Overall, I liked the Northall, the cooking was good and it is obvious that they are taking care to source quality ingredients. They are not pushing boundaries at the cutting edge of British cuisine, but that isn’t what grand hotel dining rooms are for, and if you eat from one of their fixed price menus, there is value on offer

What began as a supper club in 2010 by Ning Ma has become a hotspot in South-London and one of the standout arcade shops in Brixton Village Market. The corner unit – you can barely call it a restaurant, but rather a cross between street-food stall and Chinese canteen container – is first class for both its food output and as a working show of technical ability and craftsmanship.

The consumption of lamb fillet and lobster may not be the greatest gesture of solidarity for our struggling comrades over in Greece but there’s a good chance that by trying Mazi, you’ll enjoy helping a Greek establishment prosper here on British soil.

There are a few elements here which will get the foodie purists hot under the collar and also a lack of really authentic Thai dishes on the menu – no som tam, no larb gai etc. But when the food is enjoyable, the atmosphere buzzy, the prices reasonable (you could easily eat well for £25 a head), and the service pleasant, I’m not going to be one of them.

Located inside the London Marriot Hotel County Hall in Westminster, Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar serves up generously sized portions and is ideal for those who like a bit of luxury when it comes to steak.

53-55 Beak Street W1F 9SH vinoteca.co.uk When you get to my age, you really dislike […]

I can imagine much of Pret a Diner will enrage some restaurant critics what with its prices and, let’s admit it, slight pretentiousness. If you’re the sort of person who spots a £500 shirt and sees no problem in buying it though, then you will feel happily at home here.

With its white leather sofas scattered with Moet & Chandon cushions, gilded intricately-framed mirrors, three glitter balls and a shimmering diamante curtain, this bar-cum-restaurant is attempting glamour. But, with no thanks to the view of Tesco and Nando out the window, it’s actually screaming out TOWIE.

Known as the World’s cheapest Michelin Star restaurant and with queues that can be five hours long, enough to even dismay the nuttiest London food blogger, Tim Ho Wan doesn’t quite send David Constable into raptures but he agrees it’s good grub

When is a pop-up not a pop-up? When it’s a squatter, open for half the week all year round. This is the premise upon which The Seagrass trades and for fledging restaurateurs launching in a double-dip recession, it’s a canny concept indeed.