Beach Blanket Babylon - Notting Hill. A bit quirky, and gets absolutely chockers on a weekend, which tells a story. Fab food and atmos, thought the price tag is marginally hefty.

Tate Modern restaurant - top views of London and the monkfish is very good, not fine dining but good for an alternative place to have a lunch.

The Joiners Arms, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire - Found this in the Michelin good pub guide, and it has proven to be an absolute gem. Worth a visit.

For a decent curry, The Curry Pot on Melton Mowbray Rd, Leicester, is the place where all the locals go (not all at once obviously, they'd never fit in). Authentic Indian cuisine of the highest order, not the usual garbage served up for UK tastebuds.

The Angel at Upton Scudamore is worth a look if you are in the Warminster area. Bit pricey for pub grub, but then sausage and mash doesn't appear on the relatively appealing a la carte menu. For a sausage and mash treat visit The Barge at Bradford on Avon. Top pub grub at bottom prices! Nice setting to boot.

Originally Posted by r.sole

Smiths of Smithfield. Three floors for meat eaters. Trendy. Been shedded on two of them. Bottom floor is a bar, but you can get breakfast or egg and chips at lunch too. Middle floor is a mid priced place. Good for steaks. Also a mad cocktail bar to avoid. Top floor is where the action is. High end place, impressive views, good space between tables, great steak and generally impressive. Great place to bring a woman is she likes steak. Be even better when the no smoking rules come in.

For something different, a few beers at the best beer pub in London at London bridge, The Market Porter, followed by eating al fresco in Borough market (different types of burgers – veal, venison, lamb etc, falafel, hot chorizo and rocket sandwiches - you name it – they have it. We go over once or twice a month, if the financial markets have been treating us well and we can go on the lash all afternoon.

Two top choices there r.sole. I recently lunched on teh third floor of Smiths of Smithfield - excellent. White linen, good service and fine wine. The food was superb and the view from the balcony was quite special. Highly recommended.

Borough Market is the ultimate grazing experience. I also like the Wheatsheaf Pub just opposite -excellent Beer and Fish Finger Doorstep sandwiches!

A tad out the way, however if you are dropping into Cape Town try the Veranda at the Metropole Hotel on Long Street in the old part of the city. Awesome bar for pre dinner drinks, first class service, excellent cuisine and wines in very swanky modern surroundings. All for a few hundred Rand that converts very nicely into your Queen's shilling

The Biltmore Bar and Grill in Swinegate, York is fairly new, but worth a visit. Not only can they make a good dry martini, the food is first rate.

London

Sardo on Grafton Way, excellent Sardinian food, and some of the best good wine I've had too (particularly Tocai Friulano DOC, Masut da Rive). Slightly pricey but not too bad. Particularly good in summer, could make Mary Whitehouse put out on a first date.

J - another Italian place, this time not at all pricey but food is always top-notch for it. Do great breakfasts as well. Bustling with locals almost every night & morning, which says something. Two of them, one in West Hampstead, 218 West End Lane, and one in Primrose Hill, 148 Regent's Park Road.

Ok my two pence worth,

If in London the Caraffini on Lower Sloane street in Chelsea is absolutely fantastic for Italian, it's a bit tedious having to book well in advance but well worth it.

If in Fleet, Hampshire there's a restaurant called We on Fleet high street that does the best curry I've ever had!

Originally Posted by Fang_Farrier

If in Edinburgh, try the Gurkha, in Bruntsfield for real Nepali curry.

Huge portions, cheap and quality.

In a similar vein the Khukri (sp?) in haymarket, excellent Nepali food the chef is quite happy to come out and talk about it if they are quietish too!

Second the point about Sardo. great place in an area where there isnt much going on

Have a new local hangout in the City. Vivat Bacchus on Farringdon Rd. South African wine and food. Reasonable price bistro upstairs and good upscale food and wine downstairs.

Originally Posted by r.sole

Smiths of Smithfield. Three floors for meat eaters. Trendy. Been shedded on two of them. Bottom floor is a bar, but you can get breakfast or egg and chips at lunch too. Middle floor is a mid priced place. Good for steaks. .

SOS is excellent for all sorts of expense-account dining, the all day breakfasts are a treat.

However, when paying my own way after another awful night on the tiles, I always stop at Frank's Cafe 132 Tooley street


Here you can get four hearty brekfasts for the price of one in SOS.

Otherwise it's Richoux, unless it's a brew with a view you want, try the upstairs Cafe / Bar in Waterstones in the old Simpsons on Picadilly.

Avoid upstairs in Harvey Nicks unless you are looking for your chums from HCR (the price of a drink in there will buy an entire platoon breakfast in Franks)

Originally Posted by r.sole

Second the point about Sardo. great place in an area where there isnt much going on

Have a new local hangout in the City. Vivat Bacchus on Farringdon Rd. South African wine and food. Reasonable price bistro upstairs and good upscale food and wine downstairs.

and they do wine tasting sessions on Monday nights - haven't been for a while.......