Around the corner from Smithfield meat market, this former smokehouse is an institution of the British nose-to-tail movement. Opened in 1994 by Fergus Henderson (husband of Margot Henderson, chef patron of Rochelle Canteen), it serves simple plates such as mince on dripping toast and roast bone marrow salad. Some recipes have been on the menu for 30 years, and have inspired a generation of chefs by defining the term Modern British. If you visit just one restaurant in London, this should probably be it.

This is the late chef and Italophile Russell Norman’s ode to a Florentine trattoria. Instantly atmospheric, the downlit restaurant has linen draped over bulbs and tables set on various levels. Red-and-white checked tablecloths are covered in plates splattered with tonnato sauce and caperberries or raw porcini mushrooms topped with shards of aged Parmesan. A restaurant with one of London’s most authentic Italian moods and menus.

The name may not be British, but this fabulous restaurant has been claimed by Londoners far and wide as their own. Rich and moreish, the food is an example for all trying to churn out excellent French cooking: bavette steaks and confit de canard that take diners on a trip to Lyon. Even the baguette served simply with butter and salt is next level.

This has to be London’s smartest Italian restaurant – with a Michelin star to show for it. Made up of several connected dining rooms, each space feels intimate, but we love the tables on the terrace. During summer months the roof retracts for alfresco lunches, but it also feels gloriously cosy when you’re by the fire with the rain hitting the roof for the rest of the year. The service is smart, the pasta (rigatoni with sausage ragu, Agnolotti of alpine speck) is perfect, and the lemon tart is sensational. A date-night spot for when you’re pulling out all the stops.