Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Thai Square group of restaurants reiterate the now common knowledge that Thai food has gained an international reputation based on the popularity of their tastes, textures and flavours. The décor is simple and yet embraces the Oriental element with flair. Across their restaurants, they have more than a thousand different dishes, an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary menus that are healthy and low in fat, and ingredients for all the dishes are authentic, freshly flown in from Thailand.

From the choice of starters, the steamed scallops with ginger and spring onion and the crab claw in butter served with chilli sauce are a real delight. From the main course options the Thai green curry is particularly good, as is the deep fried sea bass with herbs and chilli powder, or the prawn in crispy squid, making it a step above the average Thai restaurant menu.

If you're looking for a safe, tasty bite to eat then you could do worse than Le Piaf. Check tablecloths and basic French cuisine seem somehow re-assuring, although the staff can at times be a little off hand (maybe to add to the typically French atmosphere!) Excellent value.

Traditional Italian cuisine in a warm and inviting atmosphere, evocative of the numerous trattorias that line the streets of Italy, could probably sum up perfectly the dining experience at San Remo. The decor is kept simple, with wooden furniture and the ambience is friendly and laidback, so you could head out there for a tasty lunch with some friends or maybe a leisurely dinner party with your family.

The menu features typical favourites such as deep fried whitebait and calamari amongst the starters and then maybe rolled breast of chicken with asparagus, Parma ham and goats cheese. Other options for main course could include veal escalope sautéed in lemon and white wine or thin slices of sirloin steak served pink with green peppercorn and rosemary. There's an extensive Italian wine list with a few available by the bottle also.

The palm fringed beaches of Goa are the main inspiration that fashions the cuisine at Ma Goa, a regional Indian restaurant in Putney. Fresh, unpretentious and tasty food cooked according to tradition is the mainstay of this elegant restaurant, and the atmosphere is at once warm and inviting. While regular favourites make their presence apparent, the Portuguese influenced Goan fare is a refreshing take on Indian cuisine, something that every connoisseur must sample before passing verdict on the food from the subcontinent.

Amongst starters, look for the crab rissoles, tender and sweet crab meat with potato and cumin, pan fried and served with spiced mayonnaise and then move on to lamb cutlets in a yoghurt, garlic, coriander and lime marinade, cooked over charcoal. If you're in the mood for a quick lunch, then try the fish steaks cooked in a coconut, mustard seed, curry leaf and palm vinegar sauce served with plain rice from their shack attack menu, reminiscent of the numerous shack restaurants lining the beaches of Goa.

Gouramys opened at the beginning of December 2002 on the site of the former Rose of Denmark public house in Barnes. The proprietors, Elaine and Tony Martin have moved from Lincolnshire where their restaurant gained entry to the 'Which Good Food Guide' and won 'The Joseph Perrier' best restaurant in Lincolnshire award.

Specialising in fish and seafood the restaurant also offers a selection of meat dishes. All the fish and shellfish are purchased fresh from the markets and depending on the days catch there is a daily specials board.

For Sunday lunch they offer a traditional roast menu as well as the normal seafood menu. Wednesday to Saturday lunchtime they have a set lunch fixed price menu as well as the normal menu, this changes daily and weekly.

The ambience and style of the restaurant is comfortable and relaxed with friendly professional and attentive service. The bar area for pre and after dinner drinks is comfortably furnished with easy chairs and settees and the dining area has well spaced tables from which you can view the two large tropical fish tanks (those are their pets and not on the menu!).

Emile's brings classic fine dining to Putney in an informal yet sophisticated atmosphere where guests can allow themselves to feel indulgent without breaking the bank. This Felsham Road restaurant is a gem that has been around for nearly two decades, pleasing customers with their range of delicious French food. The cuisine also includes a selection of Modern British dishes which crank up the comfort levels considerably.

Menus change on a monthly basis and could include seared scallops on pea risotto with sage and red wine butter with white truffle oil amongst the starters. Meanwhile, you could follow up with a main course of roast rump of lamb with cumin, raisins and white wine, spinach, chick pea purée and pine nut butter sauce. Finish with a melon salad with pineapple and coconut milk sorbet and choose something from the extensive wine list which covers both the New and Old World with elegance and charm.

Latin American dining in London is no longer confined to Tex Mex cuisine with burritos and enchiladas making way for more refined, sophisticated and authentic dishes at Destino. The Hispanic influence is extremely strong, be it in atmosphere, music or food but then, who's complaining because it's an experience that you don't want to miss at all! Orange colours in the décor infuse the right level of warmth and the ambience is quite colonial and even charming.

Dishes at Destino have small portions and are not like regular main courses, but they're quite perfect when you're in the mood for something light and easy. Some of the delicious options that you can expect there are mushroom and corn flatbread, white asparagus gratin and sugarcane tuna. Desserts are decadent and luscious, and a perfect example would be dulce de leche fondue or churros, doughnut sticks with ice cream. The drinks menu is extensive covering cocktails, mojitos, wines and beers.