Established over 16 years ago and positioned in the heart of Theatreland, Palm Court Brasserie guarantees its reputation as one of Covent Garden's most established dining and drinking experiences with a stunning refurbishment and menu overhaul.

Opened by London restaurateur Brian Stein, it has been lovingly crafted to recreate a classically 1920's art nouveau environment. The intimate restaurant is perfectly suited for long, leisurely chats over a bottle of choice Chardonnay, or other choices from the vineyards of France, Italy and the New World, enhanced by a welcoming selection of dishes from the bar menu.

The walls are adorned with carefully selected images conducive to the art-deco feel and the eye is drawn to these by subtle use of varied lighting effects to create a subdued but cosseted ambience.

The beautiful, wrought-iron, centrally hung chandelier softly illuminates the surroundings and contrasts the failing, winter's light outside as the Covent Garden Piazza slides into nightfall. Palm Court Brasserie is an elegant time capsule and an oasis of sophisticated calm.

Palms absorb dishes by influence from Italian and French culture and gives them a traditionally British slant. The emphasis of Palm Court Brasserie cuisine is focused on light and healthy dishes representing an attractive fusion of the rustic and urban styles. Classic brasserie offerings such as steak frites and mussels cooked in white wine, garlic, parsley and cream, sit happily alongside pan-Mediterranean dishes including a seafood linguine of king prawns, clams with roma tomatoes, chilli and spinach, and grilled duck breast with dauphinoise potatoes, roasted vegetables and peppercorn sauce.

This 120-seater restaurant is ideal for couples or quieter mature groups who wish to enjoy a relaxing meal in casual, leisurely environment, either before or after the theatre. Guests may enjoy dining by the French windows commanding a view of the artists performing in the nearby Piazza.

Alternatively, the restaurant's rear suite with forty seats may be sealed off, creating an ideal atmosphere for guests who wish for complete privacy during a meeting, buffet or seated party. A range of menus is available, and you could find one to best suit you. More details are available on their Website.

Do note that they are closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Freshly opened (August 2010) the spears are already waving for Shaka Zulu and its South African style food under the control of Executive Chef Barry Vera at Stables Market in Camden. The whole scale of the place is cosmic, from the open plan kitchen to the exclusive chef's tables, not forgetting to mention the world-class chefs.

From the moment of entry it's clear that Shaka Zulu Camden is a place with, well no perhaps I'd better not say that. Let's just say it's already on the way to becoming iconic. The culture of the Zulu world is assembled round the walls, culminating in the Warrior Wall where King Shaka himself stands amongst a group of warriors sculpted into incredible 60ft statues.

A Seafood and Oyster bar reinvents a time honoured custom and the Braai Grill Restaurant provides the setting for some very serious indulgence. Much of the music follows the African sound and music and dancing comes to a reluctant end at 2am.

The Braai is where the theatre of food comes to life with a range of starters that includes Ethiopian braised chicken in berberé, a spicy red pepper sauce; mussel chowder made with corn and saffron, or Prestige oysters with shallot vinegar, tabasco and lemon. A Cape Malay chicken curry is based on Malaysian cooking with the best of South African food and a generous helping of Indian flavour and style. This is curry with horns. Unlike the carpaccio of ostrich with goat's cheese, peppadew and horseradish.

The virtues of slow cooking are still not fully appreciated, but the spit roasted dorper lamb is marinated before being roasted for 7 hours, then served with a spicy African vegetable relish, chakalaka by name. Fruits de mer never fail to ring the bell and come in various sizes for companionable eating as up to six people pick on lobster, langoustines, fresh prawns, oysters, crevette grises, winkles and mussels. Rather more individual is the half poached native lobster with harissa mayonnaise, lemon and watercress.

Looking for something different? It's not difficult at Braai, and the Shaka Zulu sample board goes overboard with springbok, ostrich, kudu, boerewors with monkey gland sauce, mint and peanut chutney and chakalaka. Moving rather nearer home we find ourselves staring Royal Sandringham in the face as we tackle fillet or a sirloin steak from the Red Poll beef that this old estate breed produces. Its distinctive flavour is superb.

Even the modest sausage is not safe from this invasion of fine food, so welcome the grilled boerewors variety, full of coarsely ground beef and lamb with toasted coriander, pepper, nutmeg and cloves and allspice, served with mint and peanut chutney. After this even a Speyside Highland Rib served on the bone comes as a bit of an anticlimax until those pickled girolles and garlic with red wine sauce start tickling the tasties.

