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hand picked restaurants

The Osteria Spiga is a welcome addition to West Hampstead's vibrant restaurant scene. Located on Broadhurst Gardens, just a stone's throw from West Hampstead Tube Station and a short walk from the O2 Centre, this Italian restaurant offers a range of specialities for the discerning diner in a smart contemporary setting.

The Osteria's à la carte begins with small bites of wild mushrooms tossed with garlic and herbs and meat balls with scarmoza cheese in a rich tomato sauce, followed by starters of fried goat's cheese with roasted mixed peppers, spinach and aged balsamic sauce; and smoked salmon with cucumber and fennel salad, mascarpone and chives. A wood-platter of Italian cured meats and cold cuts with artichokes, sundried tomatoes and grilled smoked mozzarella is a more substantial affair.
 
The pasta selection offers linguine with half lobster meat, cherry tomatoes and chilli, enhanced with brandy, homemade ravioli filled with roast veal and tossed in butter and sage and pappardelle with cherry tomatoes and aubergine enriched with mozzarella.
 
For the main course, you could select roasted chicken breast in a mushroom and cream sauce, served with mashed potato; pan-fried calf's liver with sultanas and toasted pine kernels in Marsala wine sauce garnished with sautéed fresh spinach or Grissini crusted rack of lamb, garlic and rosemary sauce with potato gratin. A set menu is also available for lunch and dinner.
 
After a long walk on Hampstead Heath, just a short drive from Osteria Spiga, why not reward yourself with delicious desserts of vanilla pannacotta with mango coulis, chocolate torte with fresh strawberries or crème brûlée with Irish cream and forest fruits which will satisfy even the sweetest tooth. There's also a selection of ice creams and sorbets as well as a cheeseboard with Italian and English cheeses.
 
The Italian dominated wine list offers a variety of flavourful whites and fruity reds from regions such as Umbria, Abruzzo and Toscana as well as sprinkling of wines from France and Australia.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

At The Table, in Southwark Street, you will find a real devotion to the proper use of the food and methods involved in producing an attractive and healthy menu choice, based on British ingredients wherever possible, a low carbon footprint, and touches of more widely spread cuisines.

Fruit and vegetables come from Secretts Farm in Surrey, fish direct from the boat and fresh from Billingsgate, a butcher, Mark Jones supplies meat from North Wales, the award winning bakeries Seven Seeded Bakery and Rhodes do the honours on the organic bread. Food is not wrapped in plastic and only the best biodegradable packaging gets through the hoop. For lunch a Welsh Black steak sandwich, fresh red fish or mackerel dependent on what they've caught. Dinner? How about roast red leg partridge, roast perch with Jerusalem artichoke, wild rabbit and hazelnut sausages with parsnip mash and rosemary sauce, or duck black pudding with roast beetroot and chestnut chutney.

The weekend brings brunch, a sense of relaxation, time, space and on Sunday the papers. Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, three of them and free range, with Derreensillagh oak smoked salmon on organic toast. Yes, the ever welcome stack is to be found, but with changes, look out for the red pepper pesto, chorizo sausage, hollandaise and organic bagel amongst the homemade baked beans and poached eggs.

Much of The Table's appeal lies in its wealth of glass and hence light, which reinforces the sense of freedom, cleanliness, and I suppose if you summed it up, wellbeing. There are more smiling faces per table here than there are to be seen in many restaurants. When this is reinforced by the well displayed food, the ease of serving coupled with a lack of formality, you have a recipe for an early return visit. You could say that good food deserves decent surroundings in which to eat it, and the first floor occupants above The Table would be delighted, since they are the architectural practice who designed them.

Much of the food served, even the brunch, has an openness of identity, and could belong to all or most of the four main menus through which they operate. Take a starter of kohl rabi Waldorf salad with Muscat grapes and toasted walnuts, or ravioli of pork belly and Muirenn smoked eel with sage butter; both could belong almost anywhere on their very credible menus.

The same goes for hedgehog and chanterelle mushroom risotto with Parmigiano Reggiano, and side dishes of crushed Yetholm gypsy potatoes, or a Secretts Farm mixed leaf salad. Equally, the very names of the suppliers are a litany of charm and elegance. How's this, "we source all our spuds from Tip Toe Farm in Northumberland, courtesy of the lovely Lucy Carroll at Carroll's heritage Potatoes". Leaving the lovely Lucy to one side, that just makes you want to eat food that you know instinctively has been grown and treated with respect.

