Londonlicious gives people a taste of the Forest City

London Community News

By Sean Meyer/London Community News/Twitter: Newswriter22 For all those people who have that favourite place to eat, that special meal they always order, Andy Wilson is looking to give them all the opportunity to try something new. Wilson is owner of the new Londonlicious — running now until July 29 — which will see 38 high-end restaurants offering up their own unique, fixed-menu options for price points of $20, $25 and $30, “We want people to get out there, help the restaurants, help the London economy. It makes you feel great to go out for a nice meal at Black Trumpet and it costs you $30 per head,” said Wilson, who took over Londonlicious on June 1. “I find people nowadays are becoming more foodies. It is about them going out, having a great time, trying different foods in different locations. It makes them feel good. And I’m having a blast.” Wilson, who said he has been involved in restaurants all his life, knew it was time to push Londonlicious forward. “I just thought it could be bigger, encompass more of the city. There isn’t much money in it, but it’s fun. I love people talking about it,” Wilson said. “Everyone knows obviously the economy sucks right now, so it is nice now that people can go out and enjoy some of these amazing restaurants.” Wilson has been able to grow Londonlicious from last year’s 24 restaurants to 38 with the intention of growing the winter edition of the festival to around 50 establishments. As he looked around for opportunities to grow Londonlicious, Wilson said the festival’s strong name recognition made a big difference. “I don’t mean this to come across cocky, but Londonlicious is kind of well known in London. People love it. I wanted to get Londonlicious out there into other neighbourhoods as opposed to just the downtown,” Wilson said. “Don’t get me wrong, the core has just outstanding food. But it is nice to spread it around. You can really get great food all across this city.” The unofficial catchphrase for Londonlicious, Wilson said, is “get a babysitter, call a cab, for tonight we live it up.” The idea being, he said, is for people to get out and enjoy themselves. And while doing so, support London’s many high quality restaurants. Wilson said he is looking forward to hearing all about those good times, both in person and across the social media sites Facebook and Twitter. This is the first year, Wilson said, Londonlicious has focused on the use of Facebook, where he posts new contests and encourages people to leave comments about their experiences. On Twitter as well, Wilson said there has been an “explosion” of comments, all of which have spoken glowingly about the Londonlicious experience. And while social media is important, Wilson said he was happy to get some first-hand knowledge about people’s experiences for himself. “I live in Byron, I took my dog for a walk and went by La Bella Vita to see how they are doing,” Wilson said. “I talked to a couple people as I was walking by, talked to a couple of servers. They were commenting on the food, loving the event. Londonlicious allows people to go try out those places they always heard about. You see a great deal and just go. Everyone is having a great time.” For a complete lineup of restaurants taking part in Londonlicious, and for online editions of their menus, visit www.londonlicious.ca. Find us on Facebook: London Community News