London
in England

Bowls of "Dad's Broth" are served alongside a sour apple mezcal margarita. It's an overwhelmingly good start. To follow the Hausu open kitchen - based below ground level so that you can see all of the magic unfold - serves plates of deep-fried scallop and prawn toast, perfectly charred skewers of cabbage doused in sweet to sour concoction of tahini and molasses, cod cheeks bathed in mojo verde and sprinkled with spring onion and the iconic kohlrabi cake topped with a rich curry sauce and jerusalem artichoke puree. The flavours are top-notch, the wines slurpable and the hi-fidelity sound system in the background is pure perfection. 

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.

Jeremy King knows how to bang out a perfect restaurant; he leaves a trail of London’s finest behind him: The Ivy, The Caprice, The Wolseley to name a few. The Park, a curved glass-fronted space running opposite the park calls itself a ‘New World Grand Café’ and is divided into three: a restaurant, a sparkling bar and an all-day café, all panelled in honey-toned wood. Its handsome deco feel threads its way through the design, the glassware, menus, gracious staircase and confident service. The menu consists of irresistible fuss-free classics from classic hotel-style breakfasts of eggs (many ways), house-made cereals and granolas, and bakery. Lunch and dinner are run as a single all-day menu, old school comfort foods including Escalope Milanese, Tagliatelle Bolognese and a fresh mushroom risotto with seasonal truffles. To nibble on, there’s Carpaccio, Shrimp cocktail and a gooey, stringy Grilled four cheese sandwich to die for.