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The Eagle is a Geronimo Inns classic gastropub with sofa, fires, room to sit at the bar, and a garden to bring a smile to the folk living in Shepherds Bush West London. The pub fits in well alongside some of the other wonderful pubs in this neck of the woods. The interior is elegant in a louche sort of way, with comfortable seating, warm lighting and a pleasant yard to be enjoyed during sunny days.

There is room to sit and enjoy with enough friends. To recreate the ambience of a country kitchen table surrounded by friends in a London pub is not the easiest of tasks, but The Eagle has done it. Many visitors return to experience the pleasant mix of urban life, parks, inns and people.

The food combined with the atmosphere and philosophy that stays true to tradition has made this place popular among locals and travellers alike. The menu includes regular pub grub as well as specials that have discerning guests coming back for more.

For lunch you can order the hot prawn cocktail with gem lettuce and tomato hollandaise or other delicacies that may include black pudding, bacon and potato hash with duck egg, slow roast pork belly, shallot and apple tart and chicken with a crisp ham and broad bean salad. End your lunch with a pudding and selection of British cheese chutney and crackers.

Dinner can be as elaborate or simple as you wish as you greet a pressed ham terrine with toast and pickles. The carte du jour lists several tasty options such as pan-fried Goosenargh duck breast with fennel puree and glazed root, grilled sirloin steak with tomato confit and chips, roast stone bass fillet, spiced south in coast cockle butter, and poached pear and blue cheese salad with chicory, walnuts and sherry dressing.

Supporting items for the larger dishes include chips and sea salt, mixed leaf salad, new potatoes, and braised red cabbage. The wine list is compiled by John Clevely, Master of Wine, and contains a good selection of both Old and New World boutique and mainstream wines including Rogers and Rufus and Fiano Mandrarossa.

To conclude a satisfying meal think in terms of the muscavado and hazelnut tart with vanilla ice cream, chocolate brownie and lemon tart.

For more information, do visit their Website, which also has details of all the other excellent pubs owned by Geronimo Inns.

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.

The most interesting aspect of the Tony Thomas designed Caravaggio restaurant is the real sense of time and space, with its ornate ceiling and Art Deco light fixtures, in what was once a bank. Italian renaissance is best known for renewed interest in the culture of interlocked civilizations and features many prominent names such as Caravaggio; fast forward to the present day and you have a restaurant in London as a tribute to the man himself.

A long marble topped bar at the entrance is a popular spot for single diners while the existing gallery at the mezzanine level has now been extended to provide a second tier of tables. From the large windows and lamps to the warm yellow tones, everything feels both new and old at the same time. This may probably be the reason why it?s a firm favourite among the list of who's who in England.

The smartly attired front of house team, under the able supervision of their manager Andrés Cabrera, are adept in turning around people with little time to spare, even inside an hour if that is what they want; though, in fact, most of the patrons who are drawn to Caravaggio usually wish to linger a little longer over lunch, particularly if they want to clinch a deal.

Chef Jonathan Lees has crafted a menu, which displays unflinching loyalty to Italy. Caravaggio's commitment to fresh ingredients is evident in the fact that they employ a buyer to search out the very best, instead of relying on less focused suppliers. Which explains why the pasta is perfect and the risotto, a revelation.

Parmigiano herb crusted seared beef carpaccio with celery and parmesan or poached asparagus with sautéed quail eggs and Hollandaise sauce could be followed by linguine with fresh seafood tossed in a tomato sauce with garlic and chilli or risotto with tiger prawns and spring onions. Fish lovers could plump for the grilled swordfish with sauce vierge, or roasted fillet of salmon with oregano, parsley and Jersey Royal potatoes.

Meat dishes include grilled breast of chicken with a chicory and mange tout salad and 28 day matured Scotch rib-eye, sliced and char-grilled with béarnaise and thick cut chips. It's worth leaving room for a bitter chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream or the rhubarb panna cotta. If choosing a glass of wine from the extensive list proves too irksome then just pop a question to the knowledgeable sommelier, who would be happy to help.

If you've been awe-struck by the famous works of art by Italian painters and sculptors and wish to see similar dedication and innovation closer to home, then step in to Caravaggio where people aim to demonstrate the same in the food and drink they serve. For full menus and wine list, visit their Website, which also has details about holding private functions there in the evenings and at the weekend.

