Babylon at The Roof Gardens - 99 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5SA - high up on the 7th floor with amazing views over London's skyline, mouth-watering cuisine will compete for your attention at Babylon! Popular with local high-flyers and foodies, the restaurant offers a classic British and modern European menu that changes with the seasons to feature the freshest seasonal produce.

Bevis Marks The Restaurant - Bevis Marks, London EC3A 5DQ - Nothing could be further from the ancient shtetls of Eastern Europe than this smart, contemporary kosher restaurant nestling in the peaceful precincts of London’s oldest synagogue. The menu takes traditional Ashkenazi staples, gives them an iconoclastic twist & serves them alongside more cosmopolitan dishes. You might start with Szechuan seared tuna with crunchy bean shoot salad, or chopped liver with fig, red onion & almond compote, before a main course of herb-crusted salmon with pea purée & sorrel sauce, or salt beef with frites, beetroot & fresh horseradish. Sides include latkes & tzimmes, while desserts promise anything from summery rose water-scented fruit salad to fig & almond tart with cinnamon ice cream. The wine list includes a number of Israeli bottles alongside some grand French appellations & a fistful of Californians.

Borshtch 'n Tears - 46 Beauchamp Place, South Kensington, SW3 1NX. With its live music and good food, Borshtch 'n' Tears is a great place to enjoy a Russian night out. They also have a large selection of vodkas, and cater for vegetarians.

El Faro - 3 Turnberry Quay, Canary Wharf, E14 9RD - Docklands gem’, a Spanish beacon shining out across Turnberry Quay. Enjoy the view through arched windows in the spacious, classy dining room, or from the waterside terrace. Amiable staff do their utmost to be helpful. Spanish imports & daily deliveries from Billingsgate are the building blocks for a menu that aims high (no surprise, since the chef is a graduate of Barcelona’s prestigious Hoffmann Culinary School). Graze from the list of pica-pica (tapas-style appetisers) – perhaps Andalusian-style squid with romesco sauce, Burgos morcilla with piquillo pepper emulsion & crunchy apple, or ‘unrivalled’ Cinco Jotas ham from Huelva. Main courses comprise pans of paella, Spanish-reared steaks, grilled red tuna loin with beetroot purée & potato foam, & the occasional roast suckling pig served with mango Tatin. Crema catalana is a favoured finale. The all-Spanish wine list includes some commendable Riojas.

Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant - 68 Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HP - flagship restaurant in Chelsea is beyond superlative. Gordon Ramsay, the restaurant, is a dining salon of intimate proportions that always has a jolly atmosphere. Enjoy some of the most blissful food on the planet.

Jamie's Italian - Unit 17, 2 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, E14 5RB - Jamie Oliver’s love affair with all things Italian shines brightly in this chain of informal Italian eateries, which has all the trademark gestures we’ve come to expect from the cheeky chappy – including funky street-styling & menus sprayed with exclamatory pukka-speak. The abundance of well-sourced, quality ingredients & smart ideas ensures terrific results. Winning examples have included antipasti ‘planks’ of cured Italian meats & cheeses (great for sharing), wild garlic tagliatelle, grilled chicken salad, T-bone steak for two with salsa verde, & South Coast fritto misto. An attractively priced, all-Italian wine list supports the menu, with plenty by the glass or carafe. Service is welcoming & turnover fast. Note: no bookings (big parties excepted).

Nobu - Metropolitan Hotel, 19 Old Park Lane, London, W1K 1LB. People-watchability galore’ is cited as one of Nobu London’s finer attributes – although these days this renowned celeb hangout plays sedate older sibling to its ritzy sister on Berkeley Street. ‘Excellent food for sharing’ is another appealing facet: think chunky tuna tataki with ponzu, new-style oyster sashimi, & inside-out shrimp tempura rolls. Nobu tacos exemplify the chain’s irreverent fusion approach to food; black cod in miso remains its most talked-about dish; & puddings run to a chocolate bento box as well as a Suntory whiskey cappuccino. Serious private dining can be arranged on the penthouse roof terrace of the Metropolitan hotel.

