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A very large (90 covers) 'up to the minute' restaurant, it can be best described as serving interestingly different Italian food and the result are pleasing. Fratelli La Bufala is part of a family owned restaurant business, other location include: Salerno, Naples, Caserta, Rome, Milan, Verona, Trieste, Miami, Rio de Janeiro.

Their restaurants are decorated in a rural style to reflect the atmosphere of authenticity, with a menu that is based on typical Southern Italian dishes with Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas, pasta and grills.

Yalla is a modern cafe style restaurant with a juice bar that attracts customers in its own right looking for a delicious yet healthy drink. The food is of Middle Eastern origin, with the meze option being by far the most popular choice. For £12 you can enjoy a classic meze selection brought to your table as a mixed feast to work your way through, or order your own choice of dishes individually if you prefer.

Reviewed by Linda Buttle

At Basilico expect to find that almost everything is much more imaginative than the average pizzeria, especially that they have that real essential for flavour, the wood fired oven.

Certainly customers seem content with what's on offer, particularly the inventive and unusual toppings, like artichokes, chorizo, capers, roasted peppers, salted anchovies, free range eggs, jalapeno peppers, basil pesto, spinach, kalamata olives, goat's cheese, spring onion, pineapple, fresh green chillies, wild mushrooms and meat balls - quite an impressive list, suggesting that this might indeed be as near to Italy as to make little difference.

However, the menu goes well beyond mere pizzas, with excellent salads, as well as pasta and antipasti. They even have their own special version of tiramisu. So for a taste of the real Italy, Basilico could be the answer.

Nestling in Flask Walk, a picturesque cobbled street in the well-heeled North London borough of Hampstead, La Cage Imaginaire is a traditional French restaurant that serves fine Mediterranean cuisine in elegant surroundings. Its traditional French brasserie style menu and attentive service make it an excellent choice for a quick business lunch or intimate dinner for two.

Open from 11.30 a.m. all seven days of the week, the menu at La Cage Imaginaire features starters such as risotto with oyster mushrooms and pine nuts, calamari fritti with baby spinach salad and homemade ravioli with spinach, ricotta and sun dried tomatoes. Mains options include Toulouse sausages with split pea purée, gnocchi with butternut squash and camembert and herbed veal chop with creamy mashed potato. For dessert delight in such choices as apple and prune crumble with vanilla ice cream, apricot cheesecake or chocolate pot with crushed amaretti biscuits.

The expertly chosen wine list offers a range of excellent French reds and whites, with familiar names such as Corbieres and Merlot available by the glass as well as the bottle. There are also vintage bottles, including premier cru Puligny-Montrachet or Gevrey-Chambertin burgundy, for the connoisseur's pleasure.