Dining-out on a diet

When design guru Stephen Bayley's doctor suggested he needed to lose weight, he replied that he couldn't cut down on food because he was going to The Ivy for lunch. His doctor wasn't put off. Printing out the Ivy's menu from his computer, he circled what he felt would be appropriate choices.

It all goes to show that you don't have to avoid good food if you are on a "diet"; you just need to know what to choose. For those of you who have secured a top booking but are worried about your waistline, here is the advice of nutritionist Kate Cook...

The Ivy
1 West Street, WC2. Tel: 020 7836 4751
Starter: Don't choose the sautéed Foie Gras - it's hugely high in fat - or the Caesar salad, where hidden calories lurk in the dressing. Choose the Beetroot Salad (low calorie and full of antioxidant vitamins) or the Mixed Sashimi (for low-fat protein)
Main course: Don't choose the Mixed Grill with Bubble and Squeak or the Black-Face Mutton and Turnip Pie. Both are laden with calories and saturated fat. Choose Loin of Yellow-Fin Tuna with spiced lentil salsa for a healthy hit of oily fish. Lentils are full of B vitamins and good at balancing blood-sugar levels or choose Thai-baked sea bass for a delicious portion of pure protein.

Gordon Ramsay
68-69 Royal Hospital Road, SW3. Tel: 020 7352 4441
Starter: Don't have the risotto of globe artichoke with sautéed veal sweetbreads - risotto is usually full of oil and white rice has a high glycaemic index (GI) - or the roasted tranche of foie gras with caramelised endives and Sauternes jus; both, though undoubtedly delicious, will be high in calories. Do have consommé of lobster with tiger prawn and scallop tortellini, baby spinach and pickled herbs, or the bouillon de poule with grated black truffle for a taste sensation without the burden of added fat.
Main course: Don't have sautéed loin of venison with creamed cabbage and bitter chocolate sauce - anything sautéed or creamed will be on the fatty side and the chocolate will only add to this. Do have pan-fried fillet of St Pierre with light coriander nage or pan-fried fillet of Royal Dorade on a bed of braised leeks with a Perigord truffle sauce (and pass on the Parmentier potatoes). Fish packs fewer calories than red meat (and less saturated fat), even when it is pan-fried.

The Mirabelle (Marco Pierre White)
56 Curzon Street, W1. Tel: 020 7499 7071
Starter: Don't have Parfait of Foie Gras - it's a saturated-fat-fest. Do have langoustine bisque - but hold back on the bread rolls to dip in it. Main course: Don't have Roast pheasant à L'Anglaise; while not as heavy as a steak, it's higher in calories than fish. Do have Plaice fillets with