- Sofra - small chain of restaurants
offering Turkish home cooking with an eclectic mix of Mediterranean,
Middle-Eastern and even Oriental styles
- Bagel Factory - range
of delicious filled bagels from a take-away chain based mainly in health
clubs and train stations
- Baltic - very trendy
eastern European restaurant near Southwark tube
- Manicomio - Italian café
and deli at the posh end of the King's Road
- Axis
- sophisticated hotel restaurant in theatreland
- Deep - modern Swedish experience
in new riverside development
- Pétrus - French
luxury dining from Marcus Wareing in the Berkeley Hotel
- Charterhouse - Smithfield's
very own 'flatiron' with a lively feel. Music venue downstairs
- Circus - refined dining
in Soho, part of same group as East@West and The Avenue
- Potting Shed
- basement restaurant of the Dorset Square Hotel, Marylebone
- Ransome's Dock - modern
European food in Battersea
- The Well - sophisticated
gastropub in the Farringdon area
- Bung Hole Cellar - underground
wine bar in Holborn, part of the Davy's chain
- Frontline
- fine dining in Paddington
- Lola's - fine dining in a converted
train shed in Islington
- La Porchetta - small pizzeria
chain
- Gaucho Grill
- chain of Argentine steak houses
- Sophie's Steakhouse
- fine steaks on the Fulham Road in Chelsea
- Café du Jardin
- frogs' legs and other French delights in Covent Garden
- Chez
Gérard at the Opera Terrace - one of the Santé chain
of French eateries in a great location overlooking Covent Garden's Piazza
- The Farm - new gastropub
in up and coming Fulham Broadway area run by Tom Etridge and food by
Gary Rhodes trained chef Paul Merrett, who achieved a Michelin star
while at The Greenhouse
- Sarastro - theatrically
themed post show venue in Covent Garden, more renowned for its decor
than the food
- Thyme - recently opened
(2004) venue in Covent Garden, relocated from Clapham and run by Square
and Claridges trained chef Adam Byatt
- Seraphin - modern European
restaurant in busy Upper Street, Islington
- Matchbar - cocktail bar and
restaurant near Oxford Circus, other branches in Clerkenwell and Shoreditch
- The Square - modern
eclectic cooking prepared by an ex-microbiologist (I'm an ex-biochemist!)
in haughty Mayfair
- Cigala - expensive but very
attractive looking Spanish venue in the City
- Café Lazeez - small
chain of smart cafés offering north Indian/Punjabi cuisine, located
in Soho, South Kensington and Clerkenwell. I've only been to the Soho
outlet where I just shared a bottle of wine with a friend
- Le Vacherin - Chiswick,
west London based French bistro style restaurant
- Gourmet Burger Kitchen - New
Zealand twist on good old beef burgers, and more
- Ask - fast growing nationwide
pizza and pasta chain with several branches in London
- The Troubador Café
- '50s coffee house famous for music in Earl's Court area
- Bistrot One Ninety - restaurant
in the Gore Hotel in Kensington that's been around since the 1950s
- Caffé Nero - Italian
flavoured coffee shop chain
- Costa Coffee - chain of Italian
coffee shops with outlets in some unusual locations, including some
Abbey Nationals
- Starbucks - coffee shops all over the place
- Ashbell's - soul food in
Notting Hill area - page seems to have disappeared for now
- Ebury Wine Bars - wine
bars a go-go in Fulham, Chelsea and Victoria
- 1492 - Latin fusion cuisine
in Fulham
- Patisserie Valerie
- small chain of continental style cafés originated by Belgian
born Madam Valerie in Soho in 1926. The Old Compton Street outlet, which
dates from the 1950s, retains much of its original decor
- Pret A Manger - rapidly growing
chain of sandwich bars that has 'revolutionised the concept of sandwich
making and eating' according to The Times. What isn't sold by
the time its branches close is offered to local charities to help feed
those who would otherwise go hungry
- Painted Heron
- upmarket Indian near the river in Chelsea, now with sister restaurant
in Kennington
- East@West - used to be West
Street with Italian cuisine, now it's Oriental and Asian. Part of same
group as Circus and located in Covent Garden near the Palace Theatre
- New Tayyab's - busy Indian
restaurant in East London off Whitechapel Road serving very spicy meals
to a multicultural clientele. And unlicensed so bring your own
- Home - fabulous modern British
and world fusion food in stylish '70s setting in up and coming Shoreditch.
