London Restaurants - Westminster, Strand, Victoria

Toklas is a Mediterranean restaurant - with specific Italian, French and Spanish influences. But that's not all as it's also a top-notch bakery from the man who launched Angel Bakery in Abergavenny. All that and there's a very handy bar space too.

She won loads of plaudits for her time at The Harwood Arms and now Sally Abé has moved to the Conrad St James. She's in charge of all the food at the hotel and this is her main restaurant, aiming to "build on the foundations of British cuisine" with a menu that intends to be elevated but fun.

From the same group as the New York restaurant of the same name, this Nordic spot on St James Market goes for a more informal vibe to its NYC stablemate. As you might expect from the name, there's a cracking selection of Nordic spirits on offer.

Fancy a deconstructed shepherd's pie or a masala scotch egg? Then the London outpost of Farzi Cafe is for you. They're already big in India and now the restaurant with its experimental Indian cooking has arrived in London.

Imperial Treasure restaurants have been winning Michelin stars and more awards across Asia and this is their London base. They are serving up a Chinese fine dining experience in a luxe restaurant - and are famed for their Peking Duck.

Bleecker are in the upper echelons of what's already a pretty damned good burger scene in London. Originally starting out on the street-food market, they've slowly become established across town. The cheeseburgers are great but if the Blecker Black is on offer - with extra black pudding - that should be your go-to burger.

His Buckinghamshire pub was the first pub to win two Michelin stars. Now Tom Kerridge is bringing some of that magic to London for his first restaurant in the city.

Ansel is best known as the inventor of the cronut - which caused huge queues at the original New York location. This is his first London bakery and yes, there are plenty of cronuts on offer. But there's much more besides, serving up some of the most unique cakes, pastries and sweets in town.

Batonnage is a wine bar and shop in Belgravia with over 300 wines to either drink there or take home. There's a menu of Modern European small plates and cheese - and look out for guest chef takeovers.

This Italian restaurant takes its name from one of the most popular Italian pasta dishes - and yes, they can do a mean cacio e pepe (served in a Parmesan basket). Expect homemade pasta, antipasti and wines (it acts as a wine bar too).

Cambridge Street Cafe, took over as the main restaurant at the Artist's Residence in Pimlico. There's an ever-changing seasonal menu with British influences and a downstairs cocktail bat called Clarendon Cocktail Cellar.

This Ottoman restaurant in Pimlico features mezza, kebabs and more besides. There's a reason it's always busy (and buzzy) - it serves up dependably good Turkish food.

This is the sister restaurant to the Jones Family Project in Shoreditch. There's an emphasis on grilled meat and fish and they pride themselves on the provenance of their food - with steaks from Ginger Pig and they use Flying Fish to bring in day boat fish from Cornwall.

Mallorcan-born Vincente Fortea leads the kitchen where he has created a menu made up of contemporary tapas selected form the coastal towns of the Mediterranean.

This restaurant comes from Iré Hassan-Odukale (front of house) and Jeremy Chan (Head Chef) and features a modern take on West African Cuisine that's electified reviewers (and diners) since opening.

Odette's chef Bryn Williams has opened a fruit and veg focused restaurant overlooking the river at Somerset House. Expect British dining with lots of Welsh produce.

This Michelin starred Chinese restaurant is the flagship for Andrew Wong (who is also behind Kym's in the City). In a pared-back room, the menu travels the broad spectrum of Chinese cooking and has a lunchtime dim sum menu that's absolutely worth crossing town for.

With an ex-sommelier from River Cafe and a chef from Brawn, visitors to Lorne should expect a particularly good wine list and a Modern British seasonal menu to match with it. It's deservedly rated as one of the best restaurants in Victoria.

The Naughty Piglet group started out in Brixton where they caught the eye of none other than Andrew Lloyd-Webber. He brought them to The Other Place Theatre for their second restaurant. It's all about sharing plates and there's a big focus on their strong natural wine list too.

Aster comes from D&D restaurants, who also run the German Gymnasium in King's Cross, Sartoria in Mayfair and Launceston Place in South Kensington (among many other restaurants). Part of the big Nova complex, this is a two-level restaurant with a cafe downstairs and a more traditional restaurant upstairs. Originally Nordic, it's now a European grand cafe.

Bronte (the name is a nod to the nearby Lord Nelson, the first Duke Of Bronte) has a Pacific/Antipodean style menu that's created by Andrew Lassetter in a room designed by Tom Dixon.

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.

Hunan is rated as one of London's best Chinese restaurants, loved by chefs and critics alike. As the name suggests, you can expect Hunanese cooking here - so there's going to be plenty of heat.

Just across the road from Westminster, Michel Roux Jnr’s new London restaurant in the Institute of Chartered Surveyors building has 2008 Roux Scholarship winner Dan Cox as head chef. There is a separate first-floor bar serving snacks and smaller dishes and the 56-cover restaurant features a French/Mediterranean-inspired menu. It's a beautiful building with a stunning view of Westminster and Big Ben.

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.

The 80 seat restaurant focuses on cicchetti and dishes include Buffalo Ricotta Ravioli with Black Truffle, Gnocchi with Duck Ragù and Baccala “Mantecato” with Polenta Bramata. There are cocktails, prosecco on tap and plenty of sharing tables around an open kitchen.

The Goring has been a London institution for over 100 years. It's around the corner from Buckingham Palace and the Queen has been known to pop in from time to time, so if you're lucky you might see a royal or two. Here you'll find high-end Michelin-starred dining. Don't miss out on the eggs drumkilbo - they were a fave of the Queen Mother.