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Located on Princess Road, La Collina is a quaint little restaurant that is certainly appealing with its compact dining area, a small garden for al fresco meals and flavour-packed regional style cooking. Although the interior may be minimalist, comfort, relaxation and low prices seem to be the priority here.

Chef Roberto Bullio hails from Northern Italy and this is reflected in his cooking, so alongside octopus carpaccio with artichoke hearts and walnuts, expect to find spaghetti with prawns and langoustines, and risotto with mussels and squid. For those who prefer meatier main courses try the rack of lamb with rosemary and garlic served with fresh spinach and potatoes, and roasted quail stuffed with fennel flavoured pork sausage. For dessert the choice can range from bonet, a Piedmontese chocolate and amaretti pudding, and a creamy amaretto semi-freddo. Customers tend to leave La Collina feeling that they have experienced cooking of integrity and skill.

Peribay reflects the feisty Mexican spirit and offers the ambience one hopes for when meeting up friends or family on Essex Road; inside it's festive and colourful and the vibrant atmosphere makes you feel that you are going to have a good time. Latin music and cocktails certainly make an impact, and on Sunday diners can also expect a good value traditional Mexican roast.

On your first foray into the menu you may encounter a Cajun chicken quesadilla with spring onion, cheddar cheese and sour cream, and chorizo and grilled prawn skewers served with flour tortillas and aioli. One can hardly leave a Mexican restaurant without tasting their chilli con carne - be sure to try their sol beer version - or even chimichangas, enchiladas, burritos and tacos. For those who prefer grills, there's a fabulous choice that takes in the lemon pepper salmon, char-grilled tuna steak, lamb cutlets and flame-grilled sirloin steak. After all that spice it's a wise idea to cool off with banoffee pie or chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream.

If the brightly coloured façade is any indication then dining at Gallipoli Café is surely an interesting experience. Take a cue from diners on the outdoor patio happily sipping Turkish coffee or Efes Pilsener, and then prepare yourself to step inside a lively interior filled with ornamental lamps and candles.

The menu reflects Lebanese, Turkish and Mediterranean tastes with freshness and variety being the hallmark of Gallipoli Café's cooking. Flavours are mostly classical as evident in meat moussaka, layers of minced beef and aubergine topped with cheese and béchamel sauce, and lean and tender lamb knuckle on the bone baked in its own juice with potatoes and rosemary. Bright tastes of chickpeas and broad beans remain alive in a falafel and kiymali borek, deep-fried Ottoman spring rolls stuffed with minced beef and pine kernels are worth exploring.

Whether it's a birthday party or just about any special occasion Gallipoli Café is one place where you can be assured that everything is done the fun way.

Head Chef Bryn Williams' stint at The Criterion and Le Gavroche may have offered him a chance to rub shoulders with Marco Pierre White and Michel Roux, but the best of all was prized opportunity to cook for Her Majesty the Queen's birthday banquet. Now his role as proprietor-chef at Odette's is no less alluring, and demanding in one sense, as he hopes to keep standards as high as always at this famed Primrose Hill institution.

A quick look at the menu will reveal modern British cooking techniques and Bryn makes no attempt to cloak his Welsh heritage as fine produce from this peninsular nation makes inroads into Odette's kitchen. Starters of quail's egg, English asparagus, potatoes and cress salad make way for roasted loin of Welsh lamb, and pan-fried turbot with braised oxtail, cockles and samphire. 

The tasting menu at Odette's is definitely an ode to seasonal ingredients such as artichokes and fresh pears and strawberries among others.

If pop music, pizza and a party atmosphere is what you're looking for, then head to one of the five outlets of La Porchetta spread across Central London. Although each branch is designed differently, they rely on the tested formula of providing good value food and plenty of it, at down to earth prices that keep diners coming back for more.

There are lots of pasta dishes on the menu, but it's the pizza that La Porchetta really excels at with huge but crisp bases, a great range of toppings all cooked to perfection. Tomato sauce appears to be a mainstay, but then there is also a rucola version with mozzarella, rocket and Parma ham, and calzone pollo with pesto sauce. Tuna is good to savour as a starter with beans, chopped onions and parsley, drizzled with olive oil and vinegar, followed by perhaps chicken Milanese, rib-eye steak or shin of pork with garlic, onions, porcini mushrooms and white wine, served with rice and salad.

Guests at Thistle Euston Hotel may think that being just minutes away from the Euston station could be a noisy affair but just step inside and enjoy the warmth and tranquillity. Brasserie 43 is a smart dining area with warm wooden tones and if curiosity gets the better of you walk up to the open plan kitchen for a chat with the chef.

The modern European cooking takes in everything from Cornish crab cake with chilli dressing, Scottish gravadlax with toasted brioche and West Country farmed beef carpaccio with basil dressing. This could be followed by poached salmon and asparagus linguine in a creamy white wine sauce and oven roasted Cherryfield pork belly with creamed potatoes, red wine and prune sauce. Sweet treats include homemade chocolate pot with a zest of orange and vanilla pannacotta with rhubarb jus.

With 362 bedrooms and eleven meeting rooms, Thistle Euston is an ideal venue for business meetings and other events.

Head to the corner of Delancey Street and Arlington Road, watch out for a logo of a staid-looking goose wearing a crown, and walk through the inconspicuous façade between the hanging baskets for a full on Crown and Goose experience. Inside you will find a traditional pub that's almost always busy with a distinct warm and friendly atmosphere.

The menu lists standard gastropub fare with a few surprises thrown in, so there could be pan-fried pigeon breast on pearl barley risotto and pea shoot salad, and nero pappardelle with baby pumpkin and tomato fondue. Main courses are presented with equal gusto, inside out braised bacon and cheese burger with triple cooked chips, tomato and chilli relish, and crab and smoked salmon fishcakes with mango and pawpaw salsa. Lime and lemon grass crème brûlée and black and blueberry Pavlova with jasmine tea sauce make for a fitting finale.