White linen, pink roses, scent of lilies, a light, spring-like interior, cream banquettes and tawny fawn furnishings within an understated exterior. And the service is unobtrusive and discreet, perfect for MPs with private lives and open wallets.

The intention is there and the cooking by co-owner Laurence Glayzer, who has a fine pedigree of French cooking in top places, is assured. I spotted sous chefs from other London French restaurants by the door enjoying a late evening snack and I think that should tell you all you need to know about Brasserie St Jacques.

Occupying the corner plot of Dorset Street and Manchester Street in Marylebone, Hardy’s is an establishment that boasts some character: there is external seating, and you enter through the main bar area which is both substantial and well set out. It is a wine bar/brasserie with some good dishes on offer, it’s worth trying.

Waldo’s is named after the architect of the great fountain in Cliveden house’s driveway, Thomas Waldo Story. It’s not perhaps the best of names to have chosen – I keep thinking of Nando’s – but this is seriously fine dining.

Tucked away in the money-laden back streets of Mayfair, Tamarind restaurant is by no means the new kid on the block. Established over 15 years ago, despite losing their Michelin star earlier this year, they still remain the original culinary big-hitter of Anglo-Indian cuisine.

We left Heinz Beck’s after paying £610 for four people – far too much even for food this good. Outside the door was a Ferrari Enzo costing about $670,000. It could just have been a Russian oligarch’s, but I think perhaps it was just Heinz’s.

A short walk from Balham station, and very close to Clapham common, the Avalon is a little away from the main shopping drag, but in our view is all the better for it. A popular destination, serving great food, it is well worth a visit.

The names of some bars and eateries give little away as to the mood to expect inside. The Big Chill House, on the other hand, tells it like it is. Depending on which way you interpret the name grammatically, this is both a place where you can chill – big time – as well as a big house in which you can chill. Either way, you get the picture: chilling is the name of the game here.

Set in the heart of Hoxton, The Real Greek is serving up traditional Greek food with a calorie-counted menu and new Cretan-inspired dishes that promise to make dining out and balancing a healthy lifestyle easy.

It’s a cliché of course to say that restaurants like Greens offer comfort food for the upper classes. This is a notion based on the idea that the upper classes don’t like ‘fancy’ food or stuff from Johnny Foreigner. They’re supposed to only like food that reminds them of nursery or public school. Well, as it happens, I am an ex-public schoolboy meself doncha know and we were never served oysters or lobster at our place. No doubt things were different at Eton.