Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Boutique bowling was hitherto an unknown idea but now All Star Lanes deserve applause for pioneering this concept by bringing in the first boutique bowling alley to London. In this 1950s American styled venue there are four slick lanes with an integrated diner, serving top quality American food.

A good array of appetizers include pressed salt brisket with herb, stuffed chillies and pickle salad, and eggplant, cilantro and jalapeño quesadilla. Main courses bring in world influences on to a plate with black shrimp and clam linguini vongole, spaghetti and meatballs and Cajun spiced pork fillet skewers with New York potato salad. Steak lovers could feast on an 8oz rib eye steak and 12 oz New York striploin accompanied with a choice of green peppercorn, béarnaise or mushroom sauces.

The bar is well-stocked with an extensive collection of bourbons and offers an endless list of exotic cocktails. All Star Lanes is definitely a venue that just keeps on giving.

Set at the junction of Upper Woburn Place and a delightful Dickensian walkway, Number Twelve provides a relaxed atmosphere to diners who wish to engage in deep conversations without worrying about being overheard or disturbed. A neutral décor with pillar-box red accents and a stylish interior gives a modern, clean feeling to the dining area.

The kitchen takes advantage of the best produce the market has to offer and chef Stuart Lane has devised an impressive menu that covers a whole range of locally sourced ingredients from seafood, fowl, vegetarian and meat. Contemporary British cooking with an Italian undertone is on offer and you may expect the likes of poach sole fillets with herb crust, puree potato and garden vegetables or baked sea-bass served with new potato, green bean and pesto salad.

The well-travelled wine list has over 15 selections available by glass or by carafe to complement your meal.

In the past burgers were quintessentially American food, but that doesn't hold good any more. Now the world has embraced burger culture with enthusiasm and there is plenty to discover at the Ultimate Burger, where all beefburgers are made using fully traceable, prime Scottish grass-fed beef and sour dough sesame seed buns.

The menu strikes a right balance between the classic and innovative, so a crispy bacon and Monterey Jack cheese works well, and so does a Thai chicken with hoisin sauce, bean shoots, spring onion, fresh chilli, basil and coriander. Some of the other variations include 100% ground prime cuts of English lamb with Moroccan spices, hummus, tomato relish and garlic mayo, and a chunky char-grilled Portobello mushroom basted with smoky BBQ sauce and spicy battered onion rings.

With three outlets in London and one in Lincoln, the interior at Ultimate Burger is done up in a simple yet stylish way, and a good place for friends and families to satisfy their burger fix.

YO! Sushi Brunswick is a vital gastronomic experience rather than simply a place to eat sushi. This exciting and visually appealing Japanese delicacy, almost a cuisine in itself and going back to the 4th century BC, is fast rising in popularity for reasons of both taste and health, as well as its companionable setting. The restaurants offer a range of delectable nibbles that are attractively presented and revolve on a gently moving belt in front of customers, allowing them to sample a real wealth of varieties and eat just what they like best as often as they wish.

Contrary to many people's perception of sushi as raw fish, it comes in many forms drawing heavily on rice, fish, vegetables and seafood but the great variety arises chiefly from the different fillings and toppings, condiments, and the way these are combined. Often the same ingredients may be assembled in a traditional or a contemporary way, yet creating widely differing tastes.

Some of the most popular types are sashimi rolls, made from raw or seared slices of salmon and tuna and meant to be eaten within a couple of hours of being put together. Other options include cones of seaweed with rice and fillings and the little boat shaped parcels called gunkans. Miso soups, salads and nigiri sushi made of rice with toppings all add to its strong visual appeal.

Great beers like Asahi Super Dry and Sapporo support the food superbly, as well as hot and cold sake for those who want to sustain the Japanese experience. The menu also has non-alcoholic drinks and a limited list of wines and champagne. For dessert try the dorayaki, mochi or settle for fresh fruit.

The experience of having a meal at YO! Sushi is enriched by the unique array that appears as if by magic before the diner, with its unique colour coded pricing system. But the real pull is the fresh, healthy and tasty food that keeps people returning to their outlets across the UK.

With a name like The Bountiful Cow, amazing thoughts of bovine love are sure to follow and this Eagle Street public house is the perfect antidote for those meaty cravings. The ground floor dining area basks in subtle lighting and is filled with beef posters in keeping with the pub's unique selling point and this continues through to the lower level where it's fascinating to watch chefs work with slabs of meat.

Consider a starter plate of duck rillettes with toast and Sephardic pâté of chopped chicken liver, onion, eggs and aubergine. Steaks are an obvious main course option arriving in various cuts - rib eye, sirloin, sirloin chop on the bone, filet and T-bone - ordered plain, à la capricorn with melted goats' cheese, or béarnaise or green peppercorn sauce. If you intend to explore the menu beyond steaks then keep an eye open for Napoli sausages and dill cured herring and potato salad.

A glass of Domaine Montplo with its fruity, soft flavour makes a wonderful accompaniment to the meal.