We have selected 25 restaurants, which we have divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

All restaurant bills are subject to VAT (Value Added Tax) of 17.5%, which is usually included in the prices given.

A service charge (usually 12.5%) may be included in the prices stated on the menu but it is more likely to find it added to the bill at the end. This is technically an optional charge but it would be very unusual to ask for it to be removed. Where ‘Service is not included’, a tip of at least 10% is expected, although 15% is becoming the norm. Diners should check the bill thoroughly as tipping is not required on top of a service charge.

The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal and for a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they include VAT but not service charge or tip.

Gastronomic :

The Connaught
Award-winning chef Michel Bourdin has been based at the distinguished Connaught Hotel in Mayfair for over 25 years. His mouthwatering, rich, classic French and English cuisine can be sampled in two formal spaces: either the Edwardian-style mahogany-panelled dining room or the more intimate green and gold Georgian-style Grill Room. Service is honed to a fine art in both, with courteous French waiters pampering diners. Dishes are brought to the table under silver domes and prepared with the highest level of care. Oysters, truffles, game, lobster, foie gras and cream are major ingredients. Smart dress is required for dining at this elegant, gastronomic temple.

Connaught Hotel, Carlos Place, W1
Tel: (020) 7499 7070. Fax: (020) 7495 3262.
E-mail: info@the-connaught.co.uk
Website: www.savoy-group.co.uk
Price: £70. Wine: £22.

Gordon Ramsay
The only restaurant in London to boast three Michelin stars, diners need to book at least a month in advance to experience this revered Chelsea establishment. Famous as much for his fiery temper as his exceptionally fine French-based cuisine, Gordon Ramsay stays behind the kitchen doors supervising his underlings, rather than playing front of house. Seated at small, round tables in an intimate environment, diners can enjoy exquisite creations like terrine of baby chicken and foie gras layered with girolles and leeks, followed by monkfish with a scallop beignet and ravioli of pineapple with red berries. If three courses is not enough, then diners can sample the seven-course Prestige menu for £80.

68-69 Royal Hospital Road, SW3
Tel: (020) 7352 4441. Fax: (020) 7352 3334.
Website: www.gordonramsay.com
Price: £65. Wine: £18.

Le Gavroche
Since its opening in 1967 by brothers Albert and Michel Roux, Le Gavroche has been setting the culinary benchmark for the British restaurant scene. Currently run by Michelin-starred chef, Michel Roux Junior, with the assistance of award-winning maitre d’, Silvano Giraldin, diners can expect the highest standards of food, wine and service – at prices to match. Highly praised dishes include the artichoke hearts with foie gras, truffles and chicken mousse, the grilled sea bream with pea and wild mushroom sauce and the baked sea bass with tiger prawns.

43 Upper Brook Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7408 0881. Fax: (020) 7491 4387.
E-mail: gavroche@cwcom.net
Website: www.le-gavroche.co.uk
Price: £65. Wine: £19.50.

Lindsay House
Irish-born chef, Richard Corrigan, has been lauded with praise for his modern British top-of-the-range cooking at Lindsay House. Encased within a discreet Regency-style townhouse, diners must ring the doorbell for admittance to the two-floor gold-embossed interior, which seats just 48. The innovative menu changes daily depending on market purchases but mains to look out for are the roast pigeon with pig’s trotters, apple and pumpkin chutney or the rabbit with black pudding in mustard jus. Sommelier, Thierry Taliban, also presents an extensive and impressive wine list.

21 Romilly Street, W1V
Tel: (020) 7439 0450. Fax: (020) 437 7349.
Website: www.lindsayhouse.co.uk
Price: £65. Wine: £29.30.

Nobu
This devastatingly fashionable restaurant, located on the first floor of the Metropolitan Hotel, provides award-winning Japanese cuisine melded with South American influences in a relaxed yet classy environment. Smiling, uniformed staff guide the diner through an extensive menu. The presentation is impeccable and the food itself unique. Signature dishes include black cod marinated in miso, chocolate cake with tea-tree ice cream or sake with gold leaf. There is plenty of opportunity for celebrity spotting. Tables must be booked at least three weeks in advance.

19 Old Park Lane, W1
Tel: (020) 7447 474. Fax: (020) 7447 4749.
Price: £85. Wine: £15.

Business :

The Archipelago (formerly The Birdcage)
Dining at The Archipelago is guaranteed to be a memorable experience. The restaurant is filled with global artefacts, exotic plants and racy paintings. Menus are written on papyrus scrolls and feature an outrageous pot pourri of ingredients for the dishes created by German chef Michel von Huschka. Diners must partake of a fixed-price meal – either two courses or three courses. The possible dishes are many and varied and change regularly, however, unusual ingredients – like crocodile, kangaroo, peacock and locusts – always feature. Not to everyone’s palate, The Archipelago certainly is unique.

