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Roast in the hugely popular Borough Market, with its intriguing twist on classic British food, is a great example of somebody seeing a unique opportunity, grabbing it with both hands, and then making it work. The last bit of course is almost invariably the toughest call. The man who has done this is no ordinary 'somebody'. Iqbal Wahhab made an early start by moving from Bangladesh at the age of 8 months.

In 2001 he launched the award winning Cinnamon Club, the Westminster restaurant where politicians, lobbyists and curries blend successfully together. Four years later came Roast, a wonderful opportunity to be at the hub of the rejuvenated Borough Market, one of the largest fruit markets in the world. Not for nothing was Iqbal voted into the Top 10 Restaurateurs in Britain by an Independent on Sunday survey.

Located in the elegant glass and stone portico on the first floor, the restaurant looks down into the Floral Hall of the market itself and out through tall arched glass windows over the surrounding townscape. As one leading newspaper recorded, 'restaurant locations don't come much better than this'. The atmosphere is one of excitement and buzz, sentiments wonderfully evoked by Prince Charles - whose Prince's Trust has a Table at Roast to support their work in the neighbourhood - when he and the Duchess of Cornwall dropped in on the Market in November 2005.

As with most markets, whose business is by its very nature an early starter, Roast starts the day with a full-on breakfast menu. Strewn with such evocative words as smoked streaky bacon, eggs Benedict, grilled Orkney kippers, toasted cottage loaf, Scott's porridge oats, smoked Loch Etive trout and Ramsay of Carluke black pudding, The Full Borough is highly recommended, or should you be returning from the hospital where your wife has just successfully given birth, The Roast Bubbly Breakfast. Any old occasion will do.

You will already have detected a note of Britishness about Roast. This celebration of our national culinary awareness moves easily to the main menu where spring pea soup, half a dozen Loch Fyne oysters or perhaps a Market salad precede roast Goosnargh chicken breast, or Isle of Wight asparagus and Berkswell cheese tart, in competition with slow roast Wicks Manor pork belly, or roast 8oz fillet of Welsh beef with spinach and fairy ring mushrooms.

A profusion of puddings - would chocolate banoffee pudding with Devonshire clotted cream tickle the buds? - is only surpassed by the seven or so cheeses always on offer, reading rather like a roll of honour to those afflicted by this persuasive, and yes, sometimes pervasive too, form of gourmet pleasure.

Markets are places where the human frame may benefit not only from wonderful uncomplicated top class food but also some decent wine to go with it. It is no exaggeration to say that the wine list at Roast would be the envy of many a top London hotel or restaurant. Lots come by the glass and the breadth of the list is truly astounding.

If you detect more than a little enthusiasm about Roast you are of course free to check out the reality. You will be in raptures when you do. Check on their Website for seasonal changes of menu.

Occupying a beautifully restored Victorian property, Bistro du Vin on St. John Street in Clerkenwell offers a modern British cuisine menu in spacious comfortable interiors. The first stand alone restaurant from the successful Hotel du Vin group, Bistro du Vin is the perfect venue for a business lunch or a more intimate evening meal. Just a short walk from the Barbican Centre, the restaurant is also close to well-known landmarks such as Smithfield Market and a short walk from Farringdon Rail Station.

The restaurant can accommodate up to 100 diners with an additional 45 at the Bubble Bar which is open all day and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bistro du Vin offers fresh home grown produce especially naturally reared and traditionally matured beef, pork and lamb from master butchers Donald Russell, organic shellfish from Maldon Oysters, high quality smoked salmon from Scotland, artisan bread from The Bread Factory and the best farmhouse artisan cheeses from La Cave à Fromage.

The à la carte begins with a 'raw and cured' selection which includes Cornish rock oysters served with natural, shallot vinegar or Tabasco; Forman's London smoked salmon with crème fraiche and pumpernickel and matured Iberico bellota ham. There's also starters of grilled Cornish mackerel with fennel, soy and lime dressing; ham hock with parsley terrine and sauce gribiche and shrimp and avocado cocktail salad.