Nikita's - 65 Ifield Road, Earls Court, SW10 9AU. Lusciously decorated Russian restaurant to transport you back to Tsarist Russia. Plus if it's good enough for Elton John... Nikita's served Elton John's 450 celebrity guests with its famous fruit vodka shots and caviar and cured salmon blinis, from it's ice bar set in a magical frozen landscape. The restaurant is divided into a series of small rooms which give it an intimate feel. It can get rather rowdy when the Vodka hits hard. A good place to go with a parcel of friends - especially if you love Caviar. What's cooking? Caviar and Blinis, Koulibiak of Salmon, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev and loads of plain and flavoured Vodkas.

St John - 26 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY - has become a temple to British cooking, and has played a monumental part in it’s direction in the last 15 years. St John is also a regular on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List. Fergus Henderson and his business partner Trevor Gulliver have been delighting ardent fans from around the world for 15 years with classics such as Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad, or how about a stonking lemon sorbet with a slug of Polish vodka…. this is affordable, adventurous, damn good eating.

The Ivy - 1-5 West Street, London, WC2H 9NQ. Modern European food. Celebrity haunts are notoriously ephemeral as fashions come and go. Not so The Ivy, which has maintained its A-list credentials for decades. Concealed behind the pretty stained-glass windows of the unassuming frontage, diners (the famous, the successful, & those just lucky to have bagged a seat) are waited on by staff who, through unseen hard work, seem to do everything right. The place attracts bountiful favourable comments from readers. First there’s the something-for-everyone comfort food – be it the signature fishcakes, steak tartare, calf’s liver, bang-bang chicken or kedgeree. Regulars might also notice the odd flight of fancy: perhaps perfectly timed sea bass with a zingy soy infusion. But it’s the relaxed, club-like luxuriance that creates such affection, with an ambience that ‘seems to lift your mood as soon as you sit down’. It’s ‘posh, but not in an intimidating way’. Prepare to be adaptable (a late lunch, a pre-theatre meal) to avoid The Ivy’s legendary long waiting list.

Palm - 1 Pont Street, London, SW1X 9EJ - The first overseas branch of a vintage American chain founded in 1926, this smart yet pleasantly informal Knightsbridge steakhouse pulls in an affluent clientele, including businessmen & American expats, who are thrilled to find it in London. Like its counterparts across the pond, this place looks the part with dark wood decor & Palm’s trademark celebrity caricatures painted on the walls. Service is hospitable & generosity is the name of the game when it comes to portion sizes – just as well given the hefty price tags. A to-the-point menu focuses on classic transatlantic fare, from Caesar salad to New York cheesecake; dishes worth trying include sweet-fleshed Nova Scotia lobster & superb aged steaks, grilled to perfection on the kitchen’s impressive broiler. Lunchtime diners can sample the colossal, jaw-stretching burgers, made from flavourful prime meat encased in a crisp brioche bun. America is king of the hill on the well-chosen wine list.

Sketch - 9 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2XG. An amazing experience. The food is well thought of, with modern twists. The menu is not huge but there is something for everyone. As it's a very popular restaurant the ingredients are always fresh. The much talked about interior is fabulous, so much to see and imaginatively put together. Normally it should not work but somehow here it all just seems to fall in place. When you try to describe the decor to friends, they seem a bit mystified about how on earth you would go to a restaurant with 'egg' toilets.. You have to be there yourselves, believe me it works. All in all Sketch makes a great dining experience. A well balanced night, what going out should be about, good food, great ambience and decor and friendly knowledgable service.

Zuma - 5 Raphael Street, London, SW7 1DL. Venturing into Zuma’s spotlit industrial interior is ‘like stepping into a Bret Easton Ellis novel’, thanks to the funky urban music, the designer-clad staff & the chattering of ‘Prada-wearing’ wannabes. But don’t let the glamorous posturing distract you from the astonishing modern Japanese food. Morsels of raw fish are sublime, & a seat at the sushi counter offers an opportunity to watch the knife-toting team performing their exquisite work; the meticulous attention to detail even extends to shaving fresh wasabi root with an authentic sharkskin grater. Ozone-zingy sea bass sashimi with crunchy crab relish & lime is outstanding. The robata grill delivers excitement in the shape of rich king crab with ponzu lime butter, or spicy veal chop partnered by an edamame purée. Desserts are wacky ideas such as ‘instantly addictive’ bean crème brûlée with green tea ice cream. Service is as bespoke as the food, prices are ‘stratospheric’, & there’s a touch of ‘arrogance’ here & there, but Zuma is still ‘absolutely fabulous’.