Even the side dishes at this estimable restaurant and club are not without special note. It would never have occurred to me for instance to bring together bell pepper, tomato and curry with cabbage, thereby creating Zulu curry. But, as they say, it works. Boy, does it work.

Shaka Zulu sets new standards at a time when we need them, and it's difficult to avoid the thought we deserve somewhere like this to shake off the last few years and get us through the next few. If that is taken as a political statement you are of course quite wrong. But you could start by giving yourself membership of the King's Club. Don't wait for Christmas.

There's a whole lot more to know about Shaka Zulu, and their Website will do so much, but there's nothing like the real experience.

In the heart of London's Mayfair, close to the landmark luxury hotels The Dorchester and The Ritz, La Brasserie Mayfair is the newest acquisition by the owners of Fakhreldine, and rather unsurprisingly specialises in modern European food, majoring on the best of France, Italy and Spain, an attractive trio when it comes to matters of culinary distinction.

At the helm of this landlocked temple to Copia and Bacchus is Italian chef Erik Paternoster. His aim has been, and remains so, to create a restaurant that mirrors a modern-day French restaurant. However, he will sometimes smilingly refer to his Mediterranean Brasserie. So no red and gold but a monochrome theme, reflecting informality. Whilst enjoying your meal you can watch a range of top musicals or listen to the soundtracks of you favourite old musicals.

Despite its 80 covers La Brasserie soon fills up with guests anxious to enjoy a number of dishes ranging from the exotic to the simply gorgeous. If I wasn't already a hopeless addict when it came to prawns I would fall for gambas "pil pil", prawns cooked in bubbling oil, chilli, garlic and parsley. A classic salade Niçoise revolves round a French style tuna salad, composed of red onions, green beans, boiled eggs, capers, anchovies and black olives.

Down amongst the big boys a simple fillet of cod, pan fried, is blessed with braised leeks and a parsley sauce. One could hardly ask for a more straightforward dish, yet it's the twinning that counts here. The same goes for spaghetti with garlic, tomato sauce and basil. A poulet Paillard with roast new potatoes and spinach carries a hint of true country cooking using the best of ingredients and allowing them to make their contribution over time rather than being blasted to anonymity amidst a host of choices.

None of the countries that contributes to La Brasserie Mayfair can be said to be short of ideas when it comes to dessert time. Two classics, an Italian tiramisu and the much loved crème brûlée are always in demand, and the meal can be even more enjoyably extended by an assiette de Fromages.

The menu is made up of only 15 dishes including starters and main courses, and five desserts. For those accustomed to lengthy menus that can leave you baffled and with a feeling of deprivation, this might at first glance seem to be a challenge. But look closer and the clever way in which the tastes and flavours have been linked becomes more apparent. Add to this the fact that the prices are gentle on the pocket

Whoever selected the wines had no need to travel beyond the three countries either, and they chose well, picking wines that respond to the theme of simplicity - and integrity. For those in need of something a touch different, jugs of Sangria Espanola, sometimes described as the national drink of Spain are very much in evidence.

Their Website will tell you more about this coming together of three star European countries that have so much to offer in terms of culinary pleasure.

By London standards Boulevard Brasserie, well established in the Opera Quarter on Wellington Street, is an old hand at providing excellent food and service since 1991. Surrounded by some of the best known and most vibrant centres of the London theatre, it is only 50 metres from Covent Garden Piazza; near neighbours such as the Royal Opera House, Lyceum Theatre and Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, ensure that Boulevard's credentials are impeccable.

Recently having completed a refurbishment, there's more to its credentials than just having the right neighbours, well demonstrated by menus that provide for every occasion, be it a night at the theatre, a family celebration, Sunday lunch, a romantic assignment, or a good place to seal a business proposition.

The theatre menu is a tour de force, operating pre- and post matinée meals in afternoon and evenings at prices that are an incitement to take the best seats available in the theatre of your choice. Three courses offer four choices on each and a typical meal might consist of gravalax, followed by a minute steak with fries and Béarnaise sauce, and petit pot au chocolat or Roquefort cheese with spiced pear. Private dining rooms can accommodate theatre groups of between 25 and 120.

