Do the English really have bad food?

[Deleted]

Right, ive been to america for about 3 weeks now, just touring about and seeing the normal tourist trash that you're meant to see.
so far the food has been decent, you guys know how to make a decent burger and your bbq can be to die for.
However i've noticed that there's a complete lack of range, and that fine dining is pretty much non-existent, even the ones I did manage to find and book ahead of time were incredibly average - borderline terrible considering the ridiculous price tags.

Why do people say the food in england is terrible?
more importantly, where the hell are these people eating?
Having lived in london for the past 3 years, I have not once had a poor eating experience. The amount of high quality classy bistrots, cafes and restaurants completely overwhelms everything ive seen in the US. Where on earth are people going to eat when they visit the UK? is it the north rearing its ugly head again? Or is it that americans just go looking for american food again, limiting themselves to the burgers and bbq?
How the hell did England get this stereotype?

edit: and sweet jesus even the peasant 'pie & mash' that you can get in almost EVERY pub is at the same level, if not better than the majority of the burger joints in the US.

[Frozenbeef]

Yes, it's terrible..usually because it doesn't contain hideous amounts of fat/salt though

[Deleted]

Our meat is easily one of the most overcooked things you'll see or taste.

[Deleted]

Right, ive been to america for about 3 weeks now, just touring about and seeing the normal tourist trash that you're meant to see.
so far the food has been decent, you guys know how to make a decent burger and your bbq can be to die for.
However i've noticed that there's a complete lack of range, and that fine dining is pretty much non-existent, even the ones I did manage to find and book ahead of time were incredibly average - borderline terrible considering the ridiculous price tags.

Why do people say the food in england is terrible?
more importantly, where the hell are these people eating?
Having lived in london for the past 3 years, I have not once had a poor eating experience. The amount of high classy bistrots, cafes and restaurants completely overwhelms everything ive seen in the US. Where on earth are people going to eat when they visit the UK? is it the north rearing its ugly head again? Or is it that americans just go looking for american food again, limiting themselves to the burgers and bbq?
How the hell did England get this stereotype?

Because London is where all the yuppies go, so it stands to reason that the good chefs go there to ply their trade and make a tonne of case from selling teeny amounts of food to rich sods.

Being from the North (North Yorkshire, to be exact), the food is bog standard and hearty stuff, not the poncy grub you find down south.

[Paulosio]

You can get the same food in England as anywhere else in the world. I think when people say that they are referring to foods that are considered traditional english meals. Not sure what that would be exactly.. Fish and chips maybe... who knows. It's just a stereotype.

[Deleted]

England has some of the dullest cuisines in Europe. The Netherlands, Germany, England and Sweden are all terrible. It's as boring as it can get.
(Just my opinion)

[Deleted]

Depends what you mean by "bad food", that stereotype was from WW2 when US soldiers can to the UK when we still had rationing in place, at the time butter, sugar, meat, fat etc was all in short supply so people resorted to eating bland and monotonous food. It hardly applies nowadays, especially since the UK is a world leader in making some foods.

[Frozenbeef]

Being from the North (North Yorkshire, to be exact), the food is bog standard and hearty stuff, not the poncy grub you find down south.

Tell me about it..if i see another ash, pie, stew or steak I'm going to throw up >.>

[Deleted]

Because London is where all the yuppies go, so it stands to reason that the good chefs go there to ply their trade and make a tonne of case from selling teeny amounts of food to rich sods.

Being from the North (North Yorkshire, to be exact), the food is bog standard and hearty stuff, not the poncy grub you find down south.

so its your fault that the country has this stigma?
bloody northerners...

[Elegiac]

Yes, it's fucking garbage.

No offense.

[Socialhealer]

probably because not all our food comes with 40% fat and in super size?

[Deleted]

Because London is where all the yuppies go, so it stands to reason that the good chefs go there to ply their trade and make a tonne of case from selling teeny amounts of food to rich sods.

Being from the North (North Yorkshire, to be exact), the food is bog standard and hearty stuff, not the poncy grub you find down south.

Th...that hurt man.

[Frozenbeef]

so its your fault that the country has this stigma?
bloody northerners...

At least we are lower down on Scotlands kill list than the south <3

[Mooshelle]

What the hell is pie and mash?

[Deleted]

What the hell is pie and mash?

Pie and mashed potato.

[Deleted]

dishes which are English are horrendous... then again we have some of the best chefs in the world, some of the top restaurants, just the natural ingredients around here aren't anything very inspiring.

[Lord Pebbleton]

I'm from Italy.
When I travel abroad, any kind of food seems bad.

[Deleted]

probably because not all our food comes with 40% fat and in super size?

and this...

[Risale]

Like Rich has already stated the bad rep started during the time of rationing and this didn't end when the war ended but lasted for another few years.
And in the 50's tv meals didn't do the food rep any favours either, but if you look at the history on UK food and the recipe's that will make you drool.

[Deleted]

What the hell is pie and mash?

Its nice the first 5 times.
Then you'll probably want to rip out your esophagus and feed it to yourself - (I want to see this happen).

But the food in the US isnt THAT great.
Its all fatty and salty.

Is this what constitutes good food?
No one cares about gastronomy? Is this just too poncy and upper class for the majority to appreciate?