Offering wonderful views of River Thames, Zizzi at Canary Wharf brings good value Italian cuisine to the heart of London's Docklands. Close to the Museum of Docklands and the Cineworld Cinema, Zizzi is popular with office workers, locals and shoppers alike.

With excellent public transport links, the Canary Wharf branch of this bustling Italian restaurant is just a short walk from West India Quay and Heron Quay Tube Stations.
 
The bustling open kitchen at Zizzi turns out freshly prepared, tasty fare. The extensive à la carte offers distinct sections of antipasti, salads, pizza and calzone, pasta, risottos and mains of seasonally changing meat and fish dishes with a variety of tempting desserts to finish.
 
Zizzi's special antipasti platter has mixed Italian meats with buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion focaccia bread. There's also choice of arancini, crispy risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and peas and served with a tomato chilli sauce as well as gnocchi gorgonzola, potato dumplings in a creamy gorgonzola and spinach sauce seasoned with nutmeg and black pepper, setting the tone for a hearty meal.

For a delicious pasta or risotto choose between penne vodka, king prawns, chilli, peas and Grana Padano in a creamy tomato and vodka sauce; ravioli di capra, goat's cheese and spinach ravioli served with tomato sauce and topped with pesto and pine nuts; zucca e pancetta, pumpkin, pancetta, spinach, sage and Grana Padano topped with mascarpone and rigatoni con pollo e funghi, chicken in a tomato, onion, rosemary and mushroom sauce. Gluten-free pasta is also available on request.

If you prefer a pizza, then you could try Zizzi's speciality pizza rustica, which couples extra thin and crispy bases with a range of toppings such as bufala, buffalo mozzarella with sunblush tomatoes, basil, rocket and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or mare e monti, one half topped with tiger prawn, courgette and mozzarella and the other with spicy sausage, tomato sauce and chilli, all finished off with a rocket and crème fraîche. The carne piccante calzone has marinated chicken, meatballs, Bolognese sauce, mushrooms, chillies, tomato and mozzarella while the clarissa version, has aubergine, and red pepper caponata, olives, goats' cheese, rocket, pine nuts, tomato and mozzarella. Zizzi's calzon'pizzas, half calzone and half pizza, add an interesting twist to the meal.

Sumptuous mains include agnello con peperonata, roasted lamb shank served with basil, roasted vegetables and a little pot of potatoes with tomato, red onion and Grana Padano; duck arrosto, slow roasted whole duck leg in a balsamic, olive and pancetta reduction served with Tuscan potatoes and green beans; and sea bass al vino, sea bass pan fried with wine, garlic and baby plum tomatoes and served with herby potatoes.

The scrumptious dessert list offers torta cioccolata with its thick hazelnut chocolate base topped with rich chocolate torte and served with vanilla mascarpone; homemade tiramisu; creamy vanilla pannacotta with fruit compote and torta Zizzi, an almond-based plum and fig tart topped with pistachios and icing sugar and served with gelato.

The wine list is dominated by a range of Italian wines from regions such as Veneto, Lazio, Sicily, Tuscany and Lombardy. Also on offer is an assortment of beers, and spirits as well as a range of soft and hot drinks.

More information can be found on their Website.

Strada describes itself as 'a group of stylish, contemporary Italian restaurants, serving good quality, simple and freshly prepared dishes'. The statement sums up what this group of around seventy restaurants offers to people looking for good Italian food. The first outlet opened in Battersea in 1999 and their clientele has been increasing steadily ever since.

Though Strada has grown into a fair sized group, each outlet retains the feel of being a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The menu includes pastas, risottos, salads, and fish dishes, but they are best known for their quality pizzas.

They present authentic Italian dishes in contemporary surroundings and aim to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as Luganica sausages, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

A meal could kick off with zuppa vongole e fregola, a traditional clam soup with Sardinian fregola pasta grains, wine, chilli and parsley, served with bread, or the delicious sautéed king prawns with garlic, white wine, chilli, and lemon butter served with your choice of bread.

