Restaurant File: London, Various Neighborhoods

It's not surprising to find an international clientele here on any given night. After all, the kitchen dishes up bold fusion cooking at its finest. Sit communal-style at the wood counter around the robata grill and have a gab-fest with your grub. Or nab a smaller table for a more quiet conversation. I love the Japanese rice hotpot with crab and the tuna tataki salad. After dinner retire to the basement Shochu lounge and hang out with the neighborhood's hipsters. The restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto Charlotte Street, a prime setting for alfresco dining in the summer. Chrome and exotic wood accents dominate throughout. Roka is known for being as expensive as it is tasty—and there's a two-hour limit on tables due to demand. That said, don't be surprised if the staff is a bit pushy at times. That aside, I'd say this is one not to be missed.

South of the river, Tsunami takes you on a gastronomical voyage to the east. Accompanying a long list of top notch sushi and sashimi is an array of unique small dishes that can add up to a big feast—pan-fried foie gras in moro miso, sliced turbot with ponzu and seared salmon with olive oil. This is not your standard hot pot stop, so why would you settle for a glass of mediocre sake? The avant garde cocktails give the innovative dishes a run for their money. The oyster shooter contains an oyster immersed in sake and a quail's egg yolk. It's a great spot for group bookings. My only warning here is that the service can be appalling. The concrete floors lend the feng shui-inspired dining room an industrial zen look, but it also amplifies the noise.

You don't have to leave London for a taste of the country! First stop: The Marylebone Farmers Market (Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), then head for lunch at the wonderful La Fromagerie, where I could spend many happy hours, tasting fabulous cheeses, shopping for farm-fresh produce, and catching up with friends over a delicious home-style lunch. The main Shop Floor is packed with produce: fruit, vegies, jams, chutneys, artisanal breads and biscuits, olive oils, vinegars and wines. The Tasting Cafe has two long communal tables for 12 and 16 people—not for a private tete-a-tete, more a social catch-up—and serves a satisfying breakfast and lunch. But the main reason you come here is to say cheese! Fleur de Chevre, Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage, Vacherin du Mont d'Or, Ami du Chambertin, Fourme d'Ambert among scores of others, all aged to perfection in maturing rooms at the store's Highbury Park branch. And if you miss the brownies, I'll never forgive you.

This popular spot in Soho opened in 2004 and has been lavished with rave reviews ever since. And for good reason—this is some of the best dim sum in the U.K., plus the pastries and cakes are works of confectionary art. (As it happens, they're totally delicious as well!) This is an anytime place—dinner, lunch and even afternoon tea. On the spacious ground floor, there are 150 varieties of tea you can sample. Downstairs the tastefully decorated restaurant space has leather banquettes, fresh cherry blossoms and a huge fish tank. But it was the heavenly, pillowy dim sum that secured this restaurant's Michelin star, making it one of the few Chinese restaurants in the capital to earn such an honor. That's quite a coup for Alan Yao, the chef and owner who gained fame for his Chinese cooking at Hakkasan, which was also awarded awarded a Michelin star. Polite and unobtrusive service will help your evening pass along swimmingly. The teahouse also serves cocktails all day.

If E.M. Forster were treating a date to an oyster dinner, he would have brought her here. Quite possibly the city's best seafood restaurant, Bentley's is set in a historic Victorian building on the border of Soho and Mayfair. The dining room has the ambience of a charming salon thanks to the wood paneled walls and elaborate wallpaper. But despite the formal look and ornate Victorian fixtures, the place rings with the conviviality of a neighborhood pub. On the menu you'll find traditional dishes prepared with quality ingredients. Expect fish pie, dressed crab, smoked haddock and a big selection of plump bivalves. Try to book more than three weeks in advance to avoid disappointment.

Most people in the know have already heard of—or eaten at—this London institution, the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK. (Marlon Brando and Charlie Chaplin among them.) The dining room has stark white leather banquettes and is glamorously adorned with sparkling chandeliers and multi-colored lights—Carnaby Street refinement meets Bollywood flash. A meal here is an attack on all of your senses. The Kerala Syrian chicken stew is ideal as a starting dish, while the Malabar lobster curry is a fantastic combination of eclectic flavors unlike anything you'd find at any of London's other much adored curry houses. Dishes, which span from classic staples to inventive medleys of flavors, are intended for sharing. The only things that need tweaking are the desserts.

