London

English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.

As a result, traditional foods with ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish, are now matched in popularity by potatoes, tomatoes and chillies from the Americas, spices and curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine and Italian cuisine, once considered alien, are also now admired and copied. Britain was also quick to adopt the innovation of fast food from the United States, and continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world.

The Sunday roast is perhaps the most common feature of British cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb or pork, or a roast chicken and assorted vegetables, themselves generally roasted or boiled and served with a thick gravy. Yorkshire pudding and gravy is often served as an accompaniment to the main course. Since its wide-spread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey. Game meats such as venison which were traditionally the domain of higher classes are occasionally also eaten by those wishing to experiment with a wider choice of foods, due to their promotion by Celebrity Chefs, such as Antony Worrall Thompson, although it is not generally eaten in the average household.

At home, the British have many original home-made desserts such as rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, trifle and spotted dick. The traditional accompaniment is custard, known as creme anglaise (English sauce or English Cream) to the French. The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation. There is also Christmas pudding.

Fish and chips Notably, Britain is famous for its fish and chips and has a huge number of restaurants and take-away shops catering to it. It is possibly the most popular and uniquely British dish, and is traditionally served with a side order of mushy peas, sliced bread and butter and a cup of tea. The advent of take-away foods during the industrial revolution, led to foods such as fish and chips, mushy peas, and steak and kidney pie with mashed potato (pie and mash). These were the staples of the UK take-away business, indeed British diets for many years, though ethnic influences, particularly Indian and Chinese, have led to the introduction of ethnic take-away foods. From the 1980s onwards, a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the West Midlands, and by the mid 1990s was commonplace in Indian restaurants and takeaways over the country. Kebab houses, pizza restaurants and American-style fried chicken restaurants aiming at late night snacking have also become popular in urban areas.

Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire puddingAt teatime, especially in Devon and neighbouring counties, meals eaten include scones with jam and butter or clotted cream, while nationwide, assorted biscuits and sandwiches are often eaten. Teatime is not practised by many British people in the 21st century, having been replaced by snacking, or simply ignored, although regional variations do exist and many areas such as Devon and Cornwall feature establishments catering to tourists with traditional cream teas.

The full English breakfast (also known as "cooked breakfast" or "fried breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Its contents vary, but it normally consists of a combination of bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, sausages, eggs (fried, scrambled or boiled) and other variations on these ingredients and others. Hash browns are sometimes added, though this is not considered traditional.

Bacon Sandwiches, often referred to as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties" are commonplace as well, sometimes eaten as an informal outdoor breakfast or in midmorning as a workplace snack.

There is also "Bangers & Mash." It is simply sausages with mashed potatoes and one can add gravy.

A unique sandwich filling is Marmite, a dark brown savoury spread made from yeast extract, with a tar-like texture and a strong, salty taste. There are also butterfly cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain.

Tea, usually served with milk, is consumed throughout the day and is sometimes drunk with meals. Coffee is perhaps a little less common than in continental Europe, but is still drunk by many, typically with milk. Italian coffee preparations such as espresso and cappuccino are popular, especially in more urban areas, while tea, though still an essential part of British life, is less ubiquitous than it was. In recent years herbal teas and specialty teas have become popular. In more formal contexts wine can be served with meals, though for semi-formal and informal meals bitter (beer) or cider may also be drunk.

Another formal British culinary tradition rarely observed today is the consumption of a savoury course, such as Welsh rarebit, toward the conclusion of a meal. Most main meals today end with a sweet dessert, although cheese and biscuits may be consumed as an alternative or as an addition. In Yorkshire, fruit cake is often served with Wensleydale cheese. For formal meals, coffee is a usual culminatory drink.

For a long list of traditional dishes, with names, eaten in Great Britain, see the related questions and answers further down this page, listed under Related Questions.

Telephone country codes never begin with zero.

Country code +1, dialed as 00 1 from many places, is North America (USA, Canada, etc.); 57 is the first two digits of a three-digit area code. You need the next digit to narrow down the location.

Country code +57, dialed as 001 57 from many places, is Colombia, in South America.

To avoid confusion, it is best to write an international telephone number in correct international format, beginning with the plus symbol and the correct telephone country code (e.g., +1 or +57), omitting any dialing prefix.

(The plus sign means "insert your international access prefix here." From a GSM mobile phone, you can enter the number in full international format, starting with the plus sign. The most common prefix is 00, but North America (USA, Canada, etc.) uses 011, Japan uses 010, Australia uses 0011, and many other countries use different prefixes.)

You dial the UK mobile number exactly the same way you do when it is at home in Britain. The mobile network automatically re-routes the call for you.

From a UK landline, you dial 07...

From a GSM mobile anywhere in the world, dial +44 7...

From a US landline, or from a US non-GSM mobile, dial 011 44 7...

From the rest of the world, dial your international access prefix, then 44 7...

(The plus sign means "insert your international access prefix here." From a GSM mobile phone, you can enter the number in full international format, starting with the plus sign. The most common prefix is 00, but North America (USA, Canada, etc.) uses 011, Japan uses 010, Australia uses 0011, and many other countries use different prefixes.)

The country code for dialling Wales from abroad is the standard +44 used throughout the United Kingdom.

Within Wales, different areas all have their own area codes. Examples include:

• (029) Cardiff
• (01633) Newport
• (01792) Swansea
• (01248) Bangor
• (01654) Machynlleth

All phone numbers in Wales total 11 digits in length.

Telephone country codes never begin with zero.

Country code +45, dialed as 00 45 from many places, is Denmark.

Country code +5, dialed as 004 5 from many places, is an incomplete code somewhere in the Americas. You need one or two more digits to specify the country. For example, +55 is Brazil.

To avoid confusion, it is best to write an international telephone number in correct international format, beginning with the plus symbol and the correct telephone country code (e.g., +45 or +55), omitting any dialing prefix.

(The plus signmeans "insert your international access prefix here." From a GSM mobile phone, you can enter the number in full international format, starting with the plus sign. The most common prefix is 00, but North America (USA, Canada, etc.) uses 011, Japan uses 010, Australia uses 0011, and many other countries use different prefixes.)