Move on to their creamy risotto verdure, freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, spring onions, zucchini, green beans, white wine and mint, finished with baby spinach leaves. Or you could opt for the healthier, tagliolini nero granchio, black cuttlefish ink pasta with crab, courgette, red and yellow peppers, spring onion, and a hint of chilli and parsley. A real treat for the taste buds comes in the form of the bistecca manzo, a 10oz rosemary-marinated char-grilled, rib-eye steak with fries and fresh rocket.

A range of pizzas, all spun by hand, is an integral feature of each restaurant. They include the rossa, with spicy southern Italian salami, roasted red peppers, chilli, caramelised onion, garlic, fresh oregano, tomato and mozzarella. Nor are vegetarians are overlooked, and can be found tucking into dishes such as fiorentina, made of spinach cooked with garlic, nutmeg and black pepper with mozzarella, parmesan, tomato and an egg.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is torroncino affogato, an iced nougat semi freddo with a shot of espresso to pour over, or a classic Italian tiramisu and, as you might expect coffee to round off the meal.

A wine list consisting of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the menu comes as no surprise and in addition, every table receives a complimentary bottle of purified water.

For further details including their latest news, menus and deals, and to find a Strada nearest to you, their Website certainly warrants a visit.

With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.

Your peri-peri chicken, when the chips are down so to speak, is a fresh A grade chicken that has never seen the inside of a freezer, but having made the supreme sacrifice is butterfly-cut, marinated for 24 hours in a secret brew called - you've guessed - peri-peri, and is then cooked to your choice over an open flame.

There are, of course, many variations on this broad theme, numerous plays on words such as Nando's experi-perience, peri-peri good reasons why you should eat at a Nando's, and all one hopes is that for their sake chicken never goes out of fashion. New Nando's are opening all the time, peri-peri quickly in fact, the spicy bastes become hotter and more daring, and the full platter offers a whole chicken, large chips or spicy rice and Nando's salad or coleslaw.

Since chickens are vegetarian it seems logical you can order veggie or bean burgers and patties, and still feel the heat from the peppers. All in all, Nando's is hotly recommended for those occasions when you have a large following of permanently hungry children, or adults even, to keep happy - the only thing taken really seriously is the quality of those peri-peri good chickens.

Nando's is a place for bright people who love to laugh and love to eat, and is guaranteed to spice up your taste buds. Their fun approach to life means that when you visit Nando's you can fully relax without the airs and graces associated with more starchy dining out.

For the location of your nearest Nando's restaurant and a host of details about menus, parties and drinks, a click on their Website will reveal a Pandora's box of information.

Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.

Many restaurants do an excellent breakfast, or shall we say petit dejeuner, at which such delights as scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted brioche, croque Madame, croissants and pain au chocolat make welcome appearances, and to their credit the English traditional gets top billing.

An array of small dishes takes in pulled pork pâté with French bread, and spicy beef and lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise. Salads and pasta feature largely, as do baguettes and croques. Quick dishes, ideal for lunch, include slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread.

Moving on to more serious stuff we find steaks, an 8oz bavette and thin cut rib eye, with a choice of béarnaise or peppercorn sauce. No French menu would be complete without the poulet jaune grille, pan-roasted breast of corn-fed chicken served on a warm taboulé of bulgar wheat and a medley of roasted vegetables with minted crème fraîche, or a steak frites before moving on to the crème brûlée, or the tart tatin. Almost invariably the coffee tastes like coffee should, something that sadly can all too often still not be said of our English restaurants, who depend too much upon technology and too little on the acquisition of a certain flair for this important conclusion to a meal.

By now we all know that the French, despite their distinctive habits when it comes to matters of satisfying the inner man, maintain a miraculous longevity of life. This is generally attributed to a number of causes, of which a measured consumption of decent wine is foremost. Café Rouge, you may be pleased to hear, encourages this with a well-chosen selection of French wines. Their prix fixe lunch and meals for children, both at a very reasonable figure, also offer excellent value.

Their Website will keep you updated on menu changes, news and other competitions and offers from the Café Society.

With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.

Your peri-peri chicken, when the chips are down so to speak, is a fresh A grade chicken that has never seen the inside of a freezer, but having made the supreme sacrifice is butterfly-cut, marinated for 24 hours in a secret brew called - you've guessed - peri-peri, and is then cooked to your choice over an open flame.

