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Automat, 33 Dover Street, London W1S 4NT. 020-7499-3033.

The interior of this new Mayfair hot spot is beautifully done, almost as if Bill Gates had asked Frank Gehry to re-create his favourite childhood diner. The menu echoes this theme, offering classic American dishes at very reasonable prices, particularly for this part of town. The people-watching opportunities are second-to-none.

Le Cercle, I Wilbraham Place, London SW1X 9AE. 020-7901-9999.

This Sloane Square newcomer from Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie, the team behind Club Gascon, is a splendid addition to their growing culinary empire. Club Gascon is one of the few restaurants in London that offers Michelin-starred food in a relaxed, casual atmosphere--and that tradition is maintained at Le Cercle.

Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill, 3 Yeoman's Row, London SW3 2AL. 020-7590-9999.

This place looks like a New York nightclub straight out of Sweet Smell of Success. Huge glitter balls hang from the ceiling, while beveled mirrors cover every inch of wall space. To compliment this Stork Club ambience, Frank Sinatra is permanently on the turntable and the light are turned down low. This is the first of a chain being planned by Frank Detorri and Marco Pierre White and it deserves to succeed.

The Lab Café, Second Floor, Selfridges, Oxford Street, London W1.

This modest salad bar has been offering a pit stop service to Selfridges customers for three years. It's not aimed at ladies who lunch--the Rooftop Garden Restaurant on the fourth floor takes care of them--so much as women who are too busy shopping to devote more than 15 minutes to their stomachs. Its virtues are speed, efficiency and--above all--low-fat, healthy meals.

Little Earth Café, Triyoga Centre, 6 Erskine Road, London NW3 3AJ. 020-7483-3344.

The Little Earth Café is exactly the sort of place I should hate. Located in the triyoga centre in Primrose Hill, there's actually a sign on the wall saying, "Please remove shoes." Being London's first "raw" food restaurant, the cuisine is wheat-free, gluton-free, dairy-free and untainted by contact with an oven. Oddly enough, though, it's absolutely delicious.

Maze, 10-13 Grosvenor Square, London W1K 6JP. 020-7107-0000.

A fine new addition to the ever-expanding Gordon Ramsay empire. The head chef, Jason Atherton, is the only cook in Britain to be formally trained by Ferran Adria, the culinary genius behind Spain's legendary El Bulli, and the menu reflects this. Outside of the Fat Duck at Bray, Maze boasts the most innovative restaurant fare in Britain.

One-O-One, Sheraton Park Tower, 101 William Street, London SW1X 7RN. 020-7290-7101.

Voted London's number one fish restaurant by Harden's for the second year running, this is a destination restaurant that's well worth a visit. The Royal King Crab, which is offered six different ways as a starter, is particularly memorable.

Pig's Ear, 35 Old Church Street, London SW3 5BS. 020-7352-2908.

Beautifully refurbished and with top-notch grub, it's hard to imagine a more attractive home-away-from-home than this cosy gastro pub in the heart of Chelsea. Let's hope Prince William's recent visit doesn't bring an influx of tourists.

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, 10 Lincoln Street, London SW3 2TS. 020-7225-1881.

This new venture from Vineet Bhatia, formerly the head chef at Zaika, must rank as the best Indian restaurant in London. Bhatia has a very unconventional approach to Indian cuisine--samosas filled with chocolate anyone?--and those brave enough to plump for the nine-course tasting menu are unlikely to forget the experience in a hurry.

Roka, 37 Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RR. 020-7580-6464.

Rainer Becker's follow-up to Zuma is smaller and less ostentatious than its Knightsbridge sibling, but still has plenty of glamour, particularly for this part of town. All it needs is for Russell Crowe to drop by and have a fistfight and it'll be set up for life.

Spencer Arms, 237 Lower Richmond Road, London SW15 1HJ.020-8788-0640.

The interior of this Victorian pub has been tricked out with pastel colours and dark wood to produce just that combination of traditional and modern that's likely to appeal to the local middle class population. There's even a "family" area. But the real selling point is the food, possibly the best pub grub I've ever tasted.

Zucca, 188 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RH. 020-7727-1010.

This is ground zero for the Notting Hill Tories, but the remarkable thing about it is how unpretentious it is. You'd expect a restaurant associated with a bunch of right-wing, ex-public schoolboys to be rather stuffy, but this place reminded me of Riva in Barnes--a well-run, dependable neighbourhood Italian.