#wolsley

This can be a tricky question to answer, as finding the right combination of high-end, yet trendy, and also very good (i.e. it's not just about the reputation) places in London is not as easy as it may seem. Having said that I have a few places to recommend which are perennially trendy, and therefore classics, and which deliver on the food front.

First up is The Wolesley (www.thewolseley.com). Brought to you by the gang who first introduced us to The Ivy (doesn't make this list). This is a beautiful place (used to be a car showroom) on Piccadilly (just up from The Ritz) which delivers classic food to a top-notch standard. It's particularly well known for power breakfasts, afternoon tea Viennese-style, and it's easy all-day menu. Great for celeb-spotting (my friend once was squeezed between Anna Wintour and her daughter and Jefferson Hack and Nanette Lepore). Her husband didn't understand what the fuss was about (!).

Next on my list of must-experience restaurants is Hakkasan (www.hakkasan.com).  Once owned by the legendary Alan Yau (nearly every restaurant this man has started has turned to gold), this place still stands as the most gorgeously outfitted place in town (all dark Chinese wood panelling and embroidered silk, with the longest bar in town). Think In the Mood for Love. I prefer this place at lunchtime for its absolutely divine dim sum menu (don't forget to order the tofu and aubergine claypot), but if you're in the mood to go all-out then dinner is a spectacular affair (watch those lethal cocktails though!).

For more trend than high-end (the fatigue will eventually set in I promise you) then I would head to lovely Marylebone High St (near the must-visit bang-on trendy Selfridges department store). It has a lovely village feel to it, and after a bit of shopping there is nothing better than to pop into Providores (www.theprovidores.com). Run by the Kiwi Peter Gordon this tapas-style place (downstairs is more casual and fun than the restaurant upstairs) features all manner of ingredients spanning the globe. Normally I don't go into this sort of thing but in this case it is worth all the fussiness. Great wine list, and also the best coffee in town (this coming from a coffee snob is indeed a compliment).

Finally, I grudgingly recommend L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (www.joel-robuchon.com). It really doesn't get more trendy/high-end/fab food than this latest outpost of Joel Robuchon. Conveniently located in the heart of theatreland (next the The Ivy - which again I am not recommending) it delivered on the food front (two Michelin stars), and delivers on the buzz (I would stick to the darker, cooler downstairs).