‘What’s the point of sitting inside at a restaurant whose USP is the view of Tower Bridge?” I whisper, menacingly, to a quivering S at Cantina del Ponte. S, who arrived at the Italian restaurant ten minutes before me, has happily plonked herself inside on a summer’s night when I wanted to sit on its lavender and olive-planted terrace.

Dedicated carnivore Marcus ‘the buffet slayer’ takes on the challenge of Rodizio Rico, a Brazilian restaurant where hunks of barbequed meat are heaped onto your plate till you can take no more- ‘an all you can eat meatfest’.

Now people say I am a burger denier but it’s really not true, I just don’t make a fetish of them that’s all. Nothing wrong with a decent burger for lunch and it fills a hole just as it’s designed to. Bistro du Vin’s burger could fill several holes; by my handy pocket theodolite it seems to stand six inches tall

It’s as well that Haymarket is lined with restaurants on both sides. And what a lot of restaurants there are. Well-known chains, all catering to the Croydon crowd come up West for the night. I can slander Croydon like this because I was born and lived there until I was 16, so I know of what I slag.

Opened recently SOCIeTY bar/restaurant has sharp contemporary decor, which they refer to it as ‘industrial elegance’. Although a little ‘off the beaten track’, it’s but a couple of minutes walk from Blackfriars station and City Thameslink. With great food and good atmosphere, this is absolutely a society that I’d be happy to drop into from time to time.

You don’t need a fast car to dine at The Three Oaks – but the chances are you’ll spot one there. Joanna Biddolph wished she’d taken her ancient Rover to the car wash before setting off for this posh part of near-London where good value, quality, generous portions and lashings of jus are always on the menu.

Joe’s sounds like a cheap cafe but with its glam interior, complete with glossy style mags to read if a table isn’t free, it’s anything but. Outside I see a Lamborghini, which has probably never ever left Zone 2, attempting to parallel park. It takes him ten attempts while taxis hoot at him derisively.

A very good restaurant should always make you feel comfortable no matter what. In its dining room, Quaglino’s manages it with aplomb

There are a fair number of city restaurants that now occupy spaces previously created for financial institutions; Caravaggio in Leadenhall Street is one of them. The food was very good, though on the generous side. We had a great evening there.

300 Kentish Town Road London NW5 2TG www.kentishcanteen.co.uk It’s an ugly knot of a junction […]