London Best Restaurants

Che

This swanky restaurant, bar and cigar club is quite simply mucho a la mode. The menu boasts international fare, which suits the jet setters that frequent the club. The lunch menu includes such delicacies as roasted squab, quail and skate, pasta, risotto and ciabatta sandwiches. Starters cost about GBP7 and main courses are around GBP15. Dinner prices are much steeper, but the wider selection of soup, shellfish, grilled meats and poultry that form part of the kitchen's skilled repertoire, are well worth it. a veggie menu is available.

23 St. James's St, London, SW1A 1HE United Kingdom

Villandry Restaurant

Superb food and attentive, but not over-fussy, service make this restaurant, attached to a first-class food emporium, a foodie destination. The menu's emphasis is on fresh, seasonal ingredients rather than complicated preparations. From vichyssoise and fish soup with rouille, to vegetarian aubergine bake and simple grilled tuna, Villandry can do no wrong. For dessert - the chocolate cake is a house speciality but it's up to you to control the amount of creme fraiche you take from the overflowing pot placed on your table.

170 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5QD United Kingdom

Fish in a Tie

This restaurant offers exceptional value for money - starters are £3 and main dishes are £5-£8. Presentation is laboured over - an exertion that pays off in the delightful dishes - and service is warm. Very little quality is lost for such fabulous value. Swordfish, monkfish, sole, trout and cod feature in the menu and they are excellent. Pheasant, duck, chicken, lamb and ostrich steak also show up to prove that, despite its name, this place offers a lot more than just fish. The house wine costs just £8.

105 Falcon Road, London, SW11 2PF United Kingdom

Poissonerie de l'Avenue

Wonderful fish prepared creatively if not a bit extravagantly. It's refreshing to see a proper restaurant whose decor matches its clientele - that is to say, old-fashioned, middle-aged and wealthy. This isn't just fish, full stop. This is lobster and salmon ravioli in a cream sauce, whole "poisson du jour" and the ubiquitous seared tuna with salsa. Don't forget that the tiny stall at the side of the restaurant sells fresh fish - which is very practical if you don't want to brave the genuine fish markets. Lunches offer excellent value set meals.

82 Sloane Avenue, South Kensington, London, SW3 3DZ United Kingdom

Tootsies

Tootsies is the ultimate hang out spot for that warm, friendly neighbourhood vibe. They're open all day for brunch, a meal, or just a pick-me-up toffee banana pie with ice cream. All branches of the chain have the same nondescript, upmarket, fast food look, but you probably won't go just to admire the decor. The brunch is delicious, whilst for main meals you can choose from lashings of onion rings, fries, steaks and burgers - be sure to accompany everything with one of the yummy milkshakes. It's a bit pricey, but a good place to bring either family or friends for a fun meal out.

120 Holland Park Avenue, Holland Park, London, W11 4UA United Kingdom

The Engineer

The Engineer has earned itself a well-deserved reputation as North London's top gastro-pub. That new specimen of wonder pubs, where you get far more than a gutful of beer, is a good bet for modern British cuisine, often with a Mediterranean slant. In fine weather punters can enjoy the fresh outdoors in the lovely garden. Book a table. Primrose Hill is a beautiful area and you've now got the perfect excuse to visit. The menu changes fortnightly - with bruschetta, artichoke salad, prosciutto, feta, beef and risotto with parmesan shavings, all appearing regularly. A huge plus point is that all their meat is free range and organic.

65 Gloucester Avenue, Camden Town, London, NW1 8JH United Kingdom

The Ivy

The Ivy is certainly a contender for London's premier restaurant title. The oak-panelled, v-shaped room has stained-glass windows and a superb atmosphere. Diners are some of the most photographed stars of film, theatre and society, but absolutely everyone is treated equally. From Corned Beef Hash to caviar, everything is beautifully prepared and presented. Surprisingly, prices are not sky high: excellent value-set lunches are available on the weekend. Because of its popularity, you must book at least a month in advance; although if you avoid peak hours, you may get a table on short notice.

1 West St, London, WC2H 9NQ United Kingdom

Cafe Baroque

Cafe Baroque packs a lot of atmosphere into its small space. Along with Sarastro, this is one of the few restaurants in London where you can be entertained as you eat by live opera. Once a month, Cafe Baroque lays on an opera-while-you-dine experience. The menu offers modern British favourites with something of a French influence. Sink your teeth into wild boar and apple sausages; or, if you're a veggie, mushroom, walnut and shallot strudel with vermouth cream is just one example from a decent range of meat-free dishes.

33 Southampton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7HE United Kingdom

Cafe de Paris

A sweeping staircase brings you elegantly into the bar and dance floor of what started out as a swanky ballroom in the 1920's. You can book a "drinking table" on the mezzanine or the dance floor and the restaurant is open on weekends with live cabaret-style entertainment available. The modern British menu is fairly impressive, with two-course meals at GBP35 and three courses at GBP40. Starters range from soup to caviar (three varieties, at a supplement) while fish, meat and vegetarian dishes compete for your attention for mains. Admission is GBP10-GBP15 after 10pm.

3-4 Coventry St, (Piccadilly), London, W1D 6BL United Kingdom

Le Pont de la Tour

This is a terribly slick venue where things should be perfect - and they nearly are at Conran's most expensive and most grown-up venue. At lunchtime there is a prix fixe option and dinner offers an extensive a la carte menu with mostly French/Modern European and atypically (for a Conran establishment) non-trendy options. The wine list is impressively extensive. The bar and grill is an excellent, cheaper option, offering caviar and oysters as well as the usual steaks.

36d Shad Thames, (The Butlers Wharf Building), London, SE1 2YE United Kingdom

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