For the main course you could choose wild fillet of bream with parsnip purée and caramelized garlic; roast wood pigeon with boudin noir and sauce bourguignonne or braised blade of beef, onion and garlic purée. The state-of-the-art Josper Grill offers succulent onglet steak frites, bone in sirloin and grilled lobster served with fat cut chips and garlic butter. Daily specials could include confit duck cassoulet, rabbit à la moutarde, beef stroganoff and salmon coulibiac.

A tempting dessert selection indulges the sweet tooth with strawberry vacherin sundae, Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries and Valrhona chocolate sauce or a lighter lemon, ricotta and pine nut tart. An artisan cheese and charcuterie plate could be an equally delicious alternative. Guests can sample cheeses in a cheese room before ordering their plate.

Bistro du Vin offers a comprehensive selection of 200 premium whites and reds from all round the world. A master sommelier is at hand to take you through the carefully compiled wine list. A 'wine by the glass card' allows you to sample as many wines as you would like before ordering a bottle. Wine tastings and wine dinners for connoisseurs are regular events here.

Diners can also refresh the palate with aperitifs of Rhubarb Kir, Miller's Gin and Tonic and Classic Bellini at the bar, which also stocks a selection of beers and spirits.

Bistro du Vin also offers well-appointed cosy private dining rooms that are perfect for a birthday party, family dinner or business meeting.

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

The Kings Head, sitting atop Winchmore Hill, is a North London presence of the Geronimo group of excellent pubs, who have managed to achieve with elan the tricky task of making that new phenomenen, the gastro pub, traditional. This is no mean feat, but by carefully selecting pubs that have potential character and then tweaking them, in some cases more than a bit, they've done it.

At The Kings Head there is a large bar, a vaulted dining room of potentially gothic aspiration, added to by a covered terrace and decked beer garden. The first floor houses the air conditioned Long Room, a space ideal for gathering of up to 40 people seated, or standing for 70, and has its own bar.

Watch out for the suits of armour and thrones, all adding to the quirkiness of this splendid place, a temple indeed to to Bacchus and Ceres, or as Footloose magazine put it, "there's no stripped pine and designer suits here". Rather is there a feeling of having just dropped in to the junior common room of an Oxbridge college, where style and good company go hand in hand.

The fodder is served from two attractive menus, one each for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu moves subtly from soup and sandwiches, through toasted Cumberland sausage and fried egg sandwich to full blown 10oz rib eye steak, with tomato, mushrooms and chips, and most points between.

For instance you might feel tempted by the fish pie made with smoked haddock, salmon and saffron, or a King's hamburger with streaky bacon and cheese. Such worthy standbys as steak, kidney and mushroom pie with some root vegetables and mash, or chicken Caesar salad with parmesan and croutons does it for many, and for those in a hurry the honey roasted ham and English mustard sandwich in white bloomer is ideal. The point is whether it's three course or sandwich lunch you're after it's all there and it's good ? believe me.

Dinner takes on a slightly more formal approach with pan fried swordfish, a pork fillet with creamed petit pois, bacon and sausage mash, or some very tasty lamb rump with fondant potato, wild mushrooms and a red wine and thyme jus. Penne pasta with chilli, pancetta and parsley and tomato sauce brings a breath of Italy to proceedings and for both lunch and dinner there is always a good array of desserts on the blackboard.

On matters of drink they are fortunate to have the assistance of John Clevely, Master of Wine and father of the founder of Geronimo, who with customary skill has produced a wine list that is comprehensive, tremendous value and explores the world most effectively. There really is something there for everyone.

Do keep The Kings Head in mind when it comes to party time. They know how to do these sort of things and the setting, together with their advice, if wanted, could be just what you're looking for.

Their friendly Website is always available for updates on menus, functions and events.

