If you like Thai food then you’ll love Patara and if you don’t then I’d give it a shot anyway because you might just change your mind. It’s a good-looking venue and a great place to meet up with friends for some relaxing indulgence and a few bottles of lovely Singha beer – service is assured and the food demonstrates enough skill to put it head and shoulders above much of the competition

I know some people expected more from Alan Yau of Wagamama fame, and it seems Cha Cha has reverted to a slow waltz since he stopped being in charge day to day. Even so, it’s cheap and it’s cheerful and, unlike some of Chinatown’s finest, you don’t get the feeling you’re a nuisance to the staff. For a fast feed, everyone can comfortably still keep going to the Moon.

With a selection of fine cheeses, or if you prefer a wonderfully wobbly Amaretto Panacotta with pear ice cream and salted almonds, the Landau rounds off set lunch with light love. It’s a pleasure to eat such unshowy, unpretentious but finely judged cooking. And of course, once you’ve eaten the prix fixe, you’ll be back to try the impossibly good looking a la carte in the evening. Lunch is just for starters, after all

Its ten years since The Cinnamon Club redefined Indian cuisine for an English audience and although classical in execution the cooking remains innovative. The Anglo-Indian cuisine encompasses not only the hybrid cuisine evolved by Bengali immigrants with its vidaloos and tikka masalas, but also the traditionally refined food of India’s raj and royalty that celebrates subtly and quality ingredients.

I’m not really a street food kind of person, at least not in the UK. I’ve munched in Malaysia, snacked in Singapore and struggled to find a suitable verb in Vietnam, but they’re all places where eating is almost constant. The people of those lovely countries resemble eating bicycles, if they stop feeding for a moment they tend to wobble and fall over.

Pretty much the whole body is covered nose to tail at Manchurian Legends and the menu is not for the faint-hearted: stir-fried pigs intestines with leek, spicy pigs knuckle, marinated duck tongues, stir-fried chicken gizzard and heart…

I’d definitely recommend Franco Manca if you’re short on time, but don’t fancy the usual suspects in fast food court. Their real achievement is creating a product with a real point of difference in the competitive and crowded Pizza market.

West Dulwich or West Norwood? Some blurring of the boundaries apart, The Rosendale is definitely in South London so that’s a big plus already for local allotmenteer Nick Harman

Qin Xie visits a City restaurant with a City banker. Does the seafood measure up?

Born in Texas, raised in Florida and trained in Holland, Chef Josh has a good feel for how far he can take the American spin on such British classics as fish and chips, pork pies, scotch eggs and bubble and squeak. Since taking the reigns at The Plough, Chef Josh has introduced a southern feel to the menu by including pulled pork, cornbread and using fruit, Cajun seasoning and lots of chilli that leaves you feeling bold without being smothered by soul food.