The wine measures up well to the food and all wines come in bottles or by the glass, at prices which are as much of a treat as the wines themselves. A white sauvignon blanc from the well respected Hawkes Bay in North Island New Zealand, is well worth a call, and for those who like their beer, Peroni and Stella are both to be found in bottle.

The movement to grow better and more genuine food is gaining momentum. With some pretty eye-swivelling media coverage, particularly via TV programmes, there is a growing realisation that less is more, and that restaurants such as The Table are in the forefront of a move towards better health and a wiser use of resources.

Last orders for dinner are taken at 10pm and their Website will keep you informed about such matters as lunch menus and other up to date considerations.

The White Swan in Fetter Lane between the City of London and Holborn is one of those transformations that works, it is instantly recognisable by its flavour, and its formidable ambience that casts a spell from the moment you enter. Converted from a former pub to what is popularly called a gastropub, offering modern British food, the transition is almost unbelievable, with smart wooden floors that resist the temptation to be chic, plenty of high quality woodwork in the detail, well ventilated when required and a light airy lofty dining room with floor to ceiling windows.

A ground floor pub pays homage to the traditional element and fresh flowers add a touch of that extra mile feeling. Free parking is available in Fetter Lane after 6.30pm Monday-Friday, after 1.30 on Saturdays and all day Sunday. Three NCPs are all within easy distance.

Even in these days of financial gloom people still eat lunch, and the White Swan is near enough to the City to be handy for those looking for style coupled with value. The magic number is six, so plenty of choices through all three courses and side dishes with a typical midday meal of rabbit terrine, prunes, figs, pickled girolles and hazelnut dressing followed by whole roasted lemon sole, clams, tomato, samphire and Jersey Royal potatoes, perhaps with some hand cut chips, peas and bacon or braised radishes to accompany.

This being essentially a City pub there is a highly worthy cheese board from Britain and France, and a choice of tempting desserts that includes milk chocolate ganache with cinnamon and raspberry doughnuts, or Eton Mess.

The evening menu follows much the same modern British direction, in the dishes, such as fine tart of mackerel, baby onions, black olive tapenade and balsamic accompanied by pan fried skirt steak, braised cheek, artichoke barigoule and bone marrow before ending with peanut butter parfait with Kirsch cherries.
 
Some dining room dishes are singled out for inclusion in an attractive bar menu, which also offers such sound brasserie numbers as fine tart of mackerel served with baby onions, black olive tapenade and balsamic, and Spanish olives followed by Atlantic cod and organic salmon fishcake with greens and tarragon butter sauce. An interesting list of homemade ice creams speaks for itself.

Fine food and wine evenings are a regular feature, though it has to be said that every evening has its merits. The menu has the feel of having been honed on the basis of what customers want rather than the other way round and whilst this is always a welcome sign the ailing economy seems to be lending it even more emphasis.

The White Swan is well able to cope with the demands of private events any day or night of the week. Spread over three floors it can be hired as a whole, for 150 people, with a 3am licence available at weekends, or piecemeal to suit smaller parties from 20 to 100. Dj nights are speciality.

Weddings as an item have changed for the better, and The White Swan will be more than happy to look after the arrangements for your reception at Fetter Lane. A maximum of 52 can eat a sit-down meal, or 24 for a seated buffet. A standing reception for 150 guests is a doddle, and if by any chance you are getting married at Islington Town Hall you are only a mere 15 minutes from the action.

For further details of this excellent and attractive pub and dining room a quick click on their Website should answer all your queries.

The Fish and Grill in Putney follows its namesake in Croydon with chef owner Malcolm John continuing to do what he does best. Freshly prepared seafood with a choice of grilled steaks is served in a laid back cozy ambience with dark wood furniture and leather upholstery, perfect for an enjoyable evening with family and friends. Al fresco dining on the terrace can accommodate up to 30 guests. The Fish and Grill is a 7-minute walk from Putney Rail Station.

Diners are greeted by a fresh fish bar showcasing a wide ranging selection sourced from the South Coast and Cornwall. Rare-bred meats and the free-range poultry offer delicious alternatives for lunch or dinner. The meal could open with starters of salt cod fritters served with crushed pea aioli, Dorset crab with mayonnaise, whitebait with aioli or Carlingford oysters. The potted fish selection offers smoked mackerel with toast and breakfast radish, curried shrimps with gem lettuce and Cornish gurnard with citrus, toast and Waldorf salad.

Alternatives to fish and seafood starters include a Natoora Italian charcuterie board and English asparagus with soft boiled duck egg and hollandaise as well as salads beetroot with goat?s curd, pickled walnut and wild mushrooms and endive with honey and grain mustard.

