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hand picked restaurants

Rated by many as quite one of the finest - but possibly least well known - restaurants in London. One-O-One is situated in Knightsbridge on the ground floor of the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel with a wonderful view of the passing shoppers through the wide windows. Specialising in seafood, produced with a real love of his subject by top chef Pascal Proyart, the choice varies from the incredibly simple, like poached lobster or oysters, through to the sublime.

It has picked up innumerable awards and is rated highly by all the major restaurant guides; little wonder with dishes like Brittany-style soupe de poisons, rouille croutons and Gruyere cheese or seaweed-steamed langoustines with wasabi-lime mayonnaise to start, followed by roasted wild sea bass, soft tapenade crust, grilled baby artichoke, purple crushed potato and parsley barigoule sauce.

Rowley's Restaurant opened in 1977 and has been famous around the world since then for its Entrecote Steak and secret herb butter sauce, which is left to sizzle on the table, accompanied by an unlimited supply of 'the best French fries in London'.

However, it has now extended way beyond that by offering a full choice of dishes from skewer of marinated lamb with sweet rice and cucumber raita through to traditional English battered cod and chips with homemade tartare sauce.

It is situated in the building which was once home of the original Walls Butcher Shop, the owners of Rowley's have kept the charm of this 19th century land mark site alive with the original tiled walls and ceilings, the stained glass windows and the plaque above the front door unveiled by grandson of Queen Victoria in 1930 in remembrance of the last in line, Thomas Wall.

Located in the centre of London, the elegant Georgian House Hotel in St. George's Drive  was built in 1851 as a private home for William Chinnery Mitchell and is still run by the original family. Guests can enjoy traditional afternoon tea here as well as a full English breakfast. The hotel is within reach of the main shopping venues of King?s Road, Oxford Street, Knightsbridge and Harrods.

For refreshment post-lunch, traditional afternoon tea is served in the dining room. Patrons can help themselves to a selection of smoked salmon and cucumber finger sandwiches, soft plain scones with clotted cream and homemade jam as well as rich gingerbread loaf, crumbly fruit cake and moist chocolate truffle cake. A range of teas and infusions as well as coffees and fruit juices complement the snacks. Breakfast in the garden room offers a buffet of fruits, cereals and fresh coffee followed by a cooked to order breakfast which could include free range fried eggs, bacon rashers, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausages, kidneys and toast and marmalade.

Spaghetti House is the handiwork of two Italians - Lorenzo Fraquelli and Simone Lavarini - who put their love for good Italian food and entrepreneurial skills to the test and decided to open their first outlet on Goodge Street. That was way back in 1955, now you can sense their indomitable Italian spirit in their 10 branches spread across Central London. All the outlets make a distinct impression in terms of décor, and happily intermingle with their surroundings.

Spaghetti is definitely the way to go, whether it's the Bolognese or pomodoro e basilico with San Marzano tomatoes and fresh basil sauce, or you could veer into the trofie zone where traditional Genoese short twisted pasta are tossed with cannelloni beans and mussels. Explore the Tuscan style of cooking fish and seafood stew with zuppa di pesce alla Toscana, while Umbrian sausages arrive casseroled with lentils and peas.

Spaghetti House can also accommodate groups of up to 200 guests and all outlets are strategically located close to theatres, museums and West End attractions.

Considered one of the finest Indian restaurants in London - except that it is actually Pakistani - since it was set up by 'Salloo' in 1976, it is situated at the end of a charming tucked away Belgravia Mews, just opposite the famous Berkeley Hotel. Their chef has been there from the start, and his repertoire has changed little since then, with excellent tandooris - colouring free - ranging from the normal to more unusual, like lamb chops or quail, and even a good choice of vegetarian dishes. Whilst it is certainly not cheap these days, its many aficionados feel that enjoying a meal there is money well spent.

Richard Bradford