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Dunes is a lively restaurant and entertainment venue located on Kensington Church Street. The cuisine served up here is a combination of French and Arabic Mezze dishes. The mezze option will set you back around £15 per person and includes the likes of vine leaves, hummus and pitta bread, falafel and a variety of mini kebabs. From the French inspired menu you'll find classic dishes such as steak Diane, grilled breast of chicken with lemon, or a pancake filled with ratatouille. Once you've sampled the dining experience you can stay on to enjoy a few more drinks at the bar before taking to the dance floor.

Reviewed by Linda Buttle

Situated in the heart of London's Notting Hill area and a stone's throw from Kensington Gardens De Amicis has been serving fine and authentic Italian food using fresh and seasonal ingredients for over 15 years. The friendly service and usually buzzing and bustling atmosphere of the restaurant have made it a popular destination for all types of occasions. On a busy night the open plan kitchen adds a special vibrancy to the restaurant demonstrating the passion and energy the chefs bring to the dishes.

Avocado prawns and parma ham and melon make a great combination to kick-start your meal. A whisked egg and parsley in clear consommé soup later, you can indulge in some pasta by ordering spaghetti Bolognese with meat sauce. If you prefer seafood try pot cooked haddock fillet with bay leaves, garlic, olives, tomatoes and white wine before ending the meal with short-crust pastry filled with crème patisserie and topped with pine nuts.

Located inside the Portobello Dock, The Dock Kitchen is an extension of Tom Dixon's showroom and to get in, you need to press the buzzer when you arrive. Walk up the metallic stairs and cross over to the other side of the canal through a connecting bridge and finally you enter this bright, spacious and sleekly designed dining area studded with comfortable wooden chairs and tables, hanging lights and a blackboard displaying the daily changing menu.

Although the dishes change way frequently, with a clear focus not only on seasonality but also on variety, you may expect to see the likes of Cornish red mullet, Spanish octopus and Palourde clams, cooked in chilli, curry leaves, cocum and tomato or cauliflower pilaf topped with Iranian saffron, Lebanese seven-spice and Turkish red pepper flakes. The chocolate cake and the champagne rhubarb ice cream vie against each other to make for a perfect close.

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.

Thai canteen style dining comes alive at Hoxton Square and Lancaster Road and the team at Yelo earnestly adhere to their tradition of sharing food with friends hence the communal seating, and their pricing comes as a welcome sign in these troubled financial times. Much thought has also gone into designing the menus that are commensurate with their ethos of 'as you eat so you are'.

So start with a heart-warming Tom kar galangal soup of chicken or prawns with coconut milk or spicy corn patties with chilli, cucumber and ground peanut sauce. Then surrender to spice and sweetness at the same time as massaman curry arrives with a bowl of steamed fragrant rice, alternating bites with sips of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. For the love of stir-fries, the menu has an eclectic selection, with bamboo shoots, fresh chilli and spring onions, and curry paste and fine beans. Desserts are simple but are packed with sweet nostalgia, think banana fritters and sticky rice with mango.

Classic French cuisine is often thought to come at a price but La Sophia in Notting Hill surprises with good food and prices within reach. This chef-owned French and Mediterranean restaurant, a stone's throw from Portobello Road and Ladbroke Grove, strives to please. Its signature dishes, with distinctive flourishes, are ample evidence of chef Ali?s expertise and wide ranging exposure to various cuisines internationally.

La Sophia's Moorish ambience and friendly service set the tone for a delightful evening. After having enjoyed a cocktail at the bar downstairs, start the meal with the goat cheese soufflé with mango and apricot chutney or the pan seared foie gras served with toasted brioche. Then move on to wild mushroom risotto with saffron, pan seared duck breast and dried cranberry or the pappardelle with pecan and Argan oil pesto. Lunch specials include steak frites classique, smoked salmon with egg and hollandaise sauce, pasta primavera and pan seared lamb chops. To assist digestion and pleasure take a close look at the good choice of classic white and red wines.