There are, of course, many variations on this broad theme, numerous plays on words such as Nando's experi-perience, peri-peri good reasons why you should eat at a Nando's' and all one hopes is that for their sake chicken never goes out of fashion. New Nando's are opening all the time, peri-peri quickly in fact, the spicy bastes become hotter and more daring, and the full platter offers a whole chicken, large chips or spicy rice and Nando's salad or coleslaw.

Since chickens are vegetarian it seems logical you can order veggie or bean burgers and patties, and still feel the heat from the peppers. All in all, Nando's is hotly recommended for those occasions when you have a large following of permanently hungry children, or adults even, to keep happy - the only thing taken really seriously is the quality of those peri-peri good chickens.

Nando's is a place for bright people who love to laugh and love to eat, and is guaranteed to spice up your taste buds. Their fun approach to life means that when you visit Nando's you can fully relax without the airs and graces associated with more starchy dining out.

For the location of your nearest Nando's restaurant and a host of details about menus, parties and drinks, a click on their Website will reveal a Pandora's box of information.

With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.

Your peri-peri chicken, when the chips are down so to speak, is a fresh A grade chicken that has never seen the inside of a freezer, but having made the supreme sacrifice is butterfly-cut, marinated for 24 hours in a secret brew called - you've guessed - peri-peri, and is then cooked to your choice over an open flame.

There are, of course, many variations on this broad theme, numerous plays on words such as Nando's experi-perience, peri-peri good reasons why you should eat at a Nando's' and all one hopes is that for their sake chicken never goes out of fashion. New Nando's are opening all the time, peri-peri quickly in fact, the spicy bastes become hotter and more daring, and the full platter offers a whole chicken, large chips or spicy rice and Nando's salad or coleslaw.

Since chickens are vegetarian it seems logical you can order veggie or bean burgers and patties, and still feel the heat from the peppers. All in all, Nando's is hotly recommended for those occasions when you have a large following of permanently hungry children, or adults even, to keep happy - the only thing taken really seriously is the quality of those peri-peri good chickens.

Nando's is a place for bright people who love to laugh and love to eat, and is guaranteed to spice up your taste buds. Their fun approach to life means that when you visit Nando's you can fully relax without the airs and graces associated with more starchy dining out.

For the location of your nearest Nando's restaurant and a host of details about menus, parties and drinks, a click on their Website will reveal a Pandora's box of information.

Strada describes itself as 'a group of stylish, contemporary Italian restaurants, serving good quality, simple and freshly prepared dishes'. The statement sums up what this group of around seventy restaurants offers to people looking for good Italian food. The first outlet opened in Battersea in 1999 and their clientele has been increasing steadily ever since.

Though Strada has grown into a fair sized group, each outlet retains the feel of being a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The menu includes pastas, risottos, salads, and fish dishes, but they are best known for their quality pizzas.

They present authentic Italian dishes in contemporary surroundings and aim to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as Luganica sausages, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

A meal could kick off with zuppa vongole e fregola, a traditional clam soup with Sardinian fregola pasta grains, wine, chilli and parsley, served with bread, or the delicious sautéed king prawns with garlic, white wine, chilli, and lemon butter served with your choice of bread.

Move on to their creamy risotto verdure, freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, spring onions, zucchini, green beans, white wine and mint, finished with baby spinach leaves. Or you could opt for the healthier, tagliolini nero granchio, black cuttlefish ink pasta with crab, courgette, red and yellow peppers, spring onion, and a hint of chilli and parsley. A real treat for the taste buds comes in the form of the bistecca manzo, a 10oz rosemary-marinated char-grilled, rib-eye steak with fries and fresh rocket.

A range of pizzas, all spun by hand, is an integral feature of each restaurant. They include the rossa, with spicy southern Italian salami, roasted red peppers, chilli, caramelised onion, garlic, fresh oregano, tomato and mozzarella. Nor are vegetarians are overlooked, and can be found tucking into dishes such as fiorentina, made of spinach cooked with garlic, nutmeg and black pepper with mozzarella, parmesan, tomato and an egg.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is torroncino affogato, an iced nougat semi freddo with a shot of espresso to pour over, or a classic Italian tiramisu and, as you might expect coffee to round off the meal.

A wine list consisting of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the menu comes as no surprise and in addition, every table receives a complimentary bottle of purified water.

For further details including their latest news, menus and deals, and to find a Strada nearest to you, their Website certainly warrants a visit.