St. John in Clerkenwell is a special place. It’s often referred to as an institution. And having a meal here is one of the best things you can do.

Maggie Jones’s is a romantic, character-filled restaurant off Kensington High Street, serving a menu of excellent quality British food.

If you want to know where to find the best Italian food in Soho is, it’s at Bocca di Lupo.

Barrafina is a legendary tapas restaurant that’s crowded but always worth the wait. The Drury Lane outpost in Covent Garden has a pretty terrace.

The River Café is a long standing classic London restaurant that literally wrote the book on tasteful, authentic Italian food.

E. Pellicci is an old-school classic in Bethnal Green. It’s warm and welcoming, and if you don’t get a Full English breakfast, you did it wrong.

J Sheekey is a classic West End post-theatre hang where you might spot a celebrity and will be guaranteed to have a great meal.

St John Bread and Wine serves food from the legendary St. John in Farringdon, but in an informal canteen-style dining room near Spitalfields Market.

At Hunan, a Chinese restaurant in Victoria, you don’t choose the menu - the menu chooses you. Their ‘trust me’ tasting menu is a classic.

Gökyüzü is an all-day, late-night Turkish spot in Harringay. It’s a Green Lanes landmark, and one of London’s best restaurants.

Moro is a classic and classy restaurant in Exmouth Market, serving seasonal Spanish/Moroccan cuisine.

Ciao Bella in Bloomsbury is an old school Italian restaurant where the spaghetti doesn’t matter as much as the story you’re listening to.

Having dinner in Berners Tavern feels like eating inside the Sistine Chapel, or at least a really, really rich guy’s house.

Kerridge’s Bar and Grill near Embankment serves tarted up (and expensive) English classics, and nothing about it is hard to get on with.

Beigel Bake on Brick Lane is a classic East London establishment with excellent bagels to take away, and a great salt beef bagel.

The Wolseley is a huge, classic all-day brasserie in Mayfair, but it’s the breakfasts here that make it an essential London experience.