Online travel agent lastminute.com has launched a new tool which allows folks to search for and make bookings at local restaurants from their mobile. London restos available for booking include Harvey Nichols, The Ritz, Le Gavroche and Bank Restaurants. There’s more info on the lastminute.com blog, including a fun 'n' goofy how-to video.......

Five London restaurants have newly received fabled Michelin stars in the latest edition of Michelin’s guide to good eating. No restaurants were awarded two or three stars, the marks of truly exceptional restaurants. So where should you take your date for a dinner that really captures the zeitgeist of London fine dining? The new star-boasters are Hibiscus, La Trompette, Quilon, Rhodes W1 and Wild Honey. We’re sure these restaurant are immensely chuffed but, at......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Here's our look back at the good, the bad and the hungry of 2007. Since starting What’s for Lunch? in May, we have reviewed forty lunch venues throughout London. We tried the arty, the hearty and the terribly farty. We stirred up a bit of controversy with a mildly approving review of an evil hot dog vendor. And, we......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Members Room at Tate Modern Sixth Floor, Tate Modern, Bankside SE1 9TG Nearest Tube: Southwark and Blackfriars 0207 887 8888 10am-6pm (Sunday-Thursday) 10am-10pm (Friday-Saturday) Map Expect to Pay: £5-10 Rating: 8 out of 10 Not as exclusive as some of our readers might think (Tate membership joining fees start at under £50 per year and include all sorts of......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Wahaca 66 Chandos Place WC2N 4HG Nearest Tube: Charing Cross, Covent Garden, Leicester Square 0207 240 1883 12pm-3:30pm, 5:30-11pm (Monday-Saturday) 12pm-3:30pm, 5:30-10:30pm (Sunday) Map Expect to Pay: Most dishes cost around £3.50, platos fuertos (bigger dishes) around £8 Rating: 8 out of 10 “Tender, marinated pork served with smoky black beans, green rice and pink pickled onions.” That’s pork......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Seven Stars 53-54 Carey St WC2A 2JB Nearest Tube: Chancery Lane, Temple 0207 242 8521 11am-11pm (Monday-Friday) 12pm-11pm (Saturday) 12pm-10:30pm (Sunday) Map Expect to Pay: £10 or slightly more for mains Rating: 9.5 out of 10 This week’s What’s for Lunch? finds us back in the pub. And, considering we’re nestled in and having a scrummy meal across from......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Spicy Food Plus 83 Wilton Rd SW1V 1DL Nearest Tube: Victoria and Pimlico 0207 834 8068 12pm-3pm, 4.30pm-11pm (Monday-Saturday) Map Expect to Pay: around £5 Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Spicy Food Plus, a rather nondescript hole-in-the-wall about halfway between Victoria Station and Pimlico Station, is (in the words of at least one well travelled London foodie) home of......

This is the story of a very strange Sunday that started with eight audience members sitting in shop doorways and concluded at a dining table set up on the busy St John’s Road near Clapham Junction. We went through a lot together – a phonebox, a cashpoint, a wedding in a piss-sodden alleyway, a funeral in a car park and then this surreal Sunday lunch. We were family by the time Barry broke his......

Clapham Junction is very rarely thought of as a magical or dramatic place. Grubby, crowded, chilly, noisy - and that's just the station. The streets around the station are even less inspiring. And yet... and yet here's a theatre company bringing an extraordinary piece of experimental theatre onto the streets of Clapham Junction, turning this area of south-west London into a unique and innovative outdoor stage. We saw something similar in Soho when we......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Indian YMCA Student Hostel 41 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 6AQ Nearest Tube: Warren Street 020 7387 0411 Lunch served 12pm-2pm (Monday – Friday), 12.30pm-1.30pm (Weekends and Bank Holidays) Visit the restaurant’s website for breakfast and dinner hours Map Expect to Pay: around £5 Rating: 9 out of 10 Two amply filled bowls of curries, a heaping mound of pilau......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 1st October 1868: St. Pancras Station is officially opened as the London terminus for the Midland Railway, despite its construction being incomplete. Part of the buildings would form the iconic gothic St. Pancras Chambers, which housed the Midland Grand Hotel. Tuesday – 2nd October 1909: Twickenham Stadium hosts its first ever rugby match, with Harlequins beating Richmond 14-10. Wednesday – 3rd October 1975: After three days of......

Brits love curry. London loves curry. We love curry. FACT. But the quality of curry available to you in your local restaurant or supermarket can vary wildly. Vineet Bhatia, a Michelin starred pioneer of Indian fine dining in the capital, has put himself to considerable distress to help educate us about what proper Indian food is all about. He's been tasting supermarket ready meal versions of his beloved cuisine. Bhatia opens his latest restaurant......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Castle Sandwich Bar 54 Paul St EC2A 4LN 0207 739 4702 6am - 4pm (Monday-Friday) Map Expect to Pay: Under £5 Rating: 9.5 out of 10 According to manager Elia Casotti, the Castle Sandwich Bar has been owned by the same family and in business for 37 years. Despite its significance in London caff history, the Castle is still,......

Last month when we carried the news about London having entered a “golden age for the London restaurant-goer,” we didn’t realize said restaurant-goer would require access to the Bank of England’s gold reserves just to enjoy this apparent new age in dining out. But it looks like that might be the case now that London has “leapfrogged Tokyo and Paris” to become the world’s most expensive city for dining out. Of course, with London......

