London

Claude Bosi's Chelsea homage to the bouchons of Lyon: hearty French classics like pâté en croûte and quenelles, served in a warm bistro setting.

Relaxed Columbia Road bistro pairing nose-to-tail French and Italian small plates with a deep natural-wine list. Paper-topped tables, terrines, and well-sourced charcuterie.

Slick little Taiwanese spot known for pillowy steamed gua bao stuffed with braised pork, plus xiao chi snacks and a fried-chicken bao. Wooden stools, a short menu, and a near-permanent line outside.

Clerkenwell all-day Mediterranean from the Perilla team, near Exmouth Market; house focaccia, fresh pasta, and a wood-fired slant on southern European cooking.

Buzzy Soho counter cooking the food of modern Jerusalem and the wider Levant. Grab a seat at the zinc bar and watch the kitchen banter while the 'Jerusalem-style' polenta arrives.

Spitalfields restaurant specialising in bold regional and northern Thai cooking; the showpiece is a whole deep-fried sea bass dressed in herbs. Industrial room, serious cocktails.

Highbury seafood-and-wine spot in a converted garage; oysters, plates of fish, and skin-contact wines in a stripped-back, light-filled room.

Soho counter where cooks work over live charcoal and clay pots, turning out fiery, regional Thai dishes built on British produce. Sit at the back counter to watch the wok and embers.

Vast, gilded Art Deco brasserie hidden beneath Piccadilly, serving Parisian classics — steak frites, choucroute — at famously gentle prix-fixe prices.

Filipino restaurant tucked into Carnaby's Kingly Court, putting a modern London spin on dishes like kare-kare alongside a much-photographed ube dessert.

Shoreditch room channelling Bangkok's late-night drinking dens — smoky, punchy Thai food, fish-sauce chicken wings, and natural wine in a loud, low-lit space.

Abby Lee's Malaysian restaurant in Clapton, serving punchy, home-style dishes — curries, sambals, rice — that change often. Small, personal, and consistently packed.

Cramped, buzzy pasta bar with counter seating and a no-bookings policy, where the queue is half the ritual. Hand-rolled pasta — the pici cacio e pepe and pappardelle with beef-shin ragù are the calling cards — kept deliberately cheap.

Islington neighbourhood favourite from the Padella team, cooking seasonal Italian food with charcoal-grilled meats and fresh pasta. Warmer and more grown-up than its pasta-bar sibling.

Borough grill from the Som Saa crew, named after a southern Thai style of slow-grilling over charcoal. Bright, spice-forward cooking in a casual setting.