Hotel AMANO Covent Garden

Adam Handling's flagship is a restaurant that keeps up with the times: it’s fun, well-run and offers a friendly, uplifting atmosphere. The room's fresh, clean look keeps the focus firmly on the food, which is founded on classical techniques but blends in just the right amount of playfulness and originality. The signature bread served with chicken skin butter and liver pâté is as good as ever, while the likes of red mullet with saffron and shellfish show off superb British ingredients, technical skill and expert balancing of flavours in equal measure. The interesting wine list includes a stella

This intimate restaurant next to The Savoy's American Bar is named in honour of the year in which renowned French chef Georges Auguste Escoffier joined the hotel. It’s a comfortable and discreet space, with golden hues, art deco touches and just 10 well-spaced tables. The surprise tasting menu is in part inspired by Escoffier’s classics but prepared using modern techniques, resulting in dishes with elegance and poise, underpinned by high-quality ingredients such as Cornish Red chicken. The Fragola Melba dessert is an updated version of the original made in honour of Dame Nellie Melba.

While Chef Angelo Sato's Japanese heritage provides the basis for this modern, upbeat izakaya, his creative streak ensures the captivating tasting menu takes on a style all its own. Clever flavour and temperature combinations feature throughout, as do the kitchen's immense precision and technical skill. The shokupan bread serving is a real event, packed with originality and showcasing a range of delicious accompaniments. The theatrical counter set-up adds to the great atmosphere, whilst sake 'journeys' are encouraged to add to the experience.

In a discreet, intimate environment inside the grand Hotel Café Royal, the eponymous chef has the perfect canvas in which to showcase his impressive and accomplished cuisine. Dilling's dishes are exquisite in appearance and, like a seasoned orchestra, everything on the plate adds its own note of flavour to produce something harmonious and exhilarating. Whether Kaluga caviar, Scottish lobster or Peruvian chocolate, the kitchen knows how to bring the best out of its exquisite ingredients.

It’s all in the name: this bright, intimate restaurant in the streets of Soho celebrates the cuisine of LA and wider California, with its décor and lush plants evoking The Golden State. First-rate ingredients are used in well-balanced dishes characterised by deep, bold flavours and punchy sauces; eye-catching presentation and some playful touches add an extra element. The wine list is an all-American selection, including some choices that are exclusive to the restaurant.

There’s a sense of theatre to every element of Mourad Mazouz and Pierre Gagnaire’s 18th-century house of fun. As you climb the stairs up to The Lecture Room and Library, the anticipation grows, then stepping into the gloriously colourful and lavishly decorated room both inspires and excites – there really is no restaurant in London quite like this. The multi-dish cooking is also unique in the city, where perfectly seared Cornish wild turbot comes with clams and mango, along with a mosaic of its skirt; and succulent roasted leg of Welsh lamb is accompanied by sweetbreads and kidney, with its fi

There’s seating for just 12 people at this counter located in the former beer cellar of The Blue Posts pub. Claustrophobes may be hesitant, but on offer is an intriguing and rewarding gastronomic experience. There are two sittings a night, and as the set menu is served to all at the same time, do be punctual – if you're early, try the top-floor bar of the pub. Prime British ingredients power dishes that are thoughtfully composed and confidently prepared, while incorporating influences from across Asia, such as blood orange nahm jim with Cornish red mullet.