This eminent eatery is the perfect place to dine on optimum local gastronomical fare. Serving a sublime menu of home-cooked British dishes, the most popular items on the menu are also the most traditional: bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and haddock and chips. This handsome restaurant actually offers exactly the type of nosh that you would expect to find on the menu of your local pub, but it delivers it with a touch so delicate it would put a brain surgeon operating on a hamster to shame. This is honest food tasting better than you could ever imagine.

The Ivy enjoys legendary status amongst London foodies, boasting classic decor and the most gentlemanly of service—choreographed so tightly that you barely notice that your empty plate has gone until the dessert menu is gently wafted in your direction. Due to its location in Theatreland, a table at The Ivy is never more than a fork’s throw away from a jobbing thespian or salad-munching celeb. The weekend set menu proffers excellent value, but must be booked way in advance to avoid the crowds. Refreshingly, The Ivy insists on only using seasonal produce; as such the menu changes weekly, which we think is the perfect excuse to keep going back.