110 Whitfield Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7383 3346. Fax: (020) 7383 7181.
Price: £32.50 (fixed-price two-course menu) or £38.50 (fixed-price three-course menu). Wine: £18.50.

Chives
The newest member of the Red Pepper group, Chives is a sophisticated yet understated establishment in Fulham. Subdued lighting, besuited French waiters and gentle classical music create a peaceful, gracious mood for a formal evening occasion. At Chives, there are no brash elements to detract attention from the excellent cuisine or the diners’ own conversation. The menu is of an impressively high standard and the food is fastidiously presented. Recommended dishes include roasted baby chicken stuffed with foie gras on a bed of girolles and leeks or the delicious rhuburb crème brûlée.

204 Fulham Road, SW10
Tel/fax: (020) 7351 4747.
Price: £35. Wine: £14.50.

Incognico
Nico Ladenis’ unfussy West End restaurant provides the best-value set lunch in London. For a meagre £12.50, diners can enjoy a well-composed three-course meal, with a choice of two dishes per course. Sample menus include artichoke heart stuffed with wild mushrooms, chargrilled chicken with spinach, and a rich bavarois (custard cream) with blackcurrent sauce. An à la carte menu is also available. The interior is cosy and uncluttered and the service unobtrusive.

117 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 8866. Fax: (020) 7240 9525.
Price: £35. Wine: £12.50.

The Ivy
The restaurant of choice of many a celebrity, The Ivy is notoriously difficult to get into without a famous name or advance booking of at least six weeks. Once inside, the comfortable decor suggests a gentleman’s club with dark wooden panelling and diamond-patterned stained-glass windows. The food is simple but of high quality and includes traditional British favourites, such as bangers and mash, braised beef in stout or the potted shrimps, along with more European recipes, such as pork tenderloin on lemon polenta. The cosy environment, pleasing food and guaranteed celebrity spotting makes The Ivy a laid-back yet impressive venue for a business meal.

1 West Street, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 4751. Fax: (020) 240 9333.
Price: £45. Wine: £13.

Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie
For panoramic views of London, there is no better place to eat than the restaurant at the top of the Thameside Oxo Tower. In good weather, diners can eat on the terrace, otherwise they take a seat in the stylish minimalist interior. At lunchtime, the place is a favourite venue for business meetings, with light, well-prepared food and a set menu available (£28.50 for three courses). In the evenings, the place takes on a more festive mood, with its busy bar set against the stunning London nightscape. The cuisine is modern European, with dishes such as shaved smoked swordfish on vine tomatoes, whole fried sea bass with Thai dressing or Portuguese risotto.

Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, SE1
Tel: (020) 7803 3888. Fax: (020) 7803 3838.
E-mail: oxo.reservations@harveynichols.co.uk
Website: www.harveynichols.com
Price: £65. Wine: £12.50.

Trendy :

Fish!
An eye-catching glass and metal building in between Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market, Fish! serves up the freshest catch of the day in a stylish, funky environment. Its simple formula of healthy, non-fussy cooking has proved exceptionally popular. Diners can go for regular dishes like fish pie or fish and chips, or plump for the ‘choose your own’ option. This way, it is a question of deciding which type of fish to have, whether to have it grilled or steamed, and what sauce (salsa, hollandaise, herb butter, olive oil or red wine gravy) should accompany it.

Cathedral Street, SE1
Tel: (020) 7234 3333. Fax: (020) 234 3343.
E-mail: reservations@fish.plc.uk
Website: www.fishdiner.co.uk
Price: £25. Wine: £9.90.

Mash
Brainchild of entrepreneur Oliver Peyton, who also owns the Atlantic Bar and Grill, Mash is novel combination of restaurant, bar, micro-brewery and deli, housed in a bright, open space just off Oxford Street. The bar and micro-brewery downstairs is open until 0200, serving a trendy post-work crowd stylish cocktails, heady own beers and Modern European dishes ranging from the snacky to the more substantial. Enormous beer vats encased in glass line the back wall, while chairs are space-age pods and there is also a sunken cushioned seating area. Upstairs, the quieter restaurant is more exclusive and the food slightly classier, such as roast rack of lamb on thyme-roasted root vegetables with cranberry jus or baked halibut fillet with potato dumplings, ginger and savoy cabbage ragout, and saffron and anchovy butter.

