Date posted: October 20, 2007

London

London's restaurant scene is notoriously dynamic. Some restaurants are hyped before they're even open and have closed again before you can finally book a table for two at a reasonable time.

Restaurants in London also seem to be getting more and more expensive. I liked the Gallery Room at Sketch which features a changing program of interesting video art on all four walls, but I was rather surprised when I had to order a side dish since the main course only consisted of the fish or the meat.

My current favourites are The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, next to The Ritz and almost opposite the Royal Academy. A restaurant and brasserie in a wonderful setting and best of all, in addition to taking reservations, they have a first-come first-serve policy, meaning that you can just try your luck if you don't know 4 weeks in advance when you'll be in London. The food is OK, though nothing special, and yes, pricey.

Hakkasan, 8 Hanway Place, W1, the descent from street level towards the restaurant is quite nice. The food is so so, it's more that I liked the lively ambiance, which reminded me of a film set in Singapore or Hong Kong but I can't remember which movie it was.

I still like the Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols as a place for a prix fixe lunch, served between 12 and 3pm.

Oxo Tower is another long standing favourite. Good food and a great view of the London skyline.

There are a lot of Indian restaurants in London. The Painted Heron and Rasoi Vineet Bhatia are Indian with a difference.