kroger, so obviously, business is booming. The chicken was delicious and the sides were good too. Plus, now it seems like a phenomenon, so join the craze.
The Oxford Retreat
We ate here with our group while in Oxford. We got a large vegetable pasta to share but the food was kind of pricey, we thought. However, the waitress told us about Christ Church, which is where a lot of the first few Harry Potter films were filmed and how we ended up there, so she’s the real MVP.
Metropolitan Bar
We found this restaurant right outside the Baker St. Tube station on our way to Madame Tussaud’s. Courtney had the cottage pie and Mallory had pasta with red sauce. The food was filling and cheap. Courtney- This was my first legitimate experience with Shepherd’s/Cottage pie and I have been hooked ever since.
Fiori Corner
We found this pizza place on our way to the movie theater one night. The pizza was very tasty, but a bit small. We shared a pizza and got some chocolate cake, apple pie, and ice cream. It was open very late, as were many places in Leicester Square we later found out.
Our McTravels 