19-21 Great Portland Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7637 5555. Fax: (020) 7637 7333.
E-mail: info@gruppo.co.uk
Website: www.gruppo.co.uk
Price: £15 (bar); £22 (restaurant). Wine: £13. Beer: From £2.90 (pint).

Moro
Set in trendy, pedestrianised Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell, Moro is a Mecca for the cooler City crowd and hip media mob. Apart from an extensive zinc-topped bar, its decor is understated, allowing the vibrant Spanish/North African cuisine to speak for itself. Chefs Sam and Sam Clark have accrued countless prizes for their wonderful combinations of high-quality ingredients, herbs and spices, which include veal, farika and turmeric soup with almonds, chargrilled mackerel with potatoes pobres or a fantastic Moroccan mezze platter.

34-36 Exmouth Market, EC1
Tel: (020) 7833 8336. Fax: (020) 7833 9338.
Price: £25. Wine: £10.50.

Yo! Sushi
More popular for its gimmicks than its food, Yo! Sushi is a vibrant, entertaining place to eat out. Diners sit at high stools around a 60m (197ft) stainless steel conveyor belt selecting freshly prepared sushi dishes as and when they fancy. The plates are colour coded according to price and the bill is determined by stacking the dishes and adding it all up at the end. Drinks, including Japanese beers and sake, are delivered by talking, self-navigating robot trolleys. There are many branches throughout London, including Farringdon, EC1, and myhotel bloomsbury, WC1 (see the Hotel section). This, however, is the original venue and benefits from Yo! Below located in the basement. Here, although food is served, the primary attraction is the sunken tables with their own personal beer taps, as well as a complimentary masseur.

52 Poland Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7287 0443 or 7439 3660 (Yo! Below). Fax: (020) 7287 2324 or 7439 3663 (Yo! Below).
E-mail: info@yosushi.com
Website: www.yosushi.com
Price: £15. Wine: £12.

Zinc Bar and Grill
Part of Terence Conran’s restaurant empire, Zinc is inspired by the values of a traditional Parisian ‘zincbar’ and is open day and night, serving a diverse crowd with coffee, light meals or stiff drinks, as required. The restaurant is dominated by a 12m (40ft) zinc bar, while the state-of-the-art stainless steel kitchen is on display. Chef Paul Catterson places an emphasis on seafood, with fish soup, crab, lobster and Irish rock oysters featuring heavily on the menu. The bar can get noisy and smoky when the after-work brigade arrive.

21 Heddon Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7255 8899. Fax: (020) 7255 8888.
Website: www.conran.com
Price: £22.50. Wine: £13.

Budget :

Café Emm
This brasserie serves the best-value good food in Soho, so its no-booking policy means that a queue is inevitable unless it is very early evening. There is a selection of ten main courses at £5.70, including Cajun-style chicken with potato skins, homemade lentil rissoles and smoked salmon crêpes. Pay £2 extra and diners can choose from ten classier dishes, like chargrilled rump steak with new potatoes. The dark-wood interior is packed with candle-lit tables and the service is brisk but not rushed.

17 Frith Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7437 0723. Fax: (020) 580 2947.
E-mail: davidlong@cafeemm.com
Website: www.cafeemm.com
Price: £10. Wine: £9.90.

Duke of York
A quirky, little gastropub in a quiet Bloomsbury street, the Duke of York is a relaxed yet vibrant place to spend an evening. Unlike most gastropubs, it is not overly trendy, overly crowded or overly priced. Diners can mingle with pub punters and eat in the brighter red-toned bar area, decorated with contemporary art, or instead sit in private, little booths in the back dining room. The dishes range from modern classics like bangers and mash or deep-fried whitebait to more eclectic combinations like wasabe salmon on noodle roesti with mango salsa – although they often sound better than they taste.

7 Roger Street, WC1
Tel: (020) 7242 7230.
Price: £16. Wine: £9.

Golden Dragon
One of Chinatown’s best restaurants, the Golden Dragon is bedecked in red and gold and has a noisy, bustling atmosphere. In the daytime, the dim sum snack selection, brought to the table in a never-ending parade of bamboo steamers, is of exemplary quality. Main dishes, available both night and day, are excellent value and come in generously sized portions. As well as standard dishes, more unusual combinations are on offer like duck braised with bean curd, mushrooms and pak choi.

28-29 Gerrard Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7734 2763. Fax: (020) 7734 1073.
Price: £10. Wine: £9.50.

