It has taken me a long time to finally dine at Bumpkin, having made countless bookings in the past and had to cancel them for one reason or another. Having made it here at long last, it was perfect for a pit-stop for a comfort meal on a Winter’s day.

Great wraps, honest and healthy and fresh. Could be served hotter both in cooking and spice terms, but then to be fair it was actually snowing outside when we ate them. The décor is a bit like a suburban health centre, cold and rather heartless, but then most people will be in and out before they notice that. Probably easier for the young team to clean, too.

Watching over London town, Galvin at Windows is situated on the 28^th floor of the prestigious London Hilton on Park Lane hotel. We enter through the swish, polished-marble interior of the hotel lobby and the lifts whoosh you up to in a matter of seconds to the top floor where Galvin’s is located.

Its unassuming location, in the suburban, culdesac-tastic commuter-ville that is Orpington doesn’t really prepare you for what lies inside – a West End style restaurant with chic decor, well turned out, professional staff and an impressively theatrical wine cellar.

No one is going to make the trek out to eat at the Wharf who doesn’t work there obviously, they can go to ROKA in town instead. But if you are in the area then beg a banker to buy you a meal. It’s not cheap ROKA, if you want cheap there’s Wagamama, but it’s stylish, cool, beautifully designed and with food that is catwalk chic and classy.

If you’re the kind of person who likes their restaurants to be a bit ‘hidden away’ then you’ll like Umu. As I tap, tap, tapped my way down Bruton Place, a discreet little lane just off Berkley Square, I felt that little bit of excited anticipation that comes just before you’re shown into a posh hotel bedroom. I like the idea that a restaurant has to be sought out rather than stumbled upon.

The Chinese Cricket Club is apparently named after the new Chinese National Cricket team who this year played its first international match. Ni hau? I am no sports afficionado but is this a good omen for a fledgling venture? What will stand it in good stead is that it’s located within the Crowne Plaza in London which already houses Giorgio Locatelli’s Refettorio restaurant.

Having recently reported on site that the Bingham Hotel had won two BT Visit London gold awards, for ‘Best Small Hotel/B&B’ and for ‘Best Gastronomic Experience’ we decided we must go along and see what all the fuss was about. The Bingham certainly is a great gastronomic experience.

The Covent Garden Market Place, Grocer, Deli, Cafe is so new I can still smell wood shavings from the fit out and polenta is definitely for sale, along with a whole host of foody things you lust after, while not always entirely sure what they are or what they do

It’s not often I enter a restaurant and immediately lower the average age of the clientele by about thirty years. All around us glided silver haired, straight- backed gentlemen of ex-Brigadier appearance, accompanied by their good lady wives decked in the family jewellery. It was rather like entering one of the last books of A Dance To The Music of Time. Mark Members over there, Sir Magnus Donners at the door and to the side, balefully watching the throng, Widmerpool himself.