THE BIG EAT

Rhodes W1 £££

The Cumberland Hotel, Great Cumberland Place W1 (020-7479 3737), open Tues-Fri noon-2.30pm; Tues-Sat 7-10.30pm

This new fine-dining restaurant at the Cumberland Hotel is an entirely different proposition from the hotelish Rhodes W1 Brasserie within the same property: it’s smaller, more intimate, and boasts a romantic, softly lit interior.

This all makes for a suitably sophisticated backdrop for the very accomplished food, which, surprisingly, eschews the updated Brit classics for which the executive chef Gary Rhodes is famous, in favour of modern French cuisine. A beautifully presented and delicately flavoured salad of sweetbreads with freshwater crayfish and soft quails’ eggs might be followed by expertly executed salt-roast pigeon with white asparagus, cabbage hearts and lemon cumin gravy, rounded off with a raspberry soufflé.

Meals are punctuated by complementary plates of delectable canapés, amuse-bouches and petits fours, which make the steep prices start to seem downright reasonable.

££ ANGELUS

4 Bathurst Street, W2 (020-7402 0083), open Mon-Sun noon-11pm

Hidden on a quiet street just behind Lancaster Gate, this small dining room is classically decorated with studded banquettes and huge mirrors. The signature dish of foie gras crème brûlée is a deliciously rich liver mousse topped with a sweet poppy-seed crust. Even better is roast breast and leg of Anjou pigeon, perfectly cooked and served with earthy salsify wrapped in bacon. Wash down with a glass from the carefully selected wine list.

£££ CHESIL RECTORY

1 Chesil Street, Winchester, Hampshire (01962 851555), open Wed-Sat noon-2pm; Tues-Sat 7-9.30pm

This historic gem dates back to 1427, with low ceilings, original beams and timbers, and it even has a big inglenook in which to enjoy the sophisticated cuisine, which includes a recommended six-course tasting option. Pick from fillet of Hampshire beef, topped with spiced foie gras and served with a broad bean purée, shallot marmalade and truffle sauce, followed by a hot chocolate fondant duo, with praline ice-cream.

££ CRAZY BEAR

26-28 Whitfield Street, W1 (020-7631 0088), open Mon-Fri noon-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

Crazy Bear is an odd name for an oriental restaurant, but then this quirky outfit doesn’t play by the book. The decor is sexy and alluring, combining sleek leather and ostrich skin for a sultry look, while the food is Thai with a pan-Asian twist. Look out for wok-fried squid with a zingy wasabi mayonnaise, a salad of tiger prawns with exotic fruits, chilli and Thai herbs, or steamed snapper doused in a pungent sauce of chilli, lime leaves, galangal and lemongrass.The bar downstairs is great for predinner drinks and no visit to the Crazy Bear would be complete without a trip to the disorientatingly mirrored loos.

££ HAT & FEATHERS

2 Clerkenwell Road EC1 (020-7490 2244), open Mon-Fri, Sun noon-2.30pm; Mon-Sat 6-10.30pm

You might not expect to find top-notch cooking in a room above a lively Clerkenwell pub, but this restaurant is full of surprises. Though lit by flickering gaslights and elegantly decked out in creams and browns, the amiable staff and peals of laughter from the bar downstairs help to keep it relaxed. Look out for the rabbit with a creamy three-mustard sauce and cabbage, with a marvellous slab of spongy bread and butter pudding with iced crème anglaise to finish.

£££ LAVENDER HOUSE

39 The Street, Brundall, Norfolk (01603 712215), open Fri 12.302.30pm; Tues-Sat 7pm-12.30am

Richard Hughes is on a culinary mission to get Norfolk ingredients on the map, and such is the dedication to the provenance of the produce used in the kitchen that suppliers have their own hall of fame in the bar. With several courses of appetisers and tasters apart from the main three courses, and homemade chocolates to finish, dinner can be real value for money. A typical meal might include oak-smoked rare pigeon breast with beetroot, wild mushrooms and truffled leaves and fillet and skirt of Barnard’s Shropham beef.

£££ MOMO

25 Heddon Street, W1 (020-7434 4040), open Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm; Mon-Sun 6.30pm-1am

The snug interior, with its pretty fretwork, low-slung seating and flickering lighting, provides the backdrop to Maghreb classics from briouats (stuffed pastry parcels) to tagines and mounds of ultra-fine couscous. The colourful cocktails and interesting wine list, with plenty from North Africa, are also part of Momo’s appeal. Colourful cocktails are an added bonus.

££ LA POULE AU POT

231 Ebury Street, SW1 (020-7730 7763), open Mon-Sat 12.302.30pm (Sat -3pm), 6.4511pm; Sun 12.303.30pm, 6.4510pm

The restaurant’s romantic candle-lit nooks and quaint decor of baskets of dried flowers bring a whiff of rural France to Central London. Nothing fancy, mind. The menu is all about nostalgia, and its robust execution is definitely more farmhouse than restaurant – think of rich onion soup, roast lamb with green beans, or coq au vin, with textbook crème brûlée to finish.

£££ LES TROIS GARÇONS

1 Club Row E1 (020-7613 1924), open Mon-Sat 7pm-midnight

High on romance, at Les Trois Garçons the lighting is low and the kitsch and camp decor features all manner of diverting objects, from designer handbags hanging from the ceiling to a menagerie of stuffed exotic animals – all testament to the quirky tastes of its three antiques-dealer owners. Starters include salad of Dorset crab, while mains such as saddle of English rabbit with Scottish girolles, figs and cauliflower are a must.

£££ WEST STOKE HOUSE

West Stoke, Chichester, West Sussex (01243 575226), open Wed-Sun 12.301.30pm; Wed-Sat 7.309pm

Rural Sussex panoramas viewed from a fine Georgian house are the backdrop to a menu that is broadly modern European with a strong French accent. Typical highlights are ravioli of lobster with samphire and shellfish foam to start, with loin of cod and Puy lentils, crisp spring onions and broad beans to follow. Lovely bedrooms, too.

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