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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.

Situated in the heart of the West End, minutes from Covent Garden and Charing Cross underground station, this contemporary yet comfortable central London hotel can serve as your gateway to the Capital's best. Located off the main lobby, this expansive new Lounge Bar is an ideal place to conduct a discrete meeting or host a friendly get-together. Serving a wide range of coffees and teas, and with a well stocked bar, this popular meeting place is a welcoming spot for drinks and snacks throughout the day or for afternoon tea.

Short eats such as eggs benedict topped with hollandaise sauce gratin, toasted foccacia bread with Scottish smoked salmon and tossed ham and cheese sandwiches are popular among regulars. A business occasion may call for a discreet order of tortilla wraps with grilled breast of chicken and king prawns tempura. Desserts include homemade cheesecake and chocolate fondant.

The wine list is short but features an impressive assortment of red and white wines along with liqueurs.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Browns St Martins Lane is situated in the heart of London's West End and theatre-land and just a stone's throw from the renowned shopping district of Covent Garden. A dozen theatres, cinemas and the bright lights of Leicester Square are located within a hundred yards of its doors.

The first Browns opened for business in Brighton in 1973. Based on the colonial style brassiere of the early 20th century, this 21st century version of the genre traditionally occupies historic buildings of interest, with high ceilings, sweeping fans, beautiful wooden floors and luscious palms, and Browns in Covent Garden is no exception. Its style is all about casual elegance where guests come to relax with friends in a calming bustle.

The building was converted in 1995 from the original Westminster County Court, and now houses a superb restaurant on its ground floor, famous for its pre and post theatre buzz, for which there is an excellent menu available offering two courses from 5pm to 6.30 and 9.30 to 10.30pm, and its ability to cope with large parties.

The main restaurant area also houses a spectacularly long bar serving fantastic wines, beers and cocktails with some of the best value champagne in London; the bar area of the brasserie has had a facelift and has been extended with the addition of a champagne bar and mini grand piano. Relax with an award winning Bloody Mary and digest your paper among the palms, or enjoy a drink with friends and colleagues.

Alternatively, improve the hour with their Hendricks's and elderflower Collins, a classic mojito or if driving is an issue there's always an organic farm pressed juice. If it isn't follow the trend, 'most popular at-home long drink', a glass of cyder, this one from Aspall's in Suffolk Continental beers and lagers include Leffe Blonde from Belgium and German Clausthaler.

Upstairs Browns St Martins Lane boasts two of the original Courtrooms still with the trappings of the judicial process, including benches and judges chairs, which are available for private hire for up to 200 people. Whether it be for a special dinner, company presentation, conference or even a wedding, a great menu and service to match can be tailored to suit all requirements.

The success of Browns restaurants is based on the service of freshly prepared food and drink delivered by impressive and apparently well-trained staff in a bustling and thriving atmosphere.

Their menu offers a formidable selection of starters including half a dozen fresh oysters, crab and avocado salad, and grilled goat?s cheese while main courses tend to stray towards salads, pastas as well as some more traditional grilled and roasted dishes such as steaks and roasted rack of lamb. Chicken schnitzel with poached egg, tomato, onion and herb salad or the slow braised pork with black pudding and crisped bacon are also excellent choices.

Choices amongst desserts include poached pear with warm chocolate sauce, Pimms jelly with strawberry coulis, profiteroles, a raspberry and chocolate brownie and sticky toffee pudding. Their cheesecakes are also legendary, with such choices as baked vanilla, banoffee or rum and raisin.

It is strongly recommended that large groups book in advance but otherwise tables are usually available even at busy times, when you might take advantage of the bar for a pre-dinner snifter. "It's where everyone goes and quite rightly so," said The Guardian.

For more information including details of menus and private dining in the Courtrooms, take a look at their excellent Website.

Inspired by the Chicago Palm restaurant in America, Christopher's is housed in a grand, Grade II listed Victorian building in the heart of Theatre land in Covent Garden.

Since December 1991 this famous American Bar and Grill has been serving fantastic quality steaks and lobster, previously largely unavailable in London. Christopher's quickly became one of the capital's most opulent restaurants, resplendent over 3 floors, and though the concept has since been adapted to take into account changing tastes and fashions, it remains faithful to the original theme.

On the ground floor, the fully Wi-Fi enabled Martini Bar is cool and stylish with an extensive cocktail list with over 25 scintillating martinis from which to choose. Luxurious booths lining one side of the bar invite you to settle in for the evening.

