Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

You live in London but you're a countryperson by heart, or maybe you're just up for a few days and the ways of the countryside are calling you back. And what is one of the things we miss the most? Yes, you've twigged, it's that good ol' home cookin'. So steady on, no need to get hasty about this, just head on down to Westbourne Park Road and ask for Bumpkin.

Down on the ground floor of the four storey building you will find the Country Brasserie, offering snacks, brunch, lunch or informal dinner. Bumpkin pies, gourmet salads, rotisserie, grilled fish and meats are all on offer every day of the week. If it's a question of something a touch more formal, then up the stairs to the first floor restaurant where more classical dishes prevail with starters of ham hock, black pudding and apple terrine with piccalilli, and perhaps a main course of rack of lamb, crushed potatoes and black olives. The Sunday roast from midday to 4.40pm is an urban solution to a meal that is popular no matter where you eat, and it's wise to make reservations at all times.

The next two floors are devoted to private parties on request and are well equipped for some really chilled out living

Their sourcing is admirable, in particular the meat from Frank Godfrey, the Highbury butcher, one of the few in London licensed to sell pure-bred Aberdeen Angus beef. Fruit and vegetables come from a farm just outside Guildford, where chemicals and pesticides are banned.

So unpack the overnight bag, no need to go all that way for some decent country cooking, but be sure to keep the rural option warm, just in case.

Sopranos is a popular Italian restaurant on Kensington High Street area, conveniently located with easy access to shops, parks and hotels around the area. Having served diners for over twenty years, the restaurant offers traditional Italian cuisine in a setting that is both relaxed as well as contemporary.

The food is hearty and flavoursome, and the a la carte offers classic antipasti dishes such as seasoned duck liver pâté served with lightly toasted honey and elderflower loaf, and langoustines cooked with a handful of herbs, butter, garlic, lemon juice and wine. Main courses such as the sea bass niçoise with egg, anchovies, grilled cherry tomato and green salad, and wild mushroom tagliatelle maintain the Italian pace. There's a wonderful selection of pizza, pastas, salads and side dishes, and to end the meal on a memorable note try the lemon meringue tart served with lemon sorbet. The carefully selected wine list complements the varied Italian food on offer.

Experience soulful live music nights from Wednesday to Saturday in the vibrant basement Live Lounge.

It does seem a trifle strange that a company with a restaurant in Cornwall should want to extend their empire into the fevered trading conditions of London, but it's certainly a welcome sight to see a taste of Cornwall on the menu of this beautifully refurbished former boozer.

Whilst the old pub frontage has been retained, former habitués of the place would be hard put to recognise it. This is refurb in great style.

The menu is traditional English with a few frills and furbiloes thrown in here and there. Starters are listed with the main courses, but it's all pretty obvious, and very well presented. Start with bubble and squeak soup and peppered clotted cream or mussels in a leek and cider cream.

Main courses are robust and generous, with scallops pan-fried alongside a warm salad of smoked bacon and new potatoes, a steak Cornish pasty or better still a Cornish fish pie.

Ploughmans are a life form here with a set scale for the number of items included, drawn from wild boar sausage, smoked mackerel, coarse pork pate or smoked trout. Cheese brings Cornwall into focus with Cornish Blue, St Christophers, St Endellion Brie and Yarg. A sound wine list offers a good by-the-glass contingent.

Located in the busy yet leafy Holland Park, Singapore Chinese Restaurant is a family run establishment that offers classic cuisines from South East Asia, in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Apart from a lounge - well furnished with comfortable leather sofas - there are two pleasantly open dining areas, with cosy alcoves tucked around the edges, providing for semi-private seating.

The menu includes familiar Chinese favourites and authentic indigenous Singapore fusions of the Malay, Indonesian and Indian cooking styles. Expect impressive variations of chilli lobster, spicy squid, aromatic duck, crispy seaweed, spring rolls, lemon chicken and sizzling prawns. Amongst the well loved Singaporean favourites, satay, laksa, mee goreng are on offer, not to forget the house specialty, Singapore steamboat - a sumptuous meal cooked in a simmering soup - prepared at your very own table.

You could perhaps close your meal with a toffee apple, an ice cream or with freshly cut mixed fruits.

Nottingdale in Nicholas Road, a new address carved out of an industrial estate, welcomes guests with elegant modern décor and a modern European menu specialising in provincial Italian and French dishes. Friendly attentive staff add value to the meal. 

A monthly changing menu promises starters of Devon crab, gazpacho jelly and sourdough bruschetta or risotto of new season's cèpes, girolles and summer truffle. Then you could continue with roast Shetland salmon with Jersey royals, anchovy mayonnaise and summer crudités, or côte de boeuf, roast bone marrow, potatoes al forno with girolles, watercress and parsley salad. Lunch could include dishes such as pappardelle with Tuscan sausage ragù and roast seabass, potatoes al forno with sage capers and taggiasca olives, braised fennel and Amalfi lemon aioli. To finish, consider charentais melon granite, vanilla pannacotta with English raspberries or Valrhona chocolate brownie with Neal's Yard crème fraîche. Wines, beer and cider and cocktails enliven the occasion.

A comfortably plush ?library? ambience distinguishes the Park Lounge at The Milestone Hotel. It offers guests the pleasures of an open fireplace and ?sink and stay? armchairs and sofas. With large windows affording views of Kensington Gardens, patrons can briefly escape to other realms while enjoying the quintessential English tradition of afternoon tea with family and friends.

Guests are served a selection of finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones with Devonshire clotted cream, preserves, French pastries and a pot of tea, and if they wish, an additional glass of chilled champagne. The Park Lounge also offers a cream tea, and additions of fruit cake and strawberries with cream for more sumptuous refreshment. The range of teas on offer include Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Assam and green tea, along with herbal and fruit infusions of chamomile, peppermint, spices and white chocolate. Children under 12 can enjoy their own selection with chocolate truffles and hot chocolate.

Located in the heart of Notting Hill, London Montgomery Place offers great drinks, food, music and service in comfortable, relaxed and inviting surroundings. This bar is popular with locals and visitors alike for its traditional, simple and excellent ways. The philosophy behind this venue is ensuring guests have a delightful time and lots of fun making it a charming and pleasant experience.

The kitchen whips up delicacies such as minty feta and ricotta, crayfish salsa, and zucchini fritte - the original recipe, with milk, flour and parmesan to snack on. House specialities include lamb rack, served stingray style, marinated in honey and pistachio with a spiced capsicum sauce, honeyed duck glazed with organic honey on a bed of ginger infused wild rice, and popcorn prawns seasoned with salt and pepper spiked with basil and caper mayo.

The extensive cocktail and wine lists to hand can please even the most discerning palates.