This joint certainly scores points for creativity with its eclectic mix of Asian, Pacific and Mediterranean dishes, culminating in creations such as pan-fried foie gras on caramelized pear with dandelion, umeboshi and pickled walnut salad, plum wine reduction, sumac lavosh and quince paste—whew! As unlikely as some of the flavor pairings on the seasonal menus may seem, everything here works surprisingly well. The atmosphere is buzzing in both the dining room and the all-day cafe, where the wall is festooned with a Maori ceremonial cloth. Space is a bit in short supply and food this clever is perpetually in high demand, but the service is impeccable and with one bite of any dish, the bustle of the surroundings seem to fade into the background.

Chez Bruce is a bit out of town, but culinary artistry in a graceful, minimalistic setting rewards you at your destination. The atmosphere isn't anything special, but the food certainly is. The emphasis is on classic French culinary technique with some pan-European undertones. Try the grilled halibut with scallops, Jerusalem artichoke purée, potato gnocchi and prosciutto. There's a brilliant wine selection as well and a highly knowledgeable sommelier is in the house to answer any questions. My only gripe would be the two-hour sitting policy, so brush up on your speed reading, choose quickly and wisely and enjoy!

The first question at this foodie haven is not what to eat, but where to sit. Choose from the L'Atelier, the famous counter facing the kitchen that has become chef Joël Rubichon's signature in the restaurants he has scattered across the globe, or the formal dining room. The latter is better for groups, but the former, it should be noted, is much more fun. At the counter, you can interact with the chefs as they compose your meal. If you're off to the theater, this is where to go for an unbeatable epicurean dinner on the fly, though if speed is your top priority, we wouldn't recommend this spot for parties of more than two. Try the free-range quail stuffed with foie gras and truffled mashed potatoes. There are also ample vegetarian choices. The Japanese-inspired layout contrasts yet works with the very Gallic food perfectly.

Petersham House, a 17th century mansion situated on the edge of the capital that grows its own organic produce, has a lunchtime café as well as a teahouse on the grounds. Take a seat in the greenhouse amidst lush vegetation or in the courtyard, decked out with designer furniture, and order some of the exquisitely prepared English food and a cuppa. The healthy and unpretentious menu varies with the seasons.

The restaurant is cheerful and the food is devilishly good. This is my favorite scruffy Japanese place in London, offering fast and friendly service, food and a sake selection that's as extensive and varied as the wine selection at your favorite fine dining bistro in Paris. The ambiance has a distinctly Oxford Street breeziness about it, and the décor is unobtrusive. They're not out to inspire any epiphanies with their maki rolls, but what they do provide, they deliver with panache.

This place is easily the pride of Primrose Hill. It's part grocer, part restaurant and entirely warm and welcoming. All the fabulous breads and cakes are baked on the premises with ingredients sourced from artesanal producers in the UK and a heavy dash of TLC. The menu changes daily, and selections are always creative, fresh and fun. Go for breakfast or lunch and then take a stroll on the nearby hill, from which you can enjoy a great view over all of central London.

At this gastropub in Shoreditch, the food is the main attraction and the lively atmosphere is reflection of that of the neighborhood. Without airs or pretension, the kitchen takes classic British pub fare, prepares them with fresh, locally sourced seasonal ingredients and serves them in the vintage cool-meets-pop art setting. If you're spending the day wandering around Brick Land and its various art galleries, settle down here for a hearty meal. If you're in East London, it's worth the trip across the city. Order the potted Morecambe Bay shrimps on toast if you want a quintessentially British dish done properly.

This is London's favorite theater restaurant so it's no surprise that it's a hit with marquee names. The celebs come in before curtain time for cuisine just as classic as some of the works on stage. The lamb mixed grill with Welsh potato cake is especially good. The dishes are offered in an appropriately glamorous setting. The 1930s-style dining room has wood paneled walls, stained glass panels and framed sepia toned glam shots. The service is impeccable. Waiters scurry about fulfilling the request of the very sophisticated crowd. It's notoriously hard to get a table, so make sure to book well in advance.

To call Hawksmoor a steakhouse is like saying Madonna is a singer. The thick menu here reads like a manifesto of carnivorous selections. There are tender steaks from Longhorn cattle, which are hung for at least 28 days, pork chops and lamb. The decor is low-key, the service is accommodating and the crowd is unpretentious. Hawksmoor puts the same emphasis on variety behind the bar as it does in the kitchen. The cocktail list features an array of long-forgotten pre-Prohibition classics mixed with vintage finesse.

Barrafina is the less formal cousin of Fino, the Spanish restaurant and tapas bar in the West End. Perch yourself at the huge zinc bar and watch the chefs sizzle, steam, carve and cook your food. The tapas here is made with fresh ingredients, and the restaurant has a Barcelona-cool vibe and friendly staff. While you could easily fill up on the small plates of tuna tartare, lamb sweetbreads with capers and prawn and piquillo pepper tortillas, do check out the daily changing specials, like whole lemon sole with dill vinaigrette, razor clams a la plancha and crisp fried fresh anchovies. We suspect the perpetual line out the door is made up of people who keep coming back to try everything they haven't already sampled.

