The site of the new Boxpark ‘pop up’ shopping mall smells of freshly sawn wood and recently applied paint. But it’s a good smell. New, exciting and full of potential. And while these shops don’t have any windows, they do have a positive recession-bucking outlook selling unusual, interesting things and offering some food outlets too. We try Chop’d

Following the success of their Club Coco in Verbier, co-owner Charlie Kearns and George Adams have created a destination that’s fun but not frivolous, which is probably just as well for anyone with a finely tuned appetite.

In Cabot Square and rather discreetly fronted, the new Iberica Canary Wharf gives good Gosh when you get inside. A rack of reclining jamon legs next to the door make it clear you aren’t in a clothes shop, as it once was, and the space surges up ahead of you. A nice long bar to one side, space centre and left, and above two galleried floors for overspill.

Roussillon was once well known as a shining example of London dining. Yet that was under Alexis Gauthier, since decamped to the bright lights of Soho. With the arrival of new chef Shane Hughes has Roussillon retained its charm?

Overall the Rookery seems to be doing the right things in the right way to become a popular neighbourhood joint. There’s a lot of middle-class, recession immune, money in Abbeville village but the restaurants there have mostly got complacent, giving the Rookery a chance to fly in successfully.

Bone marrow at 8am? Foodepedia mans up for a proper breakfast treat in the City at Hawksmoor’s Guildhall branch.

If you like Thai food then you’ll love Patara and if you don’t then I’d give it a shot anyway because you might just change your mind. It’s a good-looking venue and a great place to meet up with friends for some relaxing indulgence and a few bottles of lovely Singha beer – service is assured and the food demonstrates enough skill to put it head and shoulders above much of the competition

I know some people expected more from Alan Yau of Wagamama fame, and it seems Cha Cha has reverted to a slow waltz since he stopped being in charge day to day. Even so, it’s cheap and it’s cheerful and, unlike some of Chinatown’s finest, you don’t get the feeling you’re a nuisance to the staff. For a fast feed, everyone can comfortably still keep going to the Moon.

With a selection of fine cheeses, or if you prefer a wonderfully wobbly Amaretto Panacotta with pear ice cream and salted almonds, the Landau rounds off set lunch with light love. It’s a pleasure to eat such unshowy, unpretentious but finely judged cooking. And of course, once you’ve eaten the prix fixe, you’ll be back to try the impossibly good looking a la carte in the evening. Lunch is just for starters, after all

Its ten years since The Cinnamon Club redefined Indian cuisine for an English audience and although classical in execution the cooking remains innovative. The Anglo-Indian cuisine encompasses not only the hybrid cuisine evolved by Bengali immigrants with its vidaloos and tikka masalas, but also the traditionally refined food of India’s raj and royalty that celebrates subtly and quality ingredients.