Dining at a London restaurant is now the most expensive eating-out experience in the world, outranking Tokyo, Paris and New York.

The average cost of a meal is £39.09, up 2.9 per cent in a year, according to Zagat’s latest London Restaurant survey. In Paris the average meal costs £35.37 and in Tokyo, where dining out was the dearest in the world last year, the average meal is now £35.10. New Yorkers would pay less than £20 for the same meal, including a drink, tax and charge for service.

At the top-end restaurants an average meal costs £87.90 in London, a rise of 6.1 per cent. The average meal at a fine restaurant in Tokyo costs £102.86 and £101.08 in Paris.

Tim Zagat, co-founder of the guide, believes the prices are becoming exorbitant for American visitors – particularly with the strong value of sterling against the dollar.

“The cost of eating in a high-end restaurant in London is twice as much as in New York for the same thing,” he said. “For someone from the States this is a very expensive proposition. I think these restaurants will now be used mainly for celebrations or expense account meals. When you are taking yourself and your kids out, people will watch their pockets.”

Mr Zagat is confident that there will be a boom in Londoners eating out at good, local restaurants. He has dubbed the eateries “Bath” restaurants (Better Alternative To Home) and says London is full of these casual and inexpensive establishments.

He said: “In London you are lucky if you get home by 7 or 8 at night and people just don’t have the time to shop and cook, so they are going to local casual restaurants that serve hearty food that is close to home cooking. They are competitively priced.

“Remember, you buy food at retail prices while they pay wholesale so manufacturing food at home is an inefficient way of eating.”

He said the secret to having a good, cheap meal out was knowing where to go, but he commended local ethnic restaurants and gastro pubs. The latest guide also identifies 40 Best Buy restaurants where holidaymakers and business travellers will not be ripped off by overcharging.

The guide also says that the smoking ban has been a success, with 93 per cent of diners in the capital supporting it, and 28 per cent saying it has encouraged them to eat out more often.

Diners in London grumble about overpriced menus but their real gripe is with the poor service at the capital’s restaurants, the guide says. British food has been transformed in 30 years and chefs have restored their authority in the kitchen. But front-of-house staff appear to be a problem.

Diners’ biggest complaint was poor service. While many fine restaurants have scored above 25 marks for service there were too many premises scoring 11 or 12. About 53 per cent of diners complained about the poor hospitality and the difficulty in getting a table.

Mr Zagat said: “Front-of-house is the problem in London and it seems to do with attitude and incompetence. Chefs are now respected and have become celebrities. They are professional and well-trained. But when is the last time that you saw a maître d’hôte on TV? You haven’t. They are just not as respected and the public can see that discrepancy inside restaurants. There should be more culinary schools and people should be given proper training. This really is a big issue for London.”

Other trends in the capital are the increase in “green” restaurants serving, organic, seasonal and sustainable food, with nearly 60 per cent of diners willing to pay more for sustainable food and 54 per cent willing to pay more for organic fare.

Italian is the capital’s favourite cuisine and cabernet sauvignon the wine most ordered. Only one in five diners finds the background music in restaurants atmospheric or enjoyable. Most (39 per cent) said it was tolerable while 30 per cent found it intrusive.

FOOD OR FANTASY?

Average cost of a meal (with one drink and service)

Click here for Britain's 10 most expensive restaurants

Click here for Britain's 10 best value restaurants

Click here for Britain's 10 favourite restaurants

TOP 10 FOR SERVICE (rated out of 30)

Gordon Ramsay/68 Royal Hospital Road 28
Lanes 27
Waterside Inn 27
Capital Rest 26
Foliage 26
Le Gavroche 26
Mark’s Club 26
Pétrus 26
Quadrato 26
The Square 26

10 MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES TO EAT IN

London £39.09
Paris £35.37
Tokyo £35.10
New York City £19.30
San Francisco £17.61
Washington DC £16.98
Miami £16.85
Chicago £16.52
Los Angeles £15.63
Boston £15.07

Source: Zagat 2008 London Restaurant Survey

Explore Food & Drink

• Gordon Ramsay

• Heston Blumenthal

• Recipes

• Wine

• Real Food

• Drinks

• Anjum Anand

• Eating Out

• Video Recipes

Times Recommends

• Britain's Top 20 seaside fish and chip shops
• Ice cream makers: the scoop of the century
• British berries make super sorbets