Food Glorious Food

Every restaurant I've listed here is a highlight for me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Quick Tips:

If you know you're going to be in town, use the RoughGuides site to plan ahead. Look at restaurant's own websites too and sign up with a general restaurant website because they often have special offers you can take up by booking on line or by printing off a voucher. For example, join the mailing list for Chutney Mary's and you can get a free bottle of wine if you visit at least a month after signing up.

Check out the quality weekend newspapers too for discount coupons or offers where you can dine for five at great restaurants by collecting tokens.

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Everyone in North London knows this place. La Porchetta now has branches in Muswell Hill, Holborn and Islington, as well as this, the original, restaurant. "La Porchetta" means "the little pig" and you'll soon work out why! The pizzas here are immense and hang over the sides of the plate. They're more than generous with the toppings and when you order the seafood pizzas, they come strewn with prawns, mussels (still in the shells), huge chunks of meaty tuna and loads of fresh squid.

The gorgonzola pizza is a dream and I can also recommend the fiorentina with a lovely egg cooked into the top.

Likewise the risottos and pasta dishes come in big servings and, again, there's no scrimping on the ingredients. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from too; not just your standard "veggie" pizza, but a range of interesting toppings and sauces.

What makes this place is the atmosphere; the surroundings may be typical pizzeria but the staff are fantastic. Gorgeous Italian waiters and stylish, black clad waitresses - if it's your birthday, the waiters will dance up to your table singing "Happy Birthday", banging spoons on trays and generally making you wish the floor would open up. It's worth it though because the birthday boy or girl usually gets a complimentary dessrt with a candle! Around £5 for a main course, throw in a litre of house wine for £8 - this place is one of the best cheap eats in London. A stone's throw from Finsbury Park, it's not out of the way but with branches all over north london now, there's got to be one near you.

I read recently that the Mexicans invented tequila to sabotage the economies of other countries. If that is so, then Cactus Blue could bring the entire city of London to a standstill.

You see, this place stocks over 40 kinds of sipping tequila. The idea is that instead of slamming shots you simply sip the drink and appreciate all the nuances of this potent spirit.

Cactus Blue is on two floors: at the rear of the ground floor is a conservatory area and there's a mezzanine from where you can look down on the underlit bar. What sets this place apart from others of it's ilk is that all the decor and artefacts are authentic, with beautiful richly coloured woven rugs on the walls. If you just want to try some tequilas you can grab a seat at the bar, but the food is well worth trying.

Essentially Mexican and Southwestern American, the food menu offers Creole, Cajun and Hispanic flavours. The tamales (filled maize husks) are fabulous and the tequila cured fish is not to be missed.The standard fare is there - fajitas, crusted tuna, enchilladas, but what Cactus Blue does is a little more special with exotic salsas with a twist.

Service is great and the staff are happy to explain anything on the menu or to help recommend a tequila. If you think you don't like tequila,try one here - the smooth, tangy taste of the sipping tequilas makes all the difference. My tip is try one of the sauzas . . . a heavenly way to end a fantastic meal.

The name says it all...if you don't like garlic then this isn't the place for you. Garlic and Shots is essentially a Swedish goths/bikers' bar with a restaurant on ground floor level and a sleazy, dark bar downstairs. There is nothing served here that isn't very liberally doused in garlic, and as you walk in to the joint you'll immediately understand why every table has as its centrepiece - not a single bloom in a little vase, but a dish of fresh parsley!

The food itself is pretty varied - there's something of everything from traditional steaks to stir-fried noodles and vegetables. The seafood broth is to die for, with huge pieces of squid swimming in a garlicky soup, and even the side dishes continue the garlic theme - try the mash, it's soft, creamy, and melts in the mouth.

If you bear to carry on there's garlic ice cream, but the best way to end a meal here is to go for one of the shooters. Their speciality is the "bloodshot", a shot of tomato juice, garlic vodka, and celery salt. The garlic vodka is also pretty good drunk neat too. There is a list of almost a hundred shooters which means you either resign yourself to the fact that you're going to leave very drunk or you'll be planning your next visit before you've even paid the bill.

There's an outside eating area, barely more than a yard, but it's heated so it's good for cooler days or those days when London is just too warm for comfort.

Garlic and Shots is not to be missed. The interior alone is worth a visit - movie stills of Bela Lugosi on the walls and plastic bats hanging from the ceiling, this is a vampire fan's paradise.The staff are generally really friendly, but I know some people have felt a little intimidated by white-faced goths covered in piercings and have felt out of place. My advice is go, have fun and just enjoy the experience.

I like this place best late in the evening when all of Soho outside hustles and bustles. Step inside and you've an oasis of calm away from the noise and the crowds.

Yo Sushi is a very modern affair. You are greeted as you enter and shown to your seats - high chairs around a central conveyor belt which brings the dishes available before your very eyes. You are asked if you've been before and if not you get a quick run through of how it works. Everything you need is in front of you in a little "work station" - chosticks, soy sauce for dipping, a tiny pot of wasabi (a kind of fiendishly hot Japanese horseradish sauce) and a pot of delicious pickled for cleaning the palate between dishes. There is also a glass and a pair of taps next to you - still and sparkling water. For £1.00 you can have as much as you want. (Very handy if you overdo the wasabi).

A nice idea is to start with some piping hot miso soup - a traditional Japanese broth which has tofu chunks in it.

