Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

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.

At Café Med in St. John's Wood, the exterior is fresh and vibrant with potted plants streaming from alcoves and lining the path towards the restaurant whilst inside everything is mellow and warm. This contrast plays up the different charms of this Mediterranean inspired restaurant where diners can enjoy tasty grills and various other delicious fare in cosy comfort or whilst basking in the warm sunshine on their outdoor deck.

The à la carte features only the best, locally sourced produce, meats and fish and could include starters of char grilled fresh calamari with rocket, red chilli and lemon, followed by a main course of marinated lamb cutlets with seasonal vegetables, wok fried in olive oil and soy sauce. They also have pastas, salads and a range of award winning steaks with grilled tomato, fries and creamed peppercorn sauce. At Café Med, the wine list is an eclectic group of choices from the New and Old World and they also have a good selection of juices, beers, spirits and beverages.

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.

A bakery-patisserie-café concept that adds a fresh and wonderful lift to the morning senses, Euphorium Bakeryis a vibrant and buzzing place based out of North London. The traditional bakery has a stylish interior with modern furniture and a lively atmosphere deservedly drawing Londoners for a cup of tantalizing coffee coupled with some light bites.

Enter and you are at risk of becoming spellbound by the mesmerising sight - Swiss rolls, chocolate cakes, mousseline rolls, white marquis, passion fruit mousse and tiramisu - welcoming you to the world of bakes. Apart from an excellent selection of baked breads, expect brioche and almond croissants for breakfast. For the rest of the day chicken salads, salmon sandwiches, spinach and sausage rolls, vegetarian quiche and pizza slice are well to the fore. Lemon, apple, banana and chocolate tarts at the Euphorium Bakery are popular along with fresh cheesecakes that tempt you into some sample tasting activity.

A short walk from Belsize Park tube and an appetite enhancing stroll from Hampstead Heath, Paradiso offers an extensive selection of homemade Italian food including a childrens' menu. The interior features bright colours, contemporary seating and a traditional feel, taking you back in time to a bygone era and the service is friendly and non-intrusive. The venue makes for an ideal spot for meeting friends or colleagues at lunch, or an intimate dinner with your loved one.

The menu includes both traditional and inventive dishes offering something for even the most discerning palate. Specialities here include dishes such as tonno e fagioli - tuna, onions, beans, and eggs salad, smoked salmon with capers and red onions, risotto de verdure - rice, aubergine, courgette, red and green peppers, and garlic king prawn. On the dessert section don't be surprised to find tiramisu and hot chocolate cake, and you might just want to finish your meal with a glass of Vin Santo dessert wine.

You might wonder what is so special about a fried patty of minced beef inside a bun and why suddenly a craze for top-notch prime beef burgers, as opposed to the inferior product served in fast food joints, is sweeping the country. As part of this meteoric rise in such establishments, along comes a small chain called the Fine Burger Company that makes uncomplicated and flavoursome burgers.

Once you're inside an outlet, you'll normally find chic, contemporary interiors with bare brick walls and walnut tables. They offer a choice of almost a dozen classic beef varieties, with or without the trimmings, and also ones such as veggie burgers, marinated jerk chicken and minted lamb. Expect to pay around £7 and extra for their fat and delicious hand-cut chips. Other alternative dishes are salads like fried baby squid with tartare sauce and lemon or feta cheese, Kalamata olives, vine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and rocket.

The Guardian said: "There are some days when nothing but burgers will satisfy. If this is the case, then at least go for a quality. At The Fine Burger Company the emphasis is on fresh ingredients with beef burgers made only from Aberdeen Angus beef, homemade relishes and chunky hand cut chips."

Families are presented with an array of crayons, colouring books and stencils on arrival and there is a special children's menu of a 4oz beef, chicken, fish or veggie burger with chips and salad for a reasonable £4.95. Children's size milkshakes and fresh orange juice are £1.50.

Japanese restaurant located in the heart of Hampstead, offering a fusion sushi menu with dine in, take away and home delivery. Love Sushi offers a constant stream of surprises to guests in the form of a wide range of promotional offers such as rewards card for loving sushi and eating healthy, and discounts on take away.

The menu features temaki, a large seaweed cone stuffed with rice and variety of fillings served with crunchy pickled ginger and wasabi, futomaki, large rice rolls wrapped in thin sheet of seaweed and an assortment of fillings and urumaki, inside out rolls of rice with fillings and a coating of fish roe or roasted sesame seeds. Start with egg smoked salmon hosomaki with flying fish roe and a dollop of mayo, and tuna sashimi, thin pieces of fresh raw fish, seared fish or seared beef served with daikon hair.

This restaurant is a carnivore's paradise as it offers classic Argentine cuisine of the highest standard in a stylish and contemporary setting. Featuring adaptations of bourgeois and rustic dishes with the international flavours that have tinged the history of the country, the Gaucho Grill menu represents the best of the country's varied culinary culture. Their outlets have proved popular over the last ten years with seven in London and one in Manchester.

Steak is king out there - all the meat comes from the lush expanse of the Pampas where animals roam freely in the grasslands. After being aged for six weeks, the result is incredibly tender beef, which has become renowned as the best in the world. Steaks are cut to order, rubbed with salt and chimichurri oil then flash grilled, turned only once - so it retains its flavour better.

The ceviche is a form of citrus marinated seafood salad - choices at Gaucho include a delectable mix of lobster and shrimp cured in a lime, coconut, citrus sauce and coriander, rightly called fire and ice. The Argentinean loganiza chicken sausages with crispy onion hay, pickled jalapeño and cherry mojo are delicious too.

Specialities include zarzuela de mariscos - halibut, monkfish, king scallops, shrimp, squid and green lip mussels in a saffron broth with asparagus, potato and toasted poilane bread, mushroom tian made of baked Portobello mushrooms with tomato vinaigrette, mozzarella and goat's cheese, as well as empanadas - savoury pastries typically served on the streets of Buenos Aires.

There are traditional Latin American pastries, cheese as well as flans with mixed berries, seasoned with tarragon, basil and lemon as well.

The menu is complemented by a wine list - the largest outside Argentina. The aim at Gaucho is to represent all of the major grape varieties in their country with Terruño, their very own label. Although Argentina is not well known for its sweet wines, the Torrontes Licoroso, from a monastery high in the mountains of Catamarca serves as a fine end to a meal.