Dukes London

The clubs of colonial India are the inspiration for this impeccably run restaurant. It's spread across two levels: the ground floor booths are perfect for lunch, while the vivid red basement has a more intimate feel. The extensive menus are predominantly Northern Indian in style, featuring superbly executed, traditionally based dishes. Balance, sophistication and depth are all present in the cooking, with options like tandoori masala lamb chops and kid goat methi keema standing out.

Bringing a little part of Devon into St James’s, this first London venture from renowned chef Michael Caines is a discreet, intimate sort of place inside a hotel so tucked away it gives you the feeling of being ‘in the know’. Choose between ‘The Stafford Classics’ – such as beef Wellington carved tableside – and Caines signatures featuring Devon produce, like a beautifully executed crab and mackerel tart with intense flavours and fine balance. There’s a wine list to match too, with plenty of big-name producers and top-drawer vintages in the 400-year-old cellars.

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

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.

The name of Jason Atherton’s flagship operation is short for ‘Refinement of Work’ – and indeed there is a great deal of refinement in every inch of this mightily impressive restaurant. The premises, on the iconic Savile Row, have been fitted out with no-expense-spared luxury, while the service is charming and attentive in equal measure. Chef Spencer Metzger leads the kitchen, taking outstanding British produce and adding depth of flavour with unerring skill – as in the sika deer with a sublime sauce flavoured with red fruit and beetroot. The wine list, as you may expect, is an oenophile's deli

A wood-panelled dining room within the historic Connaught Hotel might suggest an overly formal environment for Hélène Darroze’s London restaurant, but its soft furnishings and pastel colours give it a wonderfully cosy feel which helps put you at ease. The talented kitchen team bring outstanding technical mastery and attention to detail to the very best seasonal produce, while some of the accompanying flavours are informed by Hélène’s international travels, like the Isle of Mull lobster with tandoori spices. For dessert, the signature 'Baba' with a choice of Armagnacs from Hélène's brother Marc

As soon as you are welcomed with warmth and charisma by the outstanding service team, you know you're in for a special experience at this jewel of a restaurant. The chefs achieve a perfect blend of modernity and classicism, combining seasonal dishes that embrace Alain Ducasse's beloved 'naturalité' with a roster of his signature recipes – such as the peerless rum baba, a dessert that consistently delivers culinary ecstasy. Underpinning it all are outstanding ingredients, technical mastery and miraculous balance in dishes that can be at once intense and fresh, both rich and delicate.