London is experiencing a restaurant boom. Over the past year, 158 new outlets compared to 89 closures were recorded by Harden's for its upcoming 2008 London Restaurants guide. That’s 16 new restaurants more than the former record set in 2005, opening at an annual rate of three times what it was in the early Nineties. Harden’s co-editor, Peter Harden, is so enthused by the increase he’s dubbed this point in time a “golden age......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Pogo Café 76 Clarence Road E5 8HB 0208 533 1214 2:30pm-9pm (Wednesday - Saturday) 11am-9pm (Sunday) Closed Monday and Tuesday Map Expect to Pay: around £6 Rating: 9.5 out of 10 How about a review of Pogo next then? They’re not a chain and it would be interesting to see an honest review of it. Thus commented a less......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Exceline 175 Mare Street London, E8 3RH Map Expect to Pay: £5 for buffet Rating: 3 out of 10 We suppose it was inevitable that, eventually, Londonist would happen upon a substandard lunch in this sprawling metropolis. Still, it’s a pity because we really wanted to give Hackney’s Exceline, an “eat as much as you can” East African buffet,......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Yum Yum 48 Caledonian Road N1 9DP Map Expect to Pay: £4.20 for a starter and main Rating: 6.9 out of 10 Upon hearing that Yum Yum, a Chinese, Malaysian, and Thai “fusion” take away near King’s Cross offered a starter and main lunch combo for a mere £4.20, Londonist got the yen for some fried rice. Duly heading......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Sfizio Café 35-37 Theobalds Road WC1X 8SP Map Average Lunch Price: £2.70 for one panzarotto Rating: 8 out of 10 Londonist has a confession to make. Several weeks back, when we visited City Snacks for our first What’s for Lunch? review, we were actually planning to grab a quick bite a few doors down at Sfizio Café. Much to......

We like helping you pick what's for lunch. We like sharing with you what we know is going on in the world of drinking, dining, cooking and food shopping in London. But, though we try, we cannot know it all and we trust you to know your onions, know what you like and know where to get it. That element of trust has been developed, nurtured and turned into something quite special by our friends......

The London Review of Breakfasts checks out the Breakfast Club in Islington, and they are impressed with the Full English (plus some) that they get for 7 quid, even though it's the tiniest bit burnt. Russell Davies of the very aptly named eggbaconchipsandbeans laments the end of that very classic cafe, the New Piccadilly. Be sure to check out his Flickr group for photos of the New Piccadilly through the ages. One of the......

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Waterside Café Barbican Centre EC2Y 8DS Map Average Lunch Price: £8 Rating: 8 out of 10 There’s no middle ground when it comes to the Barbican. Londoners either love it or hate it. To those readers who love this futuristic concrete wonder, read on. Barbican’s Waterside Café, located lakeside at the Barbican Centre, might not offer the best meal......

Londonist ask that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Nando’s Throughout London Average Lunch Price: £8 Rating: 7 out of 10 With over 50 locations throughout greater London, we’re sure many of our readers know the drill at all-pervading fast-casual chicken joint, Nando’s: decide where to sit and take a number; after deciding where to sit, place your order at the front counter and then sit back down; wait......

Londonist ask that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break. Santoré 59-61 Exmouth Market EC1R 4QL Map Average Lunch Price: £9 Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Some months back the entertainment section of Crumbs for Men magazine featured a rave review about Santoré, a phenomenally yummy pizzeria at Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell. Then, when Santoré began home-delivery, ontoLondon duly made a jubilant note. Now that Londonist is pondering what’s......

Craving Vietnamese food in the city? Well now you can satiate your noodle soup desires at the restaurant Pho found in Clerkenwell. Unlike its brethren congregated along Kingsland Road, Pho stands out as the only Vietnamese restaurant amongst the more upmarket dining options on St Johns Street. Pho has a decent number of tables though always appears full anytime past seven during the week when its open. After that you'll have to queue and......

It's all too easy to miss the tasting rooms of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in London. After all, it is a private members' club that happens to be tucked away off a main street in Farringdon. Don't worry if you're not a member though, as knowing someone who can get you inside is part of the challenge and fun of it all. Unlike the rather grandiose entrance in Edinburgh, the London branch of......

It's not often we get invited to lavish, invitation-only launch parties. So we couldn't say no when we received a summons to No.5 Cavendish Square. "All About YOU is the party supreme to celebrate your weekend in sophisticated and stylish glamour." Everyone wants to celebrate the weekend. So that is why we were all dressed up and ready to go with a lipgloss in the purse and Fergie singing Glamorous in the iPod. The......

Who likes a good Anglo-Saxon helmet more than Londonist is a question we had no answer to... until now. It turns out that the one thing that MPs love more than preventing "foreigners" from "stealing our benefits" is tearing around the House of Commons in priceless ancient battle garb: Andrew Morrison, curator of archaeology at the Yorkshire Museum, is convinced that the three days and two sleepless nights guarding the helmet were worthwhile, reporting......

19. St Christopher's Place Where? A clement thoroughfare connecting Oxford Street (near Bond Street Tube) to Wigmore Street. What? It might be full of beautiful people today, but St Kitt's was once a rather slummy backwater known as Barretts Court. It later found some semblance of respectability under the guidance of Octavia Hill, one of the Victorian founders of the National Trust, who bought the noisome plot and rechristened it after her pet saint.......

There might have been no 'donkey cocks' this week, but Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares is still essential viewing in this post-Hell's Kitchen USA times. If you didn't see it, Gordon went to Lancashire and shouted at the landlord of The Fenwick Arms for buying too many plates and having a crap menu. As ever on Kitchen Nightmares the solution was simply to cut the menu down to simple dishes and to use good ingredients. As......