After the appetizing beginning to the meal you could follow up with mains of grilled Cornish lobster, pan roast skate with capers and samphire, whole grilled crab with garlic chilli and ginger butter, beer battered haddock with pea purée and pea ravioli with mint butter and aged parmesan. The grilled selection includes a succulent Aberdeen Angus fillet steak on the bone, veal chop with lemon and marjoram, Southdown lamb cutlets and Chateaubriand for two with roasted bone marrow, all served with triple cooked chips and béarnaise or pepper sauce.

If you feel like going with the set menu then you could dine on starters of squid tempura with tartar sauce, leek and potato soup with smoked fish or salad of watercress, with endives, brae-burn apple, beetroot and grain mustard. For mains try aged rump steak with dripping chips, whole grilled Cornish plaice with clams and monks beard or house burger made with hand diced Angus beef, blue cheese or cheddar and bacon or jerk seasoning.

A children's menu offers the little ones dishes such as grilled maize fed chicken with mash potato and cooking juices, fish fingers with tartar sauce and green beans or broccoli and tomato, basil and mozzarella fettuccine.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

A delightful neighbourhood restaurant in the West London suburb of Chiswick, Le Vacherin on South Parade serves traditional Parisian bistro food. The brainchild of head chef and owner Malcolm John, formerly of Brasserie St Quentin in Knightsbridge and a product of the Café Royal training with Herbert Berger, a chic setting supplemented by a convivial atmosphere sets the tone for an enjoyable meal, whether it's a business lunch or a romantic dinner.

A regularly changing menu uses the freshest and finest of seasonal ingredients and a prix fixe lunch or dinner could begin with starters of smoked duck served with apple and celeriac rémoulade; chicken liver and foie gras parfait with brioche, radishes and gherkins or roast bone marrow, parsley and garlic crust with heirloom beetroot and horseradish. The lunch menu also includes the house speciality, and namesake, baked Vacherin with a truffle and almond crust for two.

The excellent gastronomic experience continues with delicious mains of aged Hereford rib eye with pommes frites, sauce béarnaise or poivre; confit of wild rabbit with Dijon mustard, sprouting broccoli and frites; breast of pheasant with fondant potatoes, chestnuts and chorizo or sea bass with brown shrimps butter, cockles and pommes purée. If you want to share, try the 28-day aged Châteaubriand with green beans and frites or the roasted crown and confit leg of Barbary duck with caramelised endives, pommes mousseline and orange sauce. 

Vegetarians are well-catered for with starters of poached pear with Roquefort, endives and walnuts, pumpkin velouté with sage and pine nuts or twice baked cheese soufflé, endives and walnuts. This can be followed by mains such as gratin of parsley gnocchi and trompette mushrooms with ricotta beignets or pappardelle with wild mushrooms and black truffle.

Sunday lunch at Le Vacherin could begin with starters of beignet of frog legs with aioli, Burgundy snails in garlic butter or a delicious pumpkin soup with sage and pine nuts. This could be followed by succulent roast rib of beef with duck fat potatoes and Yorkshire pudding; duck confit with green beans and creamed chanterelles; middle white pork cutlet with kale and flageolet beans or beetroot and roasted squash risotto with mascarpone.

The dessert menu is no less indulgent with offerings of Venezuela chocolate fondant with mascarpone ice cream, cinnamon doughnuts paired with apple and calvados sorbet, bread and butter pudding with aged prunes topped with prune and Armagnac ice cream and profiteroles with coffee ice cream and caramel sauce. A range of French farmhouse cheeses offers a delectable alternative.

Le Vacherin's carefully compiled, French dominated wine list complements the food perfectly and includes tempting examples of white and red wines such as Sauvignon Elégance Côtes du Tarn, Pinot Blanc Réserve Particulière, Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne. There's also a selection of aperitifs, cocktails and spirits.

While the main restaurant can cater for up to 80 diners for a special occasion, there is a well-appointed semi-private room can accommodate up to 30 guests.

More information can be found on their Website.

The Crown is yet another jewel in the Geronimo collection of pubs with style, traditional British food, worthy beers and an excellent wine list. Located only a short distance from Victoria Park it has something for everyone whether you are looking for a place where quiet meals for two are on the agenda, a group booking or just somewhere friendly where a few friends can gather for a few drinks and a yarn.

Lunch and dinner is served seven days a week with Saturday brunches that blow away any vestiges of the previous night's end of the working week feste, and Sunday lunches where that great British custom can be celebrated in a relaxed and timeless manner.

