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L'Aventure is the kind of French restaurant we all wish we could have on our doorstep so we could simply stroll there on a whim. However, despite its NW8 postcode hungry diners are prepared to travel across town for food this good. The décor is warm and welcoming, as are the staff and the menu includes delights such as tender lamb served with rich pureed potatoes followed by a memorable orange crème brûleé.

There is only a set dinner, but the three courses for £29.50 is reasonable value for the quality, and there is a good choice of seven dishes for each course. There is an attractive terrace garden where you can sit out in fine weather.

With a rich and interesting history dating back to the 18th century, The Flask is quaint Victorian pub located on Flask Walk in Hampstead, just a short distance from Hampstead Heath. The pub's elegant exteriors retain an old-world charm complete with traditional tiling, while the interior is comprised of two bars separated by a beautiful glazed partition, and walls decorated by panels painted by Jan Van Beers, leading through to a more formal dining room and small conservatory in the rear.

The menu matches the pub's ambience serving classic pub grub with a contemporary twist, made fresh and locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. The main menu includes a hearty sandwiches including steak sandwich with caramelised onion and roasted vegetable, platters to share such as the sausage feast platter or a Mediterranean mezze of peppers, olives, houmous, tzatziki, and taramasalata served with grilled flat bread.  Main courses include beer-battered fish and chips, steak and ale pie with seasonal vegetables and lamb shank with spring onion mash and roasted vegetables. Other dishes include venison casserole with mashed potatoes, and roasted peppers and steaks with vegetables.
 
The Flask offers a wide selection of continental lagers, cask ales and wines from all over the world.

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.

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.

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.

The airy spaces of the Camden Arts Centre include a welcoming, white-walled café, home to healthy homemade food, gourmet coffee and lovely people. You can settle down with your favourite book in tow or with your loved ones, to chill out and relax.

You could also indulge in some crumbly cookies, Valrhona chocolates or flavoured biscottis. The sumptuous savoury tarts are filled with seasonal ingredients such as smoked salmon and asparagus, while their healthy soups are served with huge chunks of freshly baked bread. Amongst sandwiches the stand outs are honey roast ham salad, beef and mild horseradish, and pastrami and dill pickle with French mustard. You can choose from their range of natural numi teas, the short and strong espresso, Americano, a vanilla or butterscotch latte or owlet farm pressed juices.

The gallery to which the cafe is attached is totally free and open to the public, making it a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.