Restaurants in London

Park Chinois plays homage to the opulence and decadence of 1930’s Shanghai, with exquisite regional Chinese food and exceptional live entertainment in the heart of London’s Mayfair. Behind the intriguing red doors is an interior inspired by the aesthetics of Chinoiserie; the French love affair for the mystique of the Orient. The result is intentionally theatrical dining rooms, encouraging guests to participate and immerse themselves in an unparalleled dining ambience.

Martha Ortiz's Mexican cuisine is second-to-none, drawing on her experience with her Mexico City restaurant Dulce Patria, consistently ranked as one of the very best in Latin America, Ortiz hits all the right notes with her Mayfair opening.

There are readers who have argued, rightly really, that this Piccadilly spot should have been in our Top 40 from the word go. Jacob Kenedy's Italian first opened its doors back in 2008 and since then has been quietly, unassumingly going about its business of serving up excellent regional Italian food since then. Go and graze on the small plates, enjoy the amazing wine list, and make sure you sit up at the counter.

Messrs Corbin & King's subterranean palace is a London wonder. The original hotel here aimed to "to make the luxuries usually available to the very rich open to the less well-off". In its current incarnation, this huge restaurant does the same - offering starters at pre-decimalisation prices as well as one of the best prix fixe deals in town. Just off Piccadilly Circus, swanning down the stairs here always feels special - don't leave without ordering the singular Îles flottantes.

Clare Smyth's Notting Hill restaurant is at the top of everyone's lists - the Good Food Guide, Michelin, you name it. Expert superlative cooking in a more relaxed setting than the fine dining palaces of old. There are no starched tablecloths (or indeed any tablecloths at all) to be found here, just food that looks exquisite and tastes fantastic.

Chef Tom Brown pretty much hit a home run with the critics since opening his Hackney restaurant. Jay Rayner loved the way the team here picks the best seafood and makes it "shine through wit, technique and good taste". The seafood crumpet is the must-order dish (right now it's crab), but you'll be hard-pressed to find any dish that doesn't delight here. An eye-opener for anyone who loves their fish.

The Dairy is what you get if you take a chef trained under Raymond Blanc, inspired by stages at Noma and Frantzen and then let him loose in his own space on Clapham Common. Robin Gill's set lunch is one of London's glorious bargains and while locals may happily pop in for a dish or two and a glass of wine, anyone travelling here will want to spend time working their way through the tasting menu. If it's possible for a restaurant to be both relaxed and exciting then the Dairy manages just that.

Gymkhana is certainly one of London's top (if not the top) Indian restaurants, and has carved out quite a niche with the celebrity circuit too (Ed Sheeran is a huge fan). It had to close after a fire but has recently reopened after a huge refurb and looks set to continue to be a huge London hit. The kid goat methi keema and muntjac biryani are the unmissable dishes.

The main reason for the rise of Holborn Dining Room's fortunes is down to the work of their head chef, Calum Franklin and his talented pastry team. Follow him on Instagram if you want to be permanently hungry and also to marvel what he's able to do with pastry. Aim for anything pie-related on the menu (there's always at least one on the go) and you'll be sure of a work of genius here.