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Just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, The Hamptons bar at the Crowne Plaza London-St. James offers its busy patrons an oasis of tranquility where they can seek refuge from the hectic business of the day. With the resident pianist playing in the background, you can sample a martini, a cocktail or a brandy from the bar?s cognac collection which dates back to the 19th century.

The Hamptons also offers English afternoon tea. There are over 15 specially handcrafted teas from the Mighty Leaf Tea Company to choose from, along with warm handmade scones served with West Country clotted cream and strawberry jam, a selection of freshly prepared finger sandwiches and pastries, and if you so wish, a glass of champagne too.

A traditional deluxe four star hotel in central London, the Crowne Plaza London-St. James is conveniently close to the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Victoria Station. It offers all modern facilities including three restaurants and a spa with gym.

The Halkin in London is part of the Como Group of restaurants and its in-house restaurant, Nahm, serves authentic Thai cuisine, in a rich, stylish and contemporary setting. The restaurant is located on Halkin Street, and is just a 3- minute walk from Hyde Park Tube and Sloane Street. Exuding a quiet glamour, Nahm has interiors that are elegant and understated, with beige coloured walls off-set by natural wood, smooth clean lines, rich furnishings and subdued lighting.

The food served, is a varied menu of traditional Thai dishes together with more contemporary and seasonal fare. Chef David Thompson brings his considerable experience to the dinner table, to create a tantalizing menu of authentic recipes with modern touches. Starters take in traditional Thai canapés or inventive modern dishes such as pork and shiitake soup. Main courses include deep-fried catfish with red curry and pork, and Thai crab curry that can be eaten with rice or a Thai-style scallop salad. The desserts are also temptingly unique such as durian sticky rice, a traditional dish of black rice served with coconut and longan with caramelized taro.

A fine selection of beers, wine, and other drinks complement the affordable and scrumptious meal.

Alan Yau, creator of some high profile restaurants like Hakkasan and Yauatcha, now brings the characteristic communal style dining to London a la Wagamama. The first Busaba Eathai opened in Soho and two more outlets followed, and the interior of dark wood and decorative lanterns notch up the style factor, making it more than just an average café-style dining experience.

Eating here is mostly a one course affair and on a cold winter evening try the tom yam talay, prawn, squid and baby clams with vermicelli noodle in a spicy sour soup, and for the light eaters it could be a wing bean salad with toasted coconut, shallot and lime leaf. If the crowds are anything to go by, it means that Busaba Eathai must be doing several things right and curries must be one of them, like the aromatic geng gari gai with chicken, new potato and cucumber relish. A steaming hot cup of ginger and honey tea helps you finish the meal on a satisfying note.

Matsuri is an inspired attempt to recreate the atmosphere of a Japanese festival, which just happens to be the meaning of its name. The interior is designed likewise with the taiko drum and the nebuta mask at the top of the staircase; the staff too follow suit with waitresses attired in brightly-coloured kimonos. Then there is the teppanyaki area where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the whooshing teppan, and the sushi counter where chefs whip up those delightful mouthfuls in a few seconds.

Although the speciality here is teppanyaki and sushi, vegetarians are not entirely forgotten, the wakana, a set course menu specially designed for our veggie friends includes a seaweed salad, vegetable tempura and sushi. The kitchen exhibits keen willingness to explore hitherto uncharted territory, think Scottish fillet steak and foie gras teppanyaki and spicy tuna tartar exquisitely presented as tuna sashimi topped with fresh salad. The crunchy spider-maki prepared using dark shell crab demonstrates that elegant presentation is the underlying essence of Japanese cuisine.

The first of the acclaimed Noura chain of restaurants to be set up in Britain, Noura Belgravia is a spacious and stylish dining space that effortlessly manages to combine contemporary décor with traditional Lebanese cuisine. Located on Hobart Place in Belgravia, the restaurant started by two enterprising brothers, features an elegant beige décor with rich furnishings and an elaborate bar area at one end. The food is a mix of brasserie style quick bites served at lunchtime and more formal, fine dining during the evening.

The a la carte menu includes starters of hot and cold mézzes such as batrakh, a traditional dish of boutargue fish roe with garlic and olive oil, moudardara, lentils and rice served with fired onions, and mousakaat banjan, baked aubergines with tomato and chick peas. Main courses include grilled sea bass served with olive oil, marinated and grilled lamb cutlets, charcoal grilled lamb skewers and kafta meshwiyeh- minced lamb with parsley, pine kernels and onions.

There are also exotic desserts of knafeh bel jebn, granulated pastry on melted cheese with warm syrup and ossmalieh, caramelised wheat filled with clotted cream.