Offering authentic Turkish cuisine in central London, Ozer on Langham Place is a well-appointed and elegant restaurant that mixes tradition with modernity. Sporting a stylish ambience with rich furnishings, the vibrant dining space offers patrons indoor as well as al fresco dining options. The restaurant serves a variety of dishes, drawing inspiration from Ottoman Empire classics, using locally sourced and organic ingredients wherever possible. Just off bustling Regent Street, the venue is close to Oxford Circus Tube Station and BBC Broadcasting House on Portland Place.

The brainchild of acclaimed Chef Huseyin Ozer, the restaurant's extensive à la carte menu has something for everyone. It reflects his emphasis on healthy high quality options with genuine Turkish flavours. Light and fresh meze dishes include prawn tempura with cacik and pomegranate; salmon satay marinated in olive oil, soy sauce and herbs and served with cress; lahmazza, a traditional Turkish precursor to pizza with minced lamb and pine kernels; battered squid marinated in vodka or lamb's liver and red onions all make for a perfect beginning to the meal. Mixed platters and a variety of light dishes are also available.

For the main course, the seafood lover can choose between black cod marinated with white miso; mackerel fillet grilled and served with cress or spicy fish pot with a selection of fresh fish cooked in coconut cream and an onion and ginger based sauce and served with basmati rice. Vegetarians are well catered for with a range of choices that could include vegetarian moussaka; penne with rocket leaves and dolce latte cheese or spinach stew cooked with chickpeas and baby potatoes and served with basmati rice and yoghurt.

A variety of succulent meat dishes such as grilled lamb kidney served with potato puree; grilled beef sirloin steak served with potato wedges and cress; spicy meatball pot with chicken, lamb or beef meatballs cooked with red peppers, coconut cream, onion and spices and served with basmati rice or marinated chicken pieces, skewered and char grilled, will satisfy the committed carnivore. House specials of lamb tagine, kuzulu begendi, sautéed fillet of lamb with smoked aubergine caviar, or aubergine stuffed with minced beef, onions and herbs and served with basmati rice pamper the palate further.

A chef's special menu offers an assortment of twelve dishes per person. Guests can also choose from breakfast, lunch and pre-theatre menus.
 
Tempting traditional dessert of kunefe, a warm shredded pastry filled with cheese, pistachio and syrup; rice pudding enriched with coconut milk and garnished with almonds or su muhallebisi, cubes of milk pudding and rose syrup with berries and nuts, bring the meal to a delicious conclusion. Alternatively, choose chocolate torte with raspberry sorbet or crème brûlée with saffron to satisfy even the sweetest tooth.
 
The wine list offers a range of New and Old World wines including Turkish varieties and popular labels such as Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Piropo Pinot Blanc from Argentina, La Serre Cabernet Sauvignon from France and Branch Creek Shiraz from Australia.

More information can be found on their Website.

Owner Brian Stein was surprised by many things after his arrival in the UK from Johannesburg in the 1960s. He quickly adjusted to the climate and the twin obsessions with tea and queuing but was dismayed to discover that there were no decent American style burger and cocktail bars in the entire country. Eventually, after tiring of queuing up in the rain waiting for one to open he created his own. More than thirty years later, he presides over the largest single independent restaurant group in the UK.

Maxwell's Covent Garden is the majestic, two-tiered flagship restaurant, which sits snugly next to the Opera House. There is seating for twelve guests outside, which affords front seat views of the carnival of artists performing along James Street. Inside you will discover a vast, effervescent 300-cover setting, with an elegant wood bar stretching into the distance. There are also private booths on the lip of the mezzanine where you can relax in the embrace of dark wood surrounds and look down onto those eating and dancing on the lower level.

Down the sweeping stairs lies seating for 120 guests who are surrounded by a huge mural that wraps itself around the walls and presents an irreverent vignette of twentieth century celebrities. Here, Lady Thatcher winks coquettishly at ribaldry from the Pope and Mother Theresa flirts with Elvis.

Maxwell's, rightly, takes pride in its menu, which has drawn critical approbation from Jamie Oliver, the doyenne of enormous, pukka burgers. The James Street restaurant is at the vanguard of dish creation for the rest of the group. The signature dish is the famous Maxwell burger made from prime steak with lettuce, tomato and red onion cradled in sesame seeded bun, although there is a range of world influenced recipes such as hickory smoked ribs, peri-peri chicken, and Portobello mushroom linguine tossed in a creamed Parmesan cheese, garlic and herb sauce.