An à la carte weaves its way through an extensive range of dishes, all of which sound totally beguiling, thus transforming the choosing of your meal into a Catch 22 situation. Where to start? One of the greatest mistakes to be made when eating is to hurry, particularly when ordering. Let nature, not the maître d?, has its way. Find space for some tartines, delightful little French sour-dough snacklets topped with Jambon cru ham, shredded duck and other delights, and revel in whole tiger prawns pan-fried.

La Français is never far from the scene and beef bourguignon and mash, confit de canard, steak frites and classic French onion soup sit comfortably with their English counterparts. The vegetables are a delight with a refreshing absence of root numbers and a light hearted hand applied to the rest.

However the ritualistic Sunday Roast is omni-present, made even more welcome by being served all day, thereby minimising the risk of getting overlooked by other events of which sleeping-in is but one.

A choice of some six desserts yields a classic crème brûlée, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, and a rhubarb and raspberry bavarois, and the French return with a triumphant ménage of cheeses, bandying around such names as Comté, Saint Maure, Fourne d'Ambert and Munster, all served with quince jelly, grapes and celery, a very model of its kind.

A new feature to Boulevard Brasserie is the Boulevard Cellars - a cosy and intimate wine bar - offering a wide range of regional French wines and Champagne. Ample opportunities by the glass make exciting drinking a real possibility and a relatively short but very interesting range of after dinner treats for those with time and company on their hands is well worth considering.

Like many good restaurants nothing stays the same for very long with the exception of the standards Boulevard sets, which remain unremittingly high. A click on their Website will keep you up to date.

In 1979, Porters English Restaurant was opened by The 7^th Earl of Bradford, for those times, a restaurateur extraordinaire; not every day does an English Earl, either then or now, expand his interests beyond the ancestral acres to set up shop within the highly competitive London restaurant market. Lord Bradford, who wears his title lightly, said at the launch, "Porters English Restaurant will give a lot of people good, simple, traditional English dishes in comfortable surroundings, at very reasonable prices!" If every politician kept their word as well as he has done the world might be a better place.

Porters does not set out to be a classy restaurant. Instead, in homely surroundings that smack of bistro turned brasserie, they serve food and drink that is easily recognisable as genuinely comfortable grub, relished by far more people than might be supposed if you paid too much attention to the culinary media.

So for starters keep an eye lifted for Norfolk dressed crab, the ever popular roast tomato and basil soup, creamy and with that tell-tale colour which proclaims the real thing, and chicken liver pâté with brandy and garlic, with homade red onion marmalade.

At the outset Porters was mainly about pies, and whilst the balance has shifted, they remain a staple dish. Little wonder then that steak, Guinness and mushroom pie stands still as Porters's perennial bestseller. No fancy recipe, you get what it says, and like all other main courses it is served with one of a number of traditional accompaniments, of which chips and baked potatoes are well up the list.

Loyalty is suitably expressed by Buckingham pie, venison for the Scots, beef for the English, leeks for the Welsh, and redcurrants or puff pastry, depending on your point of view but just as welcome, for the Irish. The wild boar and sage sausages are a real treat for the connoisseur of such delicacies, in the same ranking as the braised beef and herb faggots, with onion and ale gravy.

Grills at Porters are chargrilled over hot coals for full flavour retention, and include a 16oz Aberdeen Angus T-Bone steak, 28 day hung and cooked to your preference and served peppered, plain or with a Béarnaise sauce and caramelised onions. Puddings follow the same traditional course and include steamed syrup sponge, dark chocolate chip pudding, burnt Trinity cream with a tangy damson base, and wonderful homemade ice cream.

As with so many things English, afternoon tea is an event at Porters, complete with bottomless cups, traditional fruit scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam, and other more weighty confections such as summer pudding with whipped cream for those who missed out on lunch.

A practical, down to earth wine list offers excellent value interesting drinking from around the world, including England - of course. And if you like the food that much a copy of Porters English Cookery Bible can be yours for a modest sum.

High above Piccadilly, The Terrace Restaurant is one of the roomiest venues in London; with its vented natural sunlight captured in the shadows of the stone pillars, it boasts a blend of old and new world within its classical yet contemporary surroundings. Compared to the bustling West End below, the restaurant offers a relaxed and refined dining experience.

Alternatively, if you prefer a chic slice of a Venetian 'al fresco', lunch can be served on the balcony.

They describe their menus as, 'Being modern European with a cool fashionable twist, serving food which is mouth watering and sumptuous - satisfying the ultimate connoisseur'.

