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The Bedlington Café successfully transforms itself from a local café serving up full English breakfasts and the likes by day, to a great little Thai restaurant by night. As you might expect knowing the Bedlington's café roots the Thai restaurant is more sought after for its good value food than its traditional Thai décor. Start your meal with a healthy and delicious Thai soup before indulging in one of their excellent Thai red or green curries or stir-fries, accompanied by a choice of noodles or sticky rice. Main courses will only set you back around £6, making this a fun and informal place to dine.

Reviewed by Linda Buttle

No credit cards accepted.

The colourful decor and use of lanterns, cloths, cushions and brass tables at Azou creates a relaxed atmosphere; though, in reality, it is merely a restaurant in Hammersmith, not part of a souk, you may feel that you have actually been transported there.

They are proud of the authenticity of their North African cuisine, using traditional spices, herbs and methods of cooking, producing interesting food of excellent quality, combined with friendly and efficient service, and they are extremely well rated in Harden's Guide to London Restaurants. For either a quiet meal, a business dinner or lunch, or party, you will enjoy both good fun and excellent value!

The menu ranges across the Maghreb, taking in briks and brochettes, tagines and couscous dishes, including some unique to Azou. Mechoui, a whole lamb, marinated and roasted with starters and accompaniments, makes a splendid feast for a dozen people.

Formerly owned by Dan and Fiona Evans, a change of hands in late 2005 does not appear to changed the quality, this is a really buzzing gastro-pub, and diffiicult to get into as a result, full of life with no strict definitions but snapping to attention on the subject of food. A menu board dominates the end of the room, with messages tuned to the seasons and availability in a positive kind of way.

The menu delivers a wide choice of dishes from round the world in a thoroughly individual style. It is noted for its desserts, like the poached pear with matching sorbet, and, if you are contemplating gastronomic suicide, think in terms of the Yankee dark and white chocolate truffle cake with chilled ginger and Bourbon anglaise; nobody deserves to survive too many of those. Globe-trotting wine list starting at £10.50, with around 15 by the glass.

However, watch out for their so-called 'Mineral Water' it is merely filtered tap water for which they charge a whopping £2.75, it must cost them almost 1 pence; they should offer it free like Strada do.

A stylish contemporary bar, lounge and restaurant in Steyne Road, Pearl Water at the Blue Star Hotel serves innovative Asian cuisine created with ingenuity and flair. Classic Chinese dishes have been reinterpreted to offer guests a unique fine dining experience. Modern décor with soft blue lighting creates a tranquil ambience in which patrons can unwind at leisure.

The menu's variety extends to dishes such as fresh lobster in black bean sauce, prawn and pork won ton soup, steamed chilli pork dumpling, deep fried chicken wings with salt and pepper, Szechuan beef, crispy aromatic duck with pancakes, and tender Mongolian lamb with ginger and spring onion. There's also a mixed seafood platter of scallops, squid, butterfly prawns, crispy seaweed and mussels as well as sautéed prawns with cashew nuts, fresh scallops with asparagus, fried mussels in black bean sauce, crispy noodles with mixed seafood and king prawn fried rice. Deep fried fritters of banana, apple and pineapple sum up the dessert selection. An extensive list of wines, spirits, beers and aperitifs refreshes the palate.

It's an idea that has been brewing in Tony Kitous mind for some time. As he says, 'it's something I've always wanted to do'. Comptoir Libanias means Lebanese counter and that's exactly what it is: somewhere you can eat casually with no fuss. The first restaurant opened at Westfield Shopping Centre and now Tony has brought his signature design and style to the West End. The interior is fresh and modern, with a little touch of the souk, with embroidered handbags from Marrakech and ingredients to cook at home, and the ambience is light and airy.

The menu offers everything from dips to mezze bites, savoury flatbreads, tagines, wraps, salads through to pastries and cakes. Pick a few dishes and share them with friends. Forget the knife and fork - mezze is finger food. Or put your feet up after shopping, and indulge in rosewater macaroons and homemade lemonades.

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.