At the top of the sweeping stone spiral staircase lies Christopher's large and elegant dining room, with extensive views over Waterloo Bridge. Strong colours and soft lighting complement the high ceilings and beautiful original features of the building. The exclusive private dining room on the lower ground floor, offers a fantastic venue for many different occasions including receptions, meetings, corporate dining and parties.

An à la carte menu bears the brunt of this restaurant's popularity, with their famous 28oz prime rib chop for two; grilled Maine lobster with garlic butter or cobb salad and mango chilli salsa; slow-cooked belly pork with Boston baked beans, feta and celeriac slaw, and blackened salmon with jambalaya risotto and cress salad, as eye-catching menu leaders. Christopher's ensures all of their fish are caught from sustainable sources.

Amongst the delights on the dessert menu expect to find baked New York cheesecake with blueberry compote, pecan maple tart with vanilla ice cream, and some very interesting regional cheeses.

Christopher's is the perfect place to eat or drink before a show. The theatre menu served from Monday to Saturday between 5pm to 7pm and10pm to 11.30pm (£16.95 for 2 courses or £21.50 for 3) represents great value for money.

Weekends at Christopher's are agreeably relaxed. A traditional American style brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday from 11.30am to 3.30pm and includes classics such as Eggs Benedict, a Texas Grill, or scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, as well as traditional dishes of buttermilk pancakes with maple cured bacon and warm maple syrup.

For more information or to see Christopher's menus, visit their Website.

Situated in the heart of the West End, minutes from Covent Garden and Charing Cross underground station, this contemporary yet comfortable central London hotel can serve as your gateway to London's best. Housed within is Johnstons Brasserie, a stylish, open-plan restaurant, with Mediterranean tones and décor, which is perfect for all occasions - a quick snack with friends before a show, a casual business dinner, or a candlelit romantic supper for two. Guests can also enjoy afternoon tea with a selection of various coffees, teas, scones, sandwiches and cakes.

For light bites before a show order king prawn salad with a chilli dressing and homemade ravioli with wild mushroom and asparagus. The main course section of the menu contains options for meat eaters as well as vegetarians and includes pan fried corn fed chicken breast and salmon, cod and haddock fish cake. For dessert explore choices such as apple cinnamon and sultana crumble and a delightfully fresh vanilla crème brûlée.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

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.

Dark woods with plenty of mirrors and a Bostonian feel with a buzzing atmosphere is what make PJ's Grill a theatre and media haven. Having done brisk business at Wellington Street since opening its doors in 1982, here's a place that is now thrilled to play host to the second generation of guests, and well as many new diners across all age brackets.

Modern European food is the star with that occasional Californian touch, so in the evening start by polishing off plates of tempura prawns with sweet chilli and baked goat's cheese with Portobello mushrooms. Those whose hearts flutter at the sight of grilled meats could enjoy a substantial 9oz Scotch sirloin steak, grilled lemon and herb chicken breast or scallops wrapped in chorizo. Chef's specials of braised lamb shank with chickpeas and mash, crispy pork belly with apple sauce or seafood soup with king prawns, mussels, squid and toasted garlic bread could also make your day. Finally it's not always difficult to make space for a sticky toffee pudding or flourless chocolate cake.

Theatreland denizens can take advantage of a set menu featuring deep fried brie with gooseberry sauce, penne pasta with aubergine, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and Parmesan and grilled top rump steak with mushroom, tomato and skinny chips to celebrate the evening's success.

PJ's dinner jazz evenings from Wednesday to Saturday beguile the hours with a talented jazz duo continuing with the spirit of the evening long after the curtains have been drawn at the Theatre Royal.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

For those hardy souls seeking the perpetual party, the answer to your desires exists in the heart of Covent Garden. Referred to by Time Out as 'a phenomenon', this is a pretty accurate description. Live bands are on stage every night, and a great line-up of some of the best DJs in town between them make very sure that the tempo stays high and the enjoyment level never droops at Roadhouse Covent Garden.

Fuelled by a 60-strong cocktail list the pace is emphatically party whether you are celebrating, commiserating or just trying to forget - no problem - get in there and do your thing, Happy Hours come and go as the evening wears on, no matter what day of the week, but with 50% off most drinks it pays to be around at the right time.