Lower Regent Street is where Corbett and King, the all-star lineup behind Ivy, Caprice, the Wolesey and so many others, set up their youngest dining mecca. They offer a virtual European Union of culinary masterpieces in a puzzlingly mod setting. We recommend the fillet of pollock a la plancha with Spanish white beans and piquillo peppers. The well-edited cosmopolitan wine list has selections to match each dish. The décor, however, is a bit scattered. It's a shame nobody bothered to honor the space's previous incarnation, a BBC radio theater. If the perfect atmosphere is what you are seeking, you may want to skip it.

Set in a modest dining room, this restaurant takes traditional British fare and interprets it in ways that make contemporary foodies swoon. Like musicians who can compose grand symphonies by artfully manipulating a few notes, the chefs here work wonders with seasonal ingredients to make dishes that are at once classy and gutsy. Something as simple as kale can become a dinner highlight. It's deservedly crowded, so book well in advance. It's my current favorite and I try to eat there at least once a week when I'm in town.

Braised pig's trotter, pommes mousseline, red wine poached foie gras, brioche and prune and armagnac soufflé with praline ice cream... Yum and ooh and ah! Not typically my kind of food as it is chi chi and I tend to go for simple...but, what Head chef Igor Tymchyshyn gets up to in the kitchen is true talent. I will next go to their charming Epicerie next door which serves breakfast, light lunches, snacks—a handsome meeting spot in this area of London. I love the pretty Parisian-style terrace which can accommodate 30 seated or 60 for a drinks reception; their private dining room seats 14 at one table or up to 18 on 3 tables of 6. Elegant, serene and upscale. Add it to your list. NB: Terrace is open in Summer only from 12noon

The name translates as "mouth of the wolf" ... yum Italian regional specialties in the heart of boho Soho. What was excellent at our table? The spaghettini with lobster, mussels and ginger from Sicilia; grilled porcini and polenta from Lombardia; a rum baba with pineapple and whipped cream from Napoli ... mamma mia! This stylish red-brick ristorante is perfect for a cosy dinner for 2 or a fun party for 28 ... the private dining room has a great wooden table which can be piled high with tasting plates made for sharing. Everything is created fresh and by hand each day in chef Jacob Kennedy's kitchen ... this guy knows exactly what he's doing. Fab marble-top bar, choc-brown seats, warm lighting ... perfetto!

One of my fave places for a lunch-on-the-go or pre-theatre dinner in the heart of funky, boisterous Soho. When Rocco Princi opened the first of four bakeries in Milan in 1985, critics hailed him as the "Armani of bread", and he has now brought his uniquely Milanese concept to central London. A joint venture with Alan Yau, the driving force behind the super-successful Wagamama eateries, Princi is a sleek and sexy space decked out with chunks of limestone, marble and bronze which serve as both décor and dining tables. Order a drink from the bar, choose your food from a long glass counter stretching the entire left wall, and then try to find a spot to sit-easier said than done, Princi is buzzy, fun, frenetic, and almost always full. The food is delish: artisanal breads, mouth-watering pizzas and focaccias, fruit tarts, and trays of sweet Italian treats (steer clear of the croissants, the French do them much better). Can't wait for a Princi to open closer to my home in South Kensington soon...

Note: Princi doesn't take credit cards, so make sure you have enough cash on you.

Fab food for a budget-conscious price? Taqueria is one of my fave local eateries in Notting Hill, a super-simple
Mexican ... part of the Cool Chile Co., which imports the ingredients directly from Mexico and turns them into mouthwatering dishes. My table is usually filled with plates of antojitos, tostadas, tacos and tortillas, so I come with friends! Do taste the Choriqueso—house-made Mexican chorizo sausage rolled inside grilled cheese on two large tortillas and a spicy red salsa on the side—a steal at £5 (about $7). Expect to pay £15-20 (about $20-$30) a head, hard to beat and minutes away from three cinemas.

 

One of London's best kept dining secrets ... a pan-Asian affair not easy to come by in this city. Fusion Singaporean, Malaysian, Thai and Chinese cooking, the spices are not shy—very nice tom ka gai and a clay-pot curry with fragrant jasmine rice. Space for only 34 with a cute garden in the back (weather permitting) ... but the ambience is Zen-calm, unhurried and welcoming. Top spot for a casual bite out with friends—a slice of heaven on All Saints Road.