Tatty bar downstairs
- Clerkenwell Dining Room
- located near Smithfield, wonderful and trendy influenced by Marco
Pierre White, with whom most of the key staff appear to have worked
- Chamberlain's - new seafood
restaurant and emporium in the City
- Tenth - top floor dining
room at the Royal Garden Hotel, offering views over Kensington Gardens
and Hyde Park
- Wagamama - oriental refectory
style dining with a healthy twist
- Carluccios - chain of Italian
delis from television chef Antonio
- Claridges
- upmarket hotel with Gordon Ramsay doing the food
- Gordon Ramsay - Gordon's
own Michelin starred gaff in Chelsea
- Petrus - another
upmarket eatery with Gordon's influence evident
- Dibbens - upmarket restaurant
in Clerkenwell, near Smithfield meat market
- Fish! - fish & chip
and seafood restaurants at Borough and County Hall
- Rotisserie Restaurant
- small London chain of restaurants, based in Shepherd's Bush, Islington
and Hatch End, serving up dishes from around the globe
- Bel & the Dragon
- excellent country pub and eating house in Cookham, Berks
- Loch Fyne Restaurants - small
chain of seafood restaurants set up by original produce supplier
- Portobello Gold - modern
British/MediterrAsian restaurant near Portobello market specialising
in seafood and vegetarian, as well as Sunday lunch. Has a a conservatory
with a sliding glass roof - currently closed because of fire
- Julie's Restaurant &
Bar - famous for its well-heeled celebrity patrons and its warren
of rooms decked out in different styles. I ate a very nice meal here
in 1992 when we celebrated my client's leaving do
- Red Fort - top flight Indian
restaurant in Soho. I last ate here in 1989 and bumped into one of the
Bros twins in the toilet
- Belgo - chain of
moules et frites Belgian style, also Bierodrome bar restaurants
- Pizza Express
- original UK pizza chain which now has an outlet on almost every high
street. Includes Kettners in Soho. The Dean Street branch features live
jazz music
- Chutney Mary - and associated
Indian restauants Veeraswamy and Masala Zone
- Whits - bar and restaurant
just off Kensington High Street
- Mela - Indian country
style cuisine in the West End
- Marco Pierre White's
White Star Line london restaurants - very fine dining in the capital,
including Mirabelle
- Tate Modern Seventh
Floor Café - smart restaurant with stunning views over the
Thames and Saint Paul's Cathedral - Open from 10-00 - 18.00 Sun - Thurs,
10.00 - 23.00 Fri & Sat (last orders 21.30)
- The Greenhouse
- recently reopened upmarket establishment in Mayfair serving modern
British food with Asian influences. Part of The Capital Group of restaurants
- Smiths of Smithfield
- large modern City restaurant dedicated to the best of British beef
- Champor-champor - colourful,
cosy little restaurant offering eclectic mix of Asian cuisine grafted
onto Malay roots in chic surroundings
- Balans - trendy chain of restaurants
located mostly in London's hot spots and specialising in Mediterranean
and Asian influences (known as 'Mediterrasian' according to a city guide
describing the outlet in Miami)
- The White Horse - pub
in Parsons Green, also known as the 'Sloaney Pony', renowned for its
regular events to celebrate beers from home and abroad, as well as very
good food
- Bug - cocktail bar in the
vaulted crypt of St Matthews' Church in Brixton. Used to be vegetarian
bar and restaurant, but now offers a selection of meat dishes, using
only free range and organic British produce
- Butler's
Wharf Chophouse - one of Conran's parade of restaurants near Tower
Bridge
- Harry Ramsdens - chain
of traditional fish & chip shops, once renowned in its original
format, now a shadow of its former self - see recent
review
- Planet Hollywood
- information and menus for the one near Leicester Square - site
seriously broken at present
- Thai on the River -
one of the few places in London offering river views while you eat.
Near Chelsea Harbour, but 'moving to a new location' according to the
very spartan website
- Royal Court Theatre Food
and Drink - theatre in Sloane Square, Chelsea, with fine restaurant
in the refurbished basement
- Strada - Italian restaurant
on the New King's Road, plus other branches, specialising in ingredients
from the Amalfi region. Has had wide praise for its pizzas
- Soho Spice - trendy Indian
restaurant in Wardour Street, run by same group as the highly-rated
Red Fort restaurant in nearby Dean Street
- Santé
- general site from the Cafe Gerard Group of French and fish restaurants
in London (also owns Livebait, Chez Gérard, Bertorelli, Caféfish)
- Room Service - delivers
food from top restaurants in many areas of London
- Bibendum - magnificent location
is one of the main attractions of this Conran-owned, well regarded favourite
of the expense account crowd
- Jim Thompson
- a chain of pub/restaurants serving a mix of oriental and western food.
Now part of Noble House group
- Rainforest Café
- rumbles in the jungle on Shaftesbury Avenue
- The Bank Restaurant
- on the corner of Kingsway and Aldwych. Glittering modern venue with
good reputation
- Blue Elephant - top Thai
restaurant in Fulham with water and jungle features. Recently extended
into premises next door
- Yo Sushi! - new wave of Japanese
self service restaurants. Features robots that serve beer
- Angel - famous riverside
pub on the south bank with a history going back centuries and not bad
food in the first floor restaurant - site on hold until new management
sorts out its act
- Le Meridien - home
site for the international chain of hotels that includes one on Piccadilly,
the Cafe Royale and the Waldorf in Aldwych
- Rock Garden - music theme
venue in Covent Garden's Piazza
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