Particularly good value - especially for a top hotel restaurant in London - is represented by their fixed price menus at £17.95 for lunch for three courses and £27.95 menu served for pre-theatre.

The menus are seasonal and during a summer visit be prepared to find starters ranging from curried scallops with cauliflower purée and crisp pancetta, ham hock terrine with gooseberry relish, or smoked duck breast with spiced orange marmalade.

This imaginative and diverse approach continues through to the main courses from organic Scottish salmon with sautéed wild mushrooms and celeriac purée, pan fried sea bass with tomato fondue and gremolata dressing to roast fillet of beef, marrow bone, camembert fondant with red wine shallots.

Their pan fried Guinea fowl breast with fricassee of peas, pearl onions and lettuce served with barrel new potatoes and crème fraiche mustard sauce make a luxurious meal for a truly indulgent dining experience.

Diners could, perhaps, enjoy a comfortable aperitif or digestif in the Bar lounge area, before or after dinner, with a wide range of wines and champagnes to choose from.

Their afternoon tea can be similarly meaningful as you enjoy 'Tea on the Terrace', this is an experience that is all too rare in London these days.

For further details, including information about staying at Le Meridien Piccadilly or holding private parties and conferences there, do visit their Website.

Without any shadow of doubt Alla Turca is a place for enjoyment. Located in Glasgow City Centre the different facets of this award winning Turkish restaurant, grill and mezze bar combine to bring an air of jollity to a city of many unusual ingredients, causing one wag to coin the phrase, 'a funeral in Glasgow is more fun than a wedding in Edinburgh'. From the standpoint of an intimate acquaintance with both cities I wouldn't dare to comment, but I do wish that Alla Turca had been in existence when last I was there, some years ago.

This is Turkey at its best away from home. A wonderful combination of exotic Turkish dishes, the enchanting live music of Armagan Alakus and his Turkish guitar every night from 6pm, never intrusive, always entertaining, amidst a décor that is challenging enough in itself, the citizens of Glasgow, their friends and a wider public are all set to have an evening they will recal with pleasure.

Writing in Glasgow West End Roy Beers said, "For Glaswegians and also the increasing stream of visitors who seek out the city's unrivalled dining and drinking scene, a meal at Alla Turca is a journey of exploration into a world of fascinating complementary tastes and food textures, a candlelit oasis of romance and refinement at the busy heart of Scotland's Fine Dining milieu".

The tasting menu starts off with 10 classic mixed starters that include Kisir, Tabule, Borek, Falafel and Sucuk. No need to choose - all ten arrive en table with Turkish bread and - if you take heed of the recommendation, a glass of Turkey's national drink, raki, for everyone. Larger courses include the Alla Turca mixed grill special, barbecued sword fish shish, Scottish king scallops from Shetland, and sitting rather austerely amongst all this frivolity an Angus rib eye steak from the Buccleuch Estate in Dumfriesshire.

As night follows day so does the Turkish Delight and blueberry crème brûlée follow the steak or whatever else your eye lit upon, hotly contested by the much celebrated Baklava with vanilla ice cream or Turkish chocolate, cherry and amaretto mousse with ice cream.

A brasserie menu offers two courses during the day and pre-theatre at an incredibly value for money price, with sesame falafel and humus served with salad and Turkish style fusilli pasta with creamy chicken and asparagus tips, or the chicken casserole of mixed vegetables, apricots and plums with rice and salad.

Over 50 fine wines and champagnes lurk in the cellar. One looks in vain for the odd bin of Chateau Musar, but you never know ? keep on asking. There are some Turkish reds well attuned to the hearty dishes from which you are never far away at Alla Turca. Staff have the same jovial service with a flourish that drums up thoughts of holidays-past in the robust countries of the Middle East.

The live musician plays every evening until late, an ideal accompaniment to the Candlelit Romantic Dinner, meaning you don't have to shout when you pop the all-important question. On certain weekends they even have traditional Turkish dances, do enquire to get details.

And talking of weddings, such occasions are star events at Alla Turca, who if you wish will take care of the whole event, or as much as you would like them to do. From 10 to 100, you can leave it all to them.

The final word should perhaps come from Joanna Blythman, respected restaurant critic, writing in the Sunday Herald ? Feast of the East, "This is definitely one of the most professional and well-run, assured restaurants I've eaten in for quite some time. It's the sort of place where, even in a large group, you know you will be well looked after. The music makes it more attractive still".