The dishes have diffrently coloured rims and a little glass dome on top so you can see what's inside. If you're still not sure, there's a little booklet where you sit and everything is explained in there. Dishes start t £1.50 and climb by 50p up to £3.50 - the cheaper dishes are mostly vegetarian and the price increases as you have more exotic cuts of sashimi (raw fish - usually yellow fin or tuna). The California rolls are great - theses are the bigger rolls filled with crab, avocado and cucumber. The other sushi rolls include cucumber and salmon but there are endless combinations. The chefs stand inside the belt and are busy preparing more dishes to come round. Sometimes you get your eye on something and you don't see it again - somebody else has obviuosly fancied it before it's come back round! A couple of desserts also come round, one looked to me like a creme caramel, not sure about the others. I didn't try one on this occasion as I had already spent quite a bit on sashimi dishes.

As well as the water, there is sake available which can be served warm or cold as you wish and is served in the traditional cup and jug. There are soft drinks available too.

Don't be put off by thinking sushi is just raw fish - some of it is and it's really good, but there are other options too. I would be disappointed if people missed the Yo Sushi experience because of a pre-conception.

If you love Indian food, don't be put off by the signs saying that the Kerala does a bargain lunchtime buffet. In my experience, these can be trays of unidentifiable slop and I steer clear of the place. However, the Kerala also offers a wide menu of southern Indian specialties - choose from Syrian Christian dishes (meat dishes), Malabar Biryanis, coastal seafood dihes, Keralan vegetable curries and dosas from the Coral coast (steamed rice pancakes, plain or filled).

There are mild, medium and hot curries available, but the staff are very helpful if you want to check just how hot your meal will be.

My partner started with the dahai vadai - a curious kind of bean doughnut, we think deep-fried, sitting in a bowl of freshly spiced yoghurt -- the contrast between the spices and the coolness of the yoghurt was great. I started with a mini dosa (a crisp pancake) filled with a beautifully spiced mixture of potato and onion, dotted with mustard seeds. It was fantastic and set my mouth tingling while we waite d for the main courses to arrive.

I had the kingfish and green mango curry - huge pieces of meaty fish (similar to swordfish) in a delicious deep reddy-orange sauce - initally rather mild, more flavour than heat, but this was quickly replaced with a good strong kick! My partner tried the king prawns in a rich masala sauce - the prawns were monsters and so tender while the sauce was perfect, nice and spicy and just hot enough. We shared a portion of lemon rice (several kinds of rice available) and a portion of appam - a kind of steamed rice bread, crispy around the edges and soft and squashy in the middle, ideal for mopping up every last drop of the sauce!

The other mains offered a selection of chicken, lamb, mutton and fish and the veggie curries included more unusual vegetables that don't make it onto the menu in most Indian eateries - beetroot featuring in several dishes.

Desserts included the traditional kulfi and lassi (a fruit yoghurt drink), but I went for the fried plantain with honey and two scoops of subtly fragranced coconut ice cream. Dripping with honey and showered in cinnamon, this was the most fantastic pudding I'd had for ages! My partner was daring and went for the green gram payasam - a kind of milk pudding with green lentils, jaggery, nuts and sultanas. The aroma was gorgeous and he gave it the thumbs up. Sadly, my nut allergy meant I couldn't sneak a spoonful!

There is a decent wine list and a good selection of bottled beers, including Kingfisher and Cobra. We sat outside where there are three tables, but inside seems pleasant, although fairly dark, even during the day. Service was good, friendly and prompt.

This was the best Indian meal I have ever had. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes from the menu!

Although it describes itself as a "restaurant", Taro is really a typical Japanese canteen-type cafe which serves a variety of Japanese dishes including sushi, sashimi, soba, noodles and other simple dishes.

It is open from lunchtime all the way through until late in the evening and is pleasantly busy all day. However you shouldn't find it too hard to get a table and reservations are not necessary.

Now, there are several Japanese restaurants in this area so why choose Taro? For me the only reason is value, but this is not to criticise any other aspects of the Taro experience. The service is acceptable - nothing special but friendly and polite, the surroundings are pleasant enough but not especially different or comfortable so the attraction has to lie with the great food at good prices.

Being sushi lovers we both went for a sushi selection - mine came in a wooden dish - fairly deep - which had a good layer of sushi rice on the bottom and then the fish and prawns beautifully arranged on the top. This came in the form of prawns, squid, salmon, tuna, salmon roe and octopus - all of it was fantastic. My partner chose a more conventional selection, which came on the typical wooden board though it contained similar ingredients to mine and was individual sushi items. His too was excellent.

Our table was close to the counter so we were able to watch the sushi chefs at work, which was very entertaining - it's also good to know that your food is freshly made to order.

We had bottles of Asahi (Japanese) with our food, but a full range of drinks is available. Other diners were eating the noodles, which came in huge portions and looked delicious - a quick eavesdrop on our neighbours proved this to be so.

The interior is clean if a little basic, but in keeping for an establishment of this kind. Wooden chairs and tables and not much else - a few pictures on the walls and the obligatory Asahi cats used for advertising.

At about 9.00 Pounds each for a good selection of sushi we thought this was very good value - much more so than chain restaurants such as Yo Sushi where individual sushi items cost between 2.50 and 4.50 Pounds.

While not the best sushi restaurant in London, it scores points for value and quality.