Why not call down on a Monday or Wednesday for Roadhouse Rockaoke? Instead of just listening to one of their amazing live bands, they give you the chance to get on stage and sing with them. Pick a song from the extensive list and compete for your chance to win a £100 bar tab.

All this sybaritic living can be very taxing, and a vast array of dishes that cover a medley of cuisines are served in the Diner to sustain you, starting with the small bites, call them tapas if you will, with crispy-fried calamari, beef satay and jalapeño cream cheese peppers amongst the list.

Then come the real starters like nachos grande, char grilled chicken and cheese quesadilla and the Roadhouse classic burger, followed by their combo collection that might be termed the hearty school of eating - well what else can you say about of a full rack of barbecue ribs and two chicken breasts, and the fully loaded version with a couple of steak and chicken breasts each and French fries, onion rings and salad.

But it's the grill that really hits the high spots, with a New York strip, cut from the centre section of the short loin to produce some great flavour and texture. There's a barbecue big rack, char grilled and smothered in their signature BBQ sauce, served with chunky coleslaw and fries; blackened salmon, basted in Cajun spices with spring onions, mashed potato and red pepper sauce or flame grilled fajitas served sizzling on tequila and lime infused peppers with a choice of filling.

The Bailey's sundae is certainly not aiming to be left out of the calorie contest while the hot chocolate fudge cake resumes its position as the king of desserts. The diner has its own happy hours, and the cocktails are brought to your table; no scary journeys for you from the bar to your table with a fistful of precious fluids.

The Roadhouse is very keen in the offers department and it pays to keep an eye on their website, where print off vouchers can be the source of an excellent value evening.

It almost goes without saying that a party night out at Roadhouse is a real blast, with a great range of nights from which to choose the bands and DJs you like, and food and drink to keep everybody, yes even the vegetarians, thoroughly happy.

Do note their cover charges - Mon and Tue £5 after 22:00, Wed £5 after 21:00, Thu £7 after 21:00, Fri £10 after 21:00, Sat £5 after 19:00, £12 after 21:00.

Their programme never stays still, so stack their Website amongst your all time favourites as the key to a real party.

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.

Owner Brian Stein was surprised by many things after his arrival in the UK from Johannesburg in the 1960s. He quickly adjusted to the climate and the twin obsessions with tea and queuing but was dismayed to discover that there were no decent American style burger and cocktail bars in the entire country. Eventually, after tiring of queuing up in the rain waiting for one to open he created his own. More than thirty years later, he presides over the largest single independent restaurant group in the UK.

Maxwell's Covent Garden is the majestic, two-tiered flagship restaurant, which sits snugly next to the Opera House. There is seating for twelve guests outside, which affords front seat views of the carnival of artists performing along James Street. Inside you will discover a vast, effervescent 300-cover setting, with an elegant wood bar stretching into the distance. There are also private booths on the lip of the mezzanine where you can relax in the embrace of dark wood surrounds and look down onto those eating and dancing on the lower level.

Down the sweeping stairs lies seating for 120 guests who are surrounded by a huge mural that wraps itself around the walls and presents an irreverent vignette of twentieth century celebrities. Here, Lady Thatcher winks coquettishly at ribaldry from the Pope and Mother Theresa flirts with Elvis.

Maxwell's, rightly, takes pride in its menu, which has drawn critical approbation from Jamie Oliver, the doyenne of enormous, pukka burgers. The James Street restaurant is at the vanguard of dish creation for the rest of the group. The signature dish is the famous Maxwell burger made from prime steak with lettuce, tomato and red onion cradled in sesame seeded bun, although there is a range of world influenced recipes such as hickory smoked ribs, peri-peri chicken, and Portobello mushroom linguine tossed in a creamed Parmesan cheese, garlic and herb sauce.

Puddings include twice baked deep crust apple pie served warm with cinnamon ice cream and New York cheesecake with passion fruit and mango coulis. Of course, there is still plenty of choice for vegetarians and a specialised children's list is always available, complete with activities and games.

The drinks menu is an eclectic mix of cocktails ranging from the well-travelled traditionals to newly coined upstarts. There is also a prodigious array of quality wines and bottled beers served by some of the country's most accomplished and outrageous cocktail waiters; you will find more information on their wine list.

To view their menu, just visit their Website. Do note that they are happy to accept bookings and enquiries by e-mail and they are closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.