London restaurants best for... Dates

One of Mayfair St James’ finest dining establishments has had a refresh – except this is far more than a new lick of paint. Quaglino’s, the iconic restaurant and late-night venue, has undergone a full-scale renovation under the direction of D&D London and Russell Sage studios.

Spring is Skye Gyngell's first solo venture, who had such a big success at Petersham Nurseries. She has set up shop in the "new" wing of Somerset House which hasn't been open to the public for 150 years and serving fair like Grilled langoustine with seaweed butter and Roasted turbot with porcini and bone marrow.

Blanchette is from three brothers Maxime, Yannis and Malik Alary who have opened this "French bistro serving simple, classic and inventive French food". Similar to Salt Yard, it's primarily based around sharing "French tapas" plates. Look out for its sister restaurant in Shoreditch too.

This is the third London opening for the oyster and seafood restaurant, following Soho and Borough Market. Expect a similar offering of seafood and oysters at this Spitalfields location - but with a huge seawater tank into the middle of the restaurant stacked with 10,000 shellfish allowing diners to choose their own live crab, lobster or oysters.

Bob Bob Ricard remains one of our personal favourite spots in town. We don't know whether it's the fantastically blingy design, the rich food with just a hint of Russian in there, the "press for champagne" button or... who are we kidding, it's definitely the Press For Champagne button...

The second Polpetto from Florence Knight now has room for 70 (the old one had just 23 covers!) and will feature an aperitivo bar and an open kitchen.

This new hotel designed by (Norman) Foster + Partners takes over the old BBC Marconi building. As well as a rooftop bar offering great views of London, it's the first non-US outpost of New York steakhouse STK, which has taken over the ground floor restaurant. STK aims to be a more "female friendly" steakhouse, with an emphasis on lighter meals.

NYC's Serge Becker has teamed up with Will Ricker (Great Eastern Dining Room) to create a downstairs restaurant and bar, a road side taqueria, and all-day contemporary Mexican café.

In an area of town more usually associated with after-office binge drinkers and faux American burger joints, the arrival of a new, cheerful Bistro offering great comfort food to the weary masses can only be a good thing.