Noisily chatting in a great many accents, the long queue of hungry customers snaked towards a funk of odours. Amidst the scaly perfume of a fish counter beached in sunshine.They came for this: the cosy, welcoming, tempting aromas of sourdough momentarily torched at 500 degrees…

So fresh is the fish, displayed in crates just inside the door, that the sea bass and mullet stare at you with accusing bright eyes, the crabs blow bubbles and neighbouring lobsters thoughtfully flex their claws against the restraining rubber bands.

The thing you have to say about Little Bay is that their food is very good indeed, surprisingly good, remarkably good and, what’s more, it’s bloody cheap. You also have to say that the restaurants themselves are rather odd.

Not Chapter2 anymore but Chapters. All day dining, even at breakfast. Can Blackheath cope with a new style for its old favourite? We take a book, we mean look.

This new establishment has a menu offering choices of authentic Turkish and Italian cuisines, not some kind of fusion idea, the dishes are distinct and separately listed on the menu. Nar certainly is offering something a little different, delivering great food, it is well worth the trip to Vauxhall to sample it.

Past 3D cameras and an increasingly famous commissionaire, ‘No. 20’ is the restaurant at Soho’s ‘Sanctum’ Hotel. This is London’s answer to Paris’ boutique ‘den of opulence’, the Hôtel Costes. Chic and shiny, dining room details include crocodile-skin chairs (not crocodilette), taut, bronzed banquettes, glass sheathed pillars and positive photo panels by the MOD’s official artist, Xavier Pick.

Spring is still in the air at Morgan M, the fine dining restaurant in Islington and the eponymous Monsieur M has generously invited us round to sample the Spring Menu, just as it is about to end. It has to be done at lunch though; the restaurant is far too popular with the well-heeled locals to be able to sacrifice an otherwise productive table in the evening.

Many art galleries have their cafes tucked down in a basement but the architects of the Tate building, which was opened to great acclaim in 1993, have given over their most prestigious level, the top floor, to the all-important purpose of visitor sustenance with The Café priding itself on sourcing its ingredients from Cornish growers and suppliers.

With a set menu at £14 for two courses, and just £17 for three, that looked really very tempting and excellent value Harrison’s goes up against a restaurant group like Locale (also in Balham) and wins by classy mains cooking and a far more central, buzzy, location.

Five months after the actual event, I was being treated to a birthday dinner at The Dorchester’s Cantonese, ‘China Tang’ which takes its name from Sir David Tang, clothes designer, gold-miner and cigar aficionado – Cuba’s Honorary Consul no less.