Mildred’s
Mildred’s is a popular Soho establishment, renowned for its tasty vegetarian cuisine, warm decor, relaxed atmosphere and low prices. Permanently busy, the diners often spill out onto streetside tables to enjoy healthy concoctions like Brazilian vegetable and coconut stew, white bean falafel with chilli sauce or homemade veggie burgers. Vegans are always catered for. A selection of organic wines and juices is on offer. The staff are young, trendy and helpful.

58 Greek Street, W1
Tel/fax: (020) 7494 1634.
Price: £12.50. Wine: £9.90.

Wagamama
An incredibly successful Japanese noodle chain, Wagamama provides reliably good food at bargain prices in a modern canteen-style environment. Not the place for privacy, diners are seated at long trestle tables next to strangers and served briskly by young, trendy staff. The menu is dauntingly long and contains countless combinations of ramen, soba and udon noodles, as well as stir-fry dishes, dumplings, soups and freshly squeezed juices. The food tastes remarkably good and has an aura of healthiness about it, emphasised by the no-smoking policy – unusual for London. This branch is just behind Selfridges on Oxford Street, but there are branches all over London, including Bloomsbury, Soho, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

101A Wigmore Street, W1H
Tel: (020) 7409 0111. Fax: (020) 7409 0088.
E-mail: info@wagamama.com
Website: www.wagamama.com
Price: £10. Wine: £9.25.

Personal Recommendations :

Beach Blanket Babylon
This fun, eccentric bar-restaurant near the trendy Portobello Road has been attracting a hip crowd for the past ten years. Leading from an ornate bar with high ceilings and cosy corners, a gangplank takes you downstairs to a cavernous dining area with a grotto-like feel. Portobello mushrooms with artichoke, pesto and parmesan make a tasty starter, while mains include mouthwatering Vietnamese pork balls or an aubergine roulade for vegetarians. Chocoholics can revel in an enormous £15 chocolate dessert platter for two to share, which includes mousse, soufflé, cake and cream.

45 Ledbury Road, W11
Tel: (020) 7229 2907. Fax: (020) 7313 9525.
Price: £40. Wine: £13.

Goya
This smart, bustling Pimlico venue is a great place to enjoy platters of delicious tapas and generous glasses of wine. Waistcoat-clad waiters flit about the compact bar area replenishing wine and bringing ever-more tempting dishes to a varied clientele. For more substantial offerings than the calamares, albondigas and spicy potato titbits, diners can eat in the neat, white basement restaurant. The beef tournedos and paella are highly recommended.

34 Lupus Street, SW1
Tel: (020) 7976 5309. Fax: (020) 7976 6940.
E-mail: info@GoyaRestaurants.co.uk
Website: www.goyarestaurants.co.uk
Price: £12 (tapas selection); £22 (restaurant). Wine: £9.

Malabar Junction
A smart South Indian restaurant decorated in cool whites and greens with a large central skylight, Malabar Junction offers delectable dishes at reasonable prices. Catering for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, the food is very different from the North Indian tandoori, korma and tikka masala options. Instead, diners can sample spicy potato dosas with hot lentil sauce and coconut chutney followed by a tangy Cochin prawn curry or a deep-fried marinated flat fish.

107 Great Russell Street, WC1
Tel: (020) 7580 5230. Fax: (020) 7436 9942.
Price: £20. Wine: £10.

Nahm
Nahm is a brand-new Thai restaurant, based at the exclusive Halkin Hotel, under the management of Australian chef David Thompson. Since opening in June 2001, the restaurant has been full every night, so reservations are necessary. The restaurant aims to recreate truly authentic Thai dishes, with a fragrant mix of textures, flavours and colours, although the restaurant is more wooden minimalism than Thai ambience. The menu is divided up into five categories of salad, soup, curry, relish and stir-fry. In the evening, a set three-course meal for £47 allows diners to sample a little of everything.

5-6 Halkin Street, SW1
Tel: (020) 7333 1234 or 1000. Fax: (020) 7333 1100.
Price: £60. Wine: £18.

Smollensky’s on the Strand
Recreating the smouldering, dimly lit milieu of a Chicago jazz bar, Smollensky’s provides solid American fare to a mixed after-work crowd, with nightly live music. Over-manufactured bar girls and boys provide the smiling service and know how to mix a heady cocktail. The menu is crammed with burgers and steaks, including a hefty 20 oz T-bone with a choice of seven sauces. For dessert, the chocolate mousse is raved about. There is a good-value set menu. On Sunday nights, when renowned jazz musicians perform, a £5 entry fee is charged.

105 The Strand, WC2
Tel: (020) 7497 2101. Fax: (020) 7836 3270.
Website: www.smollenskys.co.uk
Price: £25. Set menus: £16 (two courses); £19 (three courses). Wine: £12.50.