Lawrence Kay

Adventurous small plates on an elegant square with a 14th century church. Dishes like the ox cheek are done softly, and the chocolate and foie gras bites with imagination. A few could be lighter with their cheese additions. Extensive wine list.

An interior that's designed better than its coffee is served. Perhaps the extensive brunch menu offers more. Slow and disorganised service.

One of the few coffee-focused places in London that is trying to do something different with its ambience. Elegant cups, seating, and interior design, with the Jewish-Polish babka offered as its main bakery. Oddly, could do better with its coffee. Convenient for the British Museum queue.

Classic French haute cuisine, served by welcoming staff in luminous surroundings. Think foie gras, duck, and creamy mashed potato. Excellent art collection. Could do with a little more attention to detail at times.

A sprint through Mexican cuisine, with only the sauces on a number of dishes standing out. The nine courses on the dinner menu, plus drinks, cheese, and tea, must be finished in three hours. Be their guest if you're happy to be asked over and over again if you're done with your dish, while paying haute cuisine prices.