Puddings include twice baked deep crust apple pie served warm with cinnamon ice cream and New York cheesecake with passion fruit and mango coulis. Of course, there is still plenty of choice for vegetarians and a specialised children's list is always available, complete with activities and games.

The drinks menu is an eclectic mix of cocktails ranging from the well-travelled traditionals to newly coined upstarts. There is also a prodigious array of quality wines and bottled beers served by some of the country's most accomplished and outrageous cocktail waiters; you will find more information on their wine list.

To view their menu, just visit their Website. Do note that they are happy to accept bookings and enquiries by e-mail and they are closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Mori is the new face of healthy Asian eating in Britain. With increasing interest in food that preserves instead of destroying the human body, eating Asian style has really come into its own, together with the manner in which we take our food.

Rightly or wrongly the process of eating is a much more mobile process now, it rhymes with multi-tasking, though it doesn't have to. Mori aims to increase their own mobility and reduce ours, so instead of hurried dashes through the crowds and yes, it's raining again, in London Mori take your order over the phone and bring it to your desk, your party or your home.

No fuss and palaver, just straightforward organisation that defies strikes, weather, gridlocked traffic and other mainly man-made difficulties. Deliveries for orders over £15 are free, otherwise it's £5 a go. Joining together is the name of the game.

So too are Bento boxes, Japan's answer to the British lunch box, or the Indian tiffin box. Mori offer a hot selection, which actually stays hot, which could be miso soup, some marinated salmon, a vegetable green Thai curry and some sticky rice. Sweet prawn crystal rolls after a hard morning at the computer can be sheer luxury, or there's the à la carte with 2 pieces of Nigiri, 4 pieces of Sashimni or Maki, or hand rolls, say crab and avocado.

Meeting or party boxes will feed 3 or 4 people and all boxes come with soy, wasabi, ginger and chopsticks and there's all the fun of communal eating whilst enjoying a good gossip. Top of the class is the Hall of Fame box, 30 pieces that includes a selection of salmon and tuna sushi, crab and avocado maki, salmon and sashimi, spicy tuna maki, asparagus and avocado maki, and edamame beans, but there are four other options from which to choose.

Some jolly nice salad boxes base themselves on spinach and bean curd inari with yuzu sesame dressing, or grilled breast of chicken with rice, broccoli, mori salad and chilli lemon dressing.

A selection of six Sushi boxes includes freedom salmon amongst which is the maki selection with spicy tuna, crab California, salmon and avocado. Asian food in general is not big on desserts and with only two from which to choose on this particular menu you may be tempted to expand into the zero fat frozen yoghurt straight from the farm with some luscious toppings to add.
 
Drinks are equally healthy and refreshing, with Mori smoothies, fresh juices and soft drinks aplenty, and the only drop of alcohol in sight is asahi beer or sake.

Mere words cannot hope to convey the tastiness and care that has gone into these delicacies that are now so popular in Britain. They really do give a new dimension to our eating habits though I am not predicting the decline of chicken tikka masala or fish and chips any time right now.

More details can be found on their precise and punchy Website.

Sofra, the small chain of inexpensive café restaurants, offers diners the opportunity to sample home style Turkish cooking, with an eclectic blend of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Oriental styles. Sofra has been successful in changing the view of many, who regard Turkish restaurants as nothing more than kebab shops.

Owner Huseyin Ozer who came to the UK from humble beginnings in Turkey, worked in kebab shops before opening his own restaurant. Several ministers and the then Turkish Ambassador would dine at this Mayfair restaurant, fortified with bullet-proof windows to receive these special guests. Ozer deserves credit for introducing Londoners to the delights of genuine Turkish cuisine.

