Looking for somewhere to brunch on New Year's Day, we passed by a few early choices that had shut for the holidays. Luckily Sophie's, a New York style restaurant specialising in British steaks, which one of us had already tried in the past, was open. I understand there are no reservations, but in spite of the a huge throng of other diners, we were seated immediately without having to undergo a wait at the bar. The dining room, with seating for 92, is minimally decorated in warehouse style, with expanses of bare brick walls and exposed steel air conditioning pipes artfully draped with lightbulbs on cables, and jazzed up on my visit with some festive decor. Simple wooden tables, chairs and floors complete the unfussy feel. From the menu, which includes grills, salads and various sandwiches, we ordered bloody Marys (£5.50) and sparkling water. A brunch menu lists various eggy concoctions, but as it was now quite late we chose from the lunch menu instead. We'd eaten roast venison for dinner the night before, so rather than choose a meaty treat I opted for fish and seafood. My starter of prawn cocktail (£6.50) came suspiciously moulded but was excellent. Large, fresh prawns and crisp, cool lettuce were generously glazed with a creamy tangy cocktail sauce. For main course I had Rocky's fish & chips - beer battered haddock with pea purée and home-made tartar sauce (£10.50). The fish arrived cooked to perfection in a thick herby beer batter. Underneath lay crisp chips alongside a dollop of green mushy peas, full of sweet pea flavour and unlike the grey sludge I've seen elsewhere. My companions started with fresh Cornish crab salad, with basil, coriander and mayonnaise (£8.95) and then had main courses of spit roasted chicken sandwich, with vine ripened tomatoes, baby spinach, smoked back bacon, melted montgomery and mayonnaise (£7.95). As we were a bit weary from a late night and lots of booze, we only had water to drink. We didn't try them, but steak lovers have a choice of 15 ounce Chateaubriand (£29.50), 27 ounce porterhouse (£34.95), 10 ounce ribeye (£10.95), 8 ounce fillet (£16.50), or 10 ounce contre fillet (£15.95). Sophie's says all its meat, from farms in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and is aged for 28 days. Customers can also buy Sophie's Steak Sauce to take home. Website

I popped in here for lunch between a morning spent wandering the new English Galleries at the V&A Museum and an afternoon in the relative calm of Chelsea Cinema watching The Quiet American. The place was nowhere near as busy or crowded as it can get in the evenings when the area's Sloane Rangers pack in, so I decided to try the food. I was glad I did, especially as I luckily managed to select one of the luncheonette specials without realising it (although they're clearly indicated on the menu). Inside the forbidding entrance there is a long, dark bar, with tall round tables and stools, and decorated with old US ads for 7-Up, milk and coke. Outside at the back is a large beer garden, which can get busy in summer months. To the right behind a curved screen with banquette seating is a raised platform with lower tables for four. After ordering a cheesesurger, shoelace fries and a mineral water from the bar, I decided to forgo the tables along the wood floor to the front and chose one on the red and black tiled area near the food counter, where I could keep my eye on my belongings while I collected my order. This was after a wait of about 15 minutes, when my number appeared on the television monitor. The large, freshly made burger was served with beef tomato slices and sliced red onion. I further dressed it with ketchup, mustard and diced onions. It was very good, not dissimilar to those on offer from Ed's Easy Diner. The fries were tasty enough, although I'd looked forward to the seasoned fries that the menu had specified, but were not available on my visit. Not bad, considering the regular price for the burger and fries alone would have been almost £8, and I'd visit again to try out some of the other authentic sounding US diner style dishes, although it all looks expensive.