Somehow I missed the golden age of Wagamama. A time when everyone was ‘queuing down the street!’ the manager tells me, wistfully recalling early days in the 1990’s. I must have been somewhere else I suppose, possibly Covent Garden, because this is the first time I have ever been inside one.

Mid week and mob handed we were having no luck getting a table at a new Soho hip hangout, so it was with bitterness in our hearts, and a copy of that restaurant’s lunch-time only booking number in our hands, that we sought the reliable shelter of Vasco & Piero’s Pavilion Restaurant.

Having attended a reception at Piya Piya and tasted some very good nibbles that were being handed around, we decided to go back there for a meal so that we could sample the selection from the full menu, with an interesting array of dishes, Piya Piya has a lot to offer.

The Old Thatch in Adstock, Buckinghamshire ,is a bit of a celebrity in its patch – as one local told me, ” it’s one of a small handful of places worth going to round here.” So what’s made this seriously tucked-away village pub survive where others have been converted into super-homes?

Her guest pulls a sicky, but Anita Pati soldiers on alone in the oldest London French restaurant amidst Covent Garden theatre goers, tourists and regulars. Sometimes dining is a solitary pleasure

Laya’Lina is not budget-friendly by any means… I balk at the £5.95 price tag of a portion of chips, as not even Gordon Ramsay charges that much for fried potatoes! The presence of chicken curry and coconut prawn soup on the menu baffle me greatly, I may not be Lebanese, but I think it’s safe to say that neither are these dishes.

This year has brought some very good meals (Pied a Terre, Chez Bruce, Hibiscus), some average ones (Tom Aikens, Arbutus) and some damn right terrible (Umu). In the ‘very good’ column I can add Galvin at Windows and Bistro de Luxe, so I was very interested in seeing what the brothers had managed to do with their new venture. Would it be a restaurant too far or a City winner?

More entertaining than the town’s floral clock and in ruder health than its ill-looking palms, Hove’s ‘L’Eglise’ brasserie is well-worth an escape from the capital’s chaos. Under orders from wine ‘Kinight’ François Domange, we accept the unenviable task of rating a five course, five wine, Bordeaux banquet at Hove’s ‘L’Eglise’…

They say that as you get older, policemen start to look younger. Well that applies to waiters too. The fresh faced kid serving us bread in Prism seems so youthful I’m tempted to ask why he isn’t back home studying for his mock GCSE’s next week.

Part of the First Restaurant Group chain, The Ebury has an imposing presence, occupying a prime location at the fork of Pimlico Road and Ranelagh Grove, very near to Ebury Bridge. Recently awarded two AA rosettes, for the fourth year running, this is a good destination to head for.