Laya’Lina is not budget-friendly by any means… I balk at the £5.95 price tag of a portion of chips, as not even Gordon Ramsay charges that much for fried potatoes! The presence of chicken curry and coconut prawn soup on the menu baffle me greatly, I may not be Lebanese, but I think it’s safe to say that neither are these dishes.

This year has brought some very good meals (Pied a Terre, Chez Bruce, Hibiscus), some average ones (Tom Aikens, Arbutus) and some damn right terrible (Umu). In the ‘very good’ column I can add Galvin at Windows and Bistro de Luxe, so I was very interested in seeing what the brothers had managed to do with their new venture. Would it be a restaurant too far or a City winner?

More entertaining than the town’s floral clock and in ruder health than its ill-looking palms, Hove’s ‘L’Eglise’ brasserie is well-worth an escape from the capital’s chaos. Under orders from wine ‘Kinight’ François Domange, we accept the unenviable task of rating a five course, five wine, Bordeaux banquet at Hove’s ‘L’Eglise’…

They say that as you get older, policemen start to look younger. Well that applies to waiters too. The fresh faced kid serving us bread in Prism seems so youthful I’m tempted to ask why he isn’t back home studying for his mock GCSE’s next week.

Part of the First Restaurant Group chain, The Ebury has an imposing presence, occupying a prime location at the fork of Pimlico Road and Ranelagh Grove, very near to Ebury Bridge. Recently awarded two AA rosettes, for the fourth year running, this is a good destination to head for.

For those of you who are familiar with GBK, Clink Street is the chain’s 50th outlet and rather different from the norm for a few reasons, the most striking of which is that it offers full restaurant service, rather than ordering and paying at a counter, which is how it works everywhere else.

One thing I will say to the detriment of this undoubtedly enchanting restaurant is that if they ever want anyone to order pudding they might want to consider cutting the main courses in half. A couple of bottles of the excellent Cannonau Riserva were the only other things we managed past our lips that night.

Ask the average person their experience of Turkish food and they will probably say ‘kebab’, that tasty post-cocktail treat that falls apart when you bite into it, leaving your salad on the pavement and both ears full of chili sauce. The Kebab house, with its elephant’s leg slowly spinning on a spit, rules the suburban multi-cultural high street.

The service here was careful, polished and exacting, we couldn’t find fault with that. And the food – with a few exceptions – was pretty much the same. As long as the mighty Princess of Shoreditch keeps an eye on the salt and other demons, we’re sure the punters will keep coming.

This huge venue opened at the beginning of October this year and boasts three separate bars, as well as the Terrace restaurant. The Terrace menu is currently priced at £25 for three courses, which is excellent value.