Highbury, International Restaurant Guide

“A nice lunchtime respite from shopping in Marylebone High Street” – this characterful café attached to a specialist cheese shop (and its siblings in Bloomsbury and Highbury) “showcases the best of the cheeses they stock” – “there are a few non-cheese dishes, but with cheeses this good, stick to what they do best”. Top Menu Tips – “go for the raclette or the fondue savoyarde”.

“It’s so cute!” – this hipster hotspot in Newington Green still carries the ‘Barnes Motors’ signage of its origins as a 1940s car showroom, with a large glass frontage (which opens in summer). It’s “a wonderful place to while away a sunny afternoon, and very pretty for a candlelit evening too”. Choose from the blackboard menu of numerous, well-realised small plates, plus wines, beers and other tipples.