The Crown is a very outdoor sort of place too, with a beautiful roof terrace and beer garden. Two function rooms, the bright and airy Livestock Room and the more intimate Paper Room both have private balconies overlooking the Park and comfortably accommodate 25 people for a seated event. If it's something bigger you have in mind the entire first floor for you and 79 other people standing is yours, with its own private bar.

So really there's not much excuse for looking any further no matter what your requirements. 'Yes', you say, 'but what about the food and drink'. In the immortal words of the late Peter Sellers, "what indeed!" Let's start with with the wine list created by John Clevely, Master of Wine and driving force behind Geronimo pubs. What with warm hearted reds, cool elegant whites and a visit to most of the major wine producing areas in the world, there really is no contest. Nearly every one is available by the glass, and prices only occasionally stray across the £20 barrier, and frankly if you don't feel that £50 is a fair price for a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Reserve should you really be out?

And so to the rations which are perfectly straightforward, with two menus, lunch and dinner, and no messing about. In case you think that lunch in Victoria Park is not an event, let me assure you otherwise. Cured salmon with herb pancakes, shallot and capers make a good opening event, or perhaps a goat's cheese croustade, with leek, onion and pine nuts is more your way?

Time to spare, friends to meet? A sirloin steak with green peppercorn sauce and hand cut chips takes some beating, but a roasted pork fillet with horseradish mash and smoked black pudding is in the same league. The blessed burger is now respectable and there sure enough is a cheese and bacon burger with more hand cut chips. For the maritime-minded a pan fried seabass is served with risotto cake, baby pak choy and sweet chilli sauce.

Dinner is more of the same with additional dishes such as braised ox cheek, swede and cider, crispy salmon with wilted spinach, fondant potato and pea jus, and a chicken liver salad, pancetta and raspberry vinegar.

Desserts change daily and be on the lookout for some decent British cheeses.

Walk into The Crown and chances are you will feel instantly at home which, in the view of many is what a good pub is all about. Their Website will keep you up to date with special events, menu changes, and private hire possibilities.

Belgo Clapham caters for both the diner and the drinker with this bar/restaurant concept from the company that brought us the three other Belgos, Noord, Centraal and Kingsway.

With a warm and welcoming atmosphere, you can enjoy a drink and snacks at the bar area or the outside seating area, and relax with an entertaining, people-watching view of the hustle and bustle of Clapham life going by right in front of your eyes. You might even see the traditional 'man on the omnibus'.

Situated on Clapham High Street, Belgo Clapham incorporates striking and individual interior design with leather banquette seating, intimate booths and oak furniture to create a stylish and comfortable bar atmosphere.

Waiters are on hand if needed to help you choose the right beers, making suggestions from the various white, black and fruit beers available, as well as a large selection of wines and other drinks. Drawn from one of the largest suppliers of Belgian beers in this country you can see why when you view the menu, so take your time to look through your drinks menu and don't hesitate to ask the bartender or a waiter for their suggestions and help.

In the kitchens the chefs are at work preparing dishes, such as their famous mussels, and other range of superb seafood, vegetarian or meat dishes. Starters of king prawns pan fried in garlic, chilli, ginger and herb butter or salmon fishcakes served with baby spinach and lime hollandaise make excellent beginnings, leading on to main courses of char grilled 10oz rib eye steak with frites, caramelised onions and garlic butter or peppercorn sauce. Other tasty options include their famed rotisserie chicken, spit roasted chicken basted in Belgian blonde beer and apple juice served with wild mushroom and cream.

There's a great choice for those with a sweet tooth with their amazing desserts featuring Belgian dark chocolate cheesecake on a baked biscuit base with dark chocolate sauce, homemade strawberry pavlova, crème brûlée with a tuile biscuit, and of course the renowned bread and butter pudding with brioche, orange confit, dark Belgian chocolate and Mandarin Napoleon liqueur.

The mussel platter comes to table accompanied by crisp golden frites, while moules blanches cooked in Belgo Wit beer arrives with shallots, smoked bacon and parsley with frites.

Do keep an eye out for their special deals, such as the famous 'Beat the Clock', where you pay the price at the time shown on your food order when ordering from their BTC menu, i.e., 6pm is £6. The 'Express Lunch' is a set lunch menu where you can choose between a bowl of marinière mussels served with frites, grilled goats' cheese salad, pork and leek sausages, or salmon fillet, leek mash and mustard sauce.

