Ballantine Tania - Eat like a Londoner: an insiders guide to dining out

Londoners are a fickle bunch. Every week, theres a hot new restaurant that they simply have to try. During peak restaurant-launch season, between October and December, up to 30 restaurants of note can open every month. But more often than not, once the dust has settled and the hype has died down, these places lose their glossy appeal as people move on to the next shiny new opening. Cult restaurants, though, are different beasts. These remain firmly on the must-visit list, the culinary bucket list for the capitals residents. They are either enduringly cool spots places that feel every bit as now as the day they first started serving or they are the trailblazers, restaurants that have managed to change the face of the citys dining scene. Tick them all off, one by one, and then annoy everyone you know by rubbing their faces in it.

BALTHAZAR

When Keith McNally opened the first Balthazar in New York, he took the essence of a large Parisian brasserie and gave it a liberal splash of eau de Manhattan: polished interiors, well-drilled staff and high standards in the kitchen. This younger London outpost follows that recipe. When it opened in 2013, hype had reached an almost offputting high. Thankfully, its now settled into being a grand, glorious restaurant with an electric atmosphere, charming (mostly French) staff and a smart menu of Paris-via-Manhattan cooking: shellfish, escargots, steak tartare, moules frites and gruyere mac n cheese. Open all day, its buzzy from breakfast to dinner and right through to midnight.

4-6 Russell Street, WC2B 5HZ.

020 3301 1155

www.balthazarlondon.com

Covent Garden tube.

BEGGING BOWL

If you ever wanted proof of how much Peckham has changed since its Del Boy days, just take a look at Begging Bowl. This Thai restaurant on villagey Bellenden Road is not some humble neighbourhood caf, but a proper destination with a Londonwide fan base. A large, contemporary restaurant, all bright colours and throbbing beats on the speakers, Begging Bowl uses fresh ingredients like pea aubergines and holy basil to create a menu of tapas-style Thai-with-a-twist sharing dishes. Whether its a salad of starfruit, cape gooseberries, cashew nuts and mint, a tumble of smoky aubergine, coriander and shallot with a poached duck egg, or a Thai green curry made with rabbit meat, its all terrific.

168 Bellenden Road, SE15 4BW.

020 7635 2627

www.thebeggingbowl.co.uk

Peckham Rye rail/Overground.

BURGER & LOBSTER

Its hard to imagine a time before Burger & Lobster. The first branch in Mayfair opened quietly in the last few weeks of 2011, but before long it had taken London by storm. It quickly spawned several offshoots, each with a different look (invariably sexier than the excessively wood-panelled original) and this Soho outpost is the best. Its a big site that screams good times! with red leather banquettes, booths and a long cocktail bar. As always, the choices are simply burger, lobster, or lobster roll (all excellent) with a small salad and huge fries, for a flat price of 20 each. Without doubt, its still the best-value lobster in town.

36-38 Dean Street, W1D 4PS.

020 7432 4800

www.burgerandlobster.com

Leicester Square tube.

BRANCHES: Bank EC2R 8AR; Farringdon EC1M 4AY; Fitzrovia W1W 7JE; Knightsbridge SW1X 7RJ; Mayfair W1J 7EF; Oxford Circus W1W 7JE; St Pauls EC4M 9BE.

SIBLINGS: Smack Deli, Mayfair W1K 5BN ().

CHILTERN FIREHOUSE

It may be a celeb hangout, but this Marylebone hotspot defies expectation by having substance behind the glamour. Staff are genial and obliging, and prices, while high-ish, are not so steep that youll need to sell a kidney. Best of all though, the food is excellent. Super-talented Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes imbues homely dishes with his ultra-creative wizardry, so you get to snack on crab doughnuts ahead of steak tartare with smoky Firehouse sauce, followed by a stunning Angkor Wat-like meringue in a moat of frozen apple panna cotta. The A-list crowd is often hiding in the VIP bar, so forget about them and go on a sunny day, when the leafy walled courtyard makes an idyllic place to tuck into a luxurious breakfast or lunch.