Quaglino's

Priding itself on its effortless ability to combine classic dishes with its own personal spin, Quaglino's is a pillar of the London dining scene having been around since just after the 1930s. Nowadays it shows the newbies how to make it in the ferociously fast-paced and demanding restaurant world with its menu and layout combined.

The room itself is gigantic with the upward sloping glass ceiling creating a lofty brow, together with the fact you have to descend an elegant staircase to get to your table. Once you sit down there's nothing but what seems like miles of open space between the top of your head and the rest of the room. At one end there's a large open kitchen where you can watch the chefs at play. Otherwise there's just the excited buzz and vibe of the surrounding diners in the background.

Quaglino's is lit generously - well it'd have to be being that big - by fan and ceiling lighting. The colour scheme is light too, with enamel-white table dressings and carpet dominating. Slicing down the middle of the room, however, is a jungle of pretty foliage to give the place a focus and save it from being a barren mass of white.

The menu is just as pleasing and the prices, you'll be glad to hear, are nothing but affordable. Their bar menu offers dishes fixed at £10 and had the likes of quality fish and chips, Cumberland sausage, salmon and a candied beetroot dish for vegetarians. Even the champagne menu's prices are appealing: nearly £20 for two courses plus a glass of fizz, or three courses for five pounds more make Quaglino's (which is situated in a very fashionable part of London, remember) virtually unmissable.

We certainly recommend this place for its price to quality of food ratio if nothing else. These days finding a better deal is a hard thing to achieve.

Opening times: Monday - Saturday: 12:00 - 15:00 & 17:30 - 23:30