The restaurant's mezze platter is known to give diners a small peek into many delicacies. Hot starters like humus kavurma, spiked with succulent, morsels of lamb and pine kernels, icli kofte, a great classic of the Middle East, deep-fried oval shells of pounded lamb, bulgur and flavourings filled with spiced mince and herbs or the börek platter, a selection of spinach, feta cheese and leek filo pastry parcels help set the stage. Cold starters include imam bayildi made of stewed aubergine, tomato and peppers and salmon sashimi.

For the mains, try the Sofra style lamb tagine, on the bone lamb, oven cooked with vegetable, almond and dry fruit, served with bulgur and lentil. If you're in the mood for seafood or fish, try the marinated Malaysian prawns served with silk route made with stir fried vegetables, rice and yoghurt. The chef's special salmon stew with onions and peppers, with Maris Piper potato puree is worthwhile too. The charcoal grill, dishes out delicious marinated chicken or lamb delights like the kulbasti or the house special of grilled mince on a bed of bread, fresh tomato sauce and yoghurt.

Red and white wines served by the glass include options from Turkey, among other wine making countries. The friendly waiters at Sofra help choose wines that go best with the food ordered. The cubes of milk pudding in rose syrup with berries and nuts are a combination of flavours and one must not leave Sofra without sampling this. Kazandibi, the caramel milk pudding with cinnamon powder and rose ice cream is another delightful choice. The knowledgeable and obliging staff make the experience at Sofra both special and memorable.

More information can be found on their Website.

Inspired by the Chicago Palm restaurant in America, Christopher's is housed in a grand, Grade II listed Victorian building in the heart of Theatre land in Covent Garden.

Since December 1991 this famous American Bar and Grill has been serving fantastic quality steaks and lobster, previously largely unavailable in London. Christopher's quickly became one of the capital's most opulent restaurants, resplendent over 3 floors, and though the concept has since been adapted to take into account changing tastes and fashions, it remains faithful to the original theme.

On the ground floor, the fully Wi-Fi enabled Martini Bar is cool and stylish with an extensive cocktail list with over 25 scintillating martinis from which to choose. Luxurious booths lining one side of the bar invite you to settle in for the evening.

At the top of the sweeping stone spiral staircase lies Christopher's large and elegant dining room, with extensive views over Waterloo Bridge. Strong colours and soft lighting complement the high ceilings and beautiful original features of the building. The exclusive private dining room on the lower ground floor, offers a fantastic venue for many different occasions including receptions, meetings, corporate dining and parties.

An à la carte menu bears the brunt of this restaurant's popularity, with their famous 28oz prime rib chop for two; grilled Maine lobster with garlic butter or cobb salad and mango chilli salsa; slow-cooked belly pork with Boston baked beans, feta and celeriac slaw, and blackened salmon with jambalaya risotto and cress salad, as eye-catching menu leaders. Christopher's ensures all of their fish are caught from sustainable sources.

Amongst the delights on the dessert menu expect to find baked New York cheesecake with blueberry compote, pecan maple tart with vanilla ice cream, and some very interesting regional cheeses.

Christopher's is the perfect place to eat or drink before a show. The theatre menu served from Monday to Saturday between 5pm to 7pm and10pm to 11.30pm (£16.95 for 2 courses or £21.50 for 3) represents great value for money.

Weekends at Christopher's are agreeably relaxed. A traditional American style brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday from 11.30am to 3.30pm and includes classics such as Eggs Benedict, a Texas Grill, or scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, as well as traditional dishes of buttermilk pancakes with maple cured bacon and warm maple syrup.

For more information or to see Christopher's menus, visit their Website.

The English breakfast features Cumberland sausage, bacon, tomato, mushroom, baked beans, fried eggs and toast, bacon butty with HP sauce and English mustard and ploughman's board, honey roast ham or cheddar with pickles, chutney and bread. Main course includes crisp gem lettuce, tomato relish, onion bap and chips, pan-fried salmon and prawn fish cake and roast pork and leek sausages buttered mash served with red wine sauce. For dessert try black forest gateau and sticky date pudding and toffee sauce.

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