Alla Turca has Top Table Awards for 2007-2010, an Eat Scotland Award and is a real fun place in the Glasgow tradition of enjoyment. Click on their Website for further information.

Every so often there is an occasion in your life when only the best will do, and without doubt Babylon at The Roof Gardens falls well inside that category, combining as it does all that is best in a restaurant that is able to offer that elusive quality - complete reliability.

Much of the attraction of this sleek, modern restaurant atop the Kensington Roof Gardens used to lie in its spectacular views, but now Head Chef, Ian Howard, with years of experience under his belt, has created menus with a focus on fresher produce from local suppliers to increase the quality of dishes served to Babylon's guests.

Ian's stints at The Savoy, The Belvedere Restaurant under Marco Pierre White, and The Cumberland Hotel under Gary Rhodes, have more than just given him an impressive CV, they have also fuelled his passion for modern British cuisine adding a personalised twist to old favourites.

The à la carte menu carries the main presentation with a list of stunning first courses that leave customers in no doubt they have come to the right place. The perfect touch applied to the butternut squash soup topped with whipped crème fraîche and chives is a hint of things to come. Cornish crab mayonnaise has that little extra, presented with celeriac and apple remoulade with wafer thin caraway croutons.

Main courses of Cotswold White roasted chicken breast is served with date puree, baby leeks, café au lait jus with chopped dates and mash potato, or there is celeriac risotto with crème fraîche, parmesan and shredded ham hock and sauerkraut, garnished with red chicory and cornichons.

Portion sizes have increased, too, but make sure you save space for pudding. The menu is designed to suit all tastes, and could include mango and white chocolate mousse with black sesame seed tuille, papaya and rum sorbet, caramelized exotic fruits; crème brûlée, and vanilla and honey madeleines with framboise.

At many restaurants great attention is quite rightly paid to the traditional Sunday lunch. At Babylon Saturday lunch also comes in for special treatment, with prices that are a positive incentive to those taking advantage of the quality shopping that is so conveniently close to Babylon.

Service provided by the slick and very friendly staff, who are attentive without being obtrusive, must be given top marks.

On Friday and Saturday evenings, guests of Babylon can continue their night in The Roof Gardens Club, open from 10pm-3am. So, you can enjoy a quiet cocktail in the gardens or dance the night away until the early hours of the morning - the choice is yours.

Their Website is well worth visiting as a prelude to the real thing.

In the very centre of Hindon sits the Lamb, a good example of a traditional country inn with food and drink to match, serving an appreciative local population for whom there are just enough of the little extras to make this a home away from home where one can eat without having to do a calculation first. In late 2004, it was purchased by Boisdale, whose two restaurants in London have a reputation for quality and eclectic style.

The Lamb Inn dates back to the 17th century and was originally a coaching inn. Just one mile off the A303, the hotel stands in the heart of Hindon, an attractive unspoilt Wiltshire village. Its excellent location makes it a great place to stay if you are en route to the South West. Alternatively if you want to explore the local area, Salisbury, Shaftesbury and many other places of historical interest are only a short distance away by car.

Ranald Macdonald, Managing Director of the Boisdale Group commented at the time: 'We are delighted to have acquired such a beautiful historic coaching inn. This is our first venture outside London and we are looking forward to spending much time in this stunningly beautiful part of the country. We are very aware of the responsibilities attached to running such a longstanding and much loved institution and will be careful to maintain its tradition.' As he is a man of his word, that philosophy has been stuck to ever since.

The Lamb is home to a striking restaurant with food that is sourced from local suppliers. Seldom does a menu make you want to try everything that is listed on it, but try resisting the tempting starters that could include the award-winning Dunkeld oak smoked Scottish salmon with lemon, shallots and baby capers, and Somerset pork pie with piccalilli.

While mains carry on in the same vein, with choices like local pork and herb sausages, mashed potato beer and onion gravy, and 16oz braised shank of lamb, mashed celeriac, young carrots and lamb gravy, while fish eaters and vegetarians are not forgotten.

The Lamb at Hindon has a positive warren of different bars, a private dining room and nineteen bedrooms. The oldest part of the present inn dates from the 14th century, but there was certainly an earlier building on the site since it is known that the Assizes were held there as far back as the middle of the 13th century.

The wine list has been given the Boisdale treatment, and is sufficiently travelled to excite the imagination. To learn more about The Lamb at Hindon, do visit their Website.