I mean no offense, but as a person who enjoys tasting and enjoying the native cuisine wherever I travel, I have to admit that British food is, by and large, awful — overcooked, underspiced, and generally lacking in taste and texture. Exceptions exist, of course, but even in Chinatown it is damned near impossible to get properly spiced food. There seems to be some kind of weird national aversion to cumin, chilies and garlic in England. The Indian food in London is a bit better, though still far too bland.
On the other hand, I cast another vote for Scots breakfast. In France, Germany, and Holland "breakfast" generally consists of a rock-hard bun and a piece of cheese, with a fruit slice if you're going posh, or maybe a tiny bowl of Swiss sawdust with runny yogurt. The Central Hotel, Glasgow on the other hand serves a breakfast that includes rashers of bacon, bangers (sausages), broiled tomatoes, huge orange-yolked eggs, Scotch Egg, toast, baguette, real butter, fresh jam, kippers (smoked fish filets), plus the only decent cup of coffee I've ever had in the entire UK. The only thing missing was grits. Now that's a breakfast.
In my experience, the best food to be had in the UK is home cooking — British home cookery has made great strides in the past decade, what with Nigella and all. More British are willing to experiment with foreign tastes at home, and the freshness and quality of ingredients has vastly improved. Regional cooking is making a comeback, too, although the British obsession with organ meats is regrettably as strong as ever. Pub grub (chips, butties, pies, etc.) is also fairly decent, as long as one avoids the thaw-and-serve fare many pubs dish out. In general, I'd say that in gastronomic terms the UK is about where America was circa 1973 or so — too much reliance on convenience foods (tinned sauces, beans, etc.), massive overcooking (boiled cellular mush), and the aformentioned fear of spicing. We got better, though, and food in the UK is getting better, too. I expect the trend towards fresh ingredients, proper cooking, and increased seasoning to continue.
They have us beat to hell in the brewing department. America has some fine craft beers, but compared to real ale, crap like Bud barely deserves to be called beer.
And that Nigella is as hot as a Christmas pudding.
I remember Sherlock Holmes mentioning how only a Scotswoman made the best breadfast. Of course Conan-Doyle was from Edinburgh.
I'm more of a wine than a beer person, but I'm 100 percent behind the Campaign for Real Ale. (Britain has its awful mass-produced beer too.)