JOIVY 时尚伊斯灵顿公寓（适合2人，带露台）

There’s an appropriately earthy, natural vibe to this elegant restaurant dedicated to promoting plant-based cuisine. The slate floor, warm hues and rustic plastering help it feel stripped-back yet stylish, with some counter seating providing another on-trend touch. Chef Kirk Haworth – who founded Plates with his sister Keeley – brings his strong classical technique to bear on inventive and inviting vegan dishes that give vegetables the respect they deserve. The maitake mushroom with black bean mole is superb, while the raw cocoa gateau is a real treat to finish.

There’s something about Luca that makes it feel like a proper grown-up restaurant, largely because the relaxed clientele just know they’re going to be well looked after. What brings them all here is the expertly rendered Italian food, which is satisfyingly robust yet effortlessly easy to eat. The pasta course will certainly be a highlight – whether that’s cappelletti of salt-baked potato or tortelli of pumpkin with ricotta – but the other dishes, featuring such quality ingredients as Orkney scallops or Hereford beef, won’t ever disappoint. For great value, choose the Express Lunch menu served

Chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho brings all her experience to bear at this joyous Spanish restaurant in Shoreditch. If you’re a couple, then sit at the comfortable counter to take in the skills and the choreography of the large kitchen brigade. However many dishes you order to share – from succulent suckling pig or herb-crusted rabbit shoulder, to crisp ‘gambas cristal’ or lamb sweetbreads with orzo – you’re bound to end up ordering even more when you see them go past. An all-Spanish wine list and the delightful, enthusiastic service team add to the experience.

A unique and very colourful pub named after a small city in Louisiana and with a menu centred around Creole and Cajun traditions. Dishes like gumbo with okra, blackened chicken, and crawfish with corn and potatoes are carefully cooked and packed with flavour. Big Easy style cocktails add to the fun.

There’s no standing on ceremony here at St. JOHN; indeed, very little ceremony at all, and that makes eating here such a joyful experience. As one of the foremost proponents of nose-to-tail cooking, this is the place to try new things, whether that’s bone marrow or ox liver. Seasonality is at its core and nothing sums up the philosophy more than the potatoes and greens: they're always on the menu but the varieties and types change regularly. There are also dishes for two, as well as magnums of wine for real trenchermen. Do order the warm madeleines for the journey home.

The culinary techniques of the Basque country are the inspiration behind this smoothly run restaurant on the first floor of a former pub. Cooking over fire is the focal point, with the smell of smoke the perfect way to get your taste buds excited; ask for a table opposite the open kitchen to see the flames for yourself. 'Brat' is the Old English word for turbot and this is the house speciality – designed for sharing, it’s grilled whole in a handmade basket over lumpwood charcoal. Plenty of other fish are on offer too, along with some robustly flavoured starters, and the delicious burnt cheesec

Ring the bell and you’re welcomed into an operation unlike any other – the name may be old English for ‘kitchen’, but this is very much a restaurant of the moment. You start with a drink and the first course in the bar, then it’s upstairs for a snack in the kitchen before being seated in the intimate dining room with its bespoke crockery and pottery. It’s easy to see why the chef, who is a keen forager, talks so proudly of his ingredients, whether that’s the Shetland cod or the Highland wagyu. He and his team deliver and explain in detail their delicate, balanced and innovative dishes.