They also have 'Kids Eat Free', which entitles 1 child to eat free from the 'mini menu', a 2-course meal served with frites or mash, that includes dishes such as rotisserie chicken, pork and leek sausages, mussels or cod goujons, rounded off with Belgo's homemade ice-cream, per 1 adult ordering a main course from the à la carte menu.

For reservations and party bookings call them from 12 noon onwards, or visit their Website to learn more about Belgo Restaurants.

Close to the Odeon Cinema, Chimichanga South Woodford on George Lane offers exciting Mexican cuisine in a vibrant modern setting and is perfect for a delicious meal before or after a movie. Just a 3-minute walk from South Woodford Tube Station, the restaurant delivers authentic Mexican food in the heart of this leafy London suburb on the edge of Epping Forest.

Chimichanga's extensive à la carte caters to a variety of palates. A wide range of delicious appetisers includes crab cakes, Buffalo chicken wings and empanadas, a traditional crispy pastry filled with a choice of chicken or chorizo sausage with cheese and served with sour cream. Other choices include piri piri prawns, Cajun chicken with chilli sauce and jalapeno bullets, a dish of deep fried jalapeno peppers with cream cheese and chilli sauce. Appetisers to share include chicken nachos or taquitos, crispy flour tortilla tubes with a range of fillings including cheese and black beans, chicken, cheese and salsa and chorizo and cheese.

Light bites include a range of tortilla wraps including a classic fajita wrap with a choice of char grilled fajita steak or chicken served with peppers and onions in a tortilla with Jack cheese. Vegetarians are catered for with the delicious courgette and Portobello mushroom wraps which comes with chipotle chilli sauce and jack cheese. There's also a number of tempting salad options such as blackened tuna salad with tuna steak coated in a special blend of Cajun spices, blacked on a hot skillet and served over a bed of mixed leaves with roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

For something more filling diners could opt for a tortilla burger, made from 100 per cent fully traceable prime Scottish beef wrapped in a flour tortilla with mayonnaise and served with changa chips.

The char grill section's succulent offerings include barbecue baby back ribs served with change chips and jalapeno coleslaw; sirloin mojo rojo, a centre cut sirloin steak marinated in chilli, garlic and coriander and served with beer battered onion rings and change chips, Santa Fe chicken with rice, black beans and guacamole or flame grilled piri piri chicken.

Sumptuous Mexican specialities naturally include chimichanga, a flour tortilla fried golden brown with Jack cheese and served with your choice of filling - either chunky beef chilli con carne, BBQ pulled pork or bean chilli - sautéed onions and peppers and garnished with sour cream, chives, guacamole and tortilla croutons, as well as a variety of burritos, enchiladas and tostadas. There are also chipotle meatballs, Mexican paella, chilli de la casa and south-western crab cakes. The grande quesadilla is a baked flour tortilla sandwich with your choice of filling and drizzled with sour cream and served with Mexican rice and chipotle chilli sauce.

The lunch menu offers a choice of two or three courses while a children's menu caters to the tastes of the little ones.
Round off the satisfying meal with scrumptious dessert of giant Mexican profiterole, chocolate fudge brownie or honeycomb smash cheesecake. Alternatively, end with a speciality coffee or liqueur. Chimichanga offers a variety of wines, beers, cocktails, margheritas, sangria and soft drinks to quench the thirst.

More information can be found on their Website.

On High Street, Prezzo Eltham offers fine Italian cuisine is a bright, spacious setting. Housed in a converted London electricity showroom building, the beautifully designed interior retains much of its original charm with a stunning first floor dining area, which features stained glass windows and wooden furniture.

Surrounded by shops and bars, Prezzo is just a short walk from Eltham Railway Station.

The restaurants satisfy the needs of those who like genuine Italian cuisine, as they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic pizza bread with caramelised balsamic onions and melted mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goats' cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on focaccia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal.

Find pastas such as the unusual chicken ravioli, made pancetta bacon, petits pois and grana padano cheese in a cream sauce; amongst the special pastas, the polpette al forno with meatballs, field mushrooms, caramelised onions, red chillies and penne in a tomato and garlic sauce is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like chicken and red pesto with roasted peppers and grana padano cheese, while tiger prawns with oak roast salmon and petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce, is enticingly different.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular fiorentina, topped with spinach, free-range egg, grana padano cheese, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato, and the much loved quattro formaggi - gorgonzola, goat's cheese, grana padano, mozzarella, tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with Prezzo's own blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can wash down the food with a variety of tipples - ranging from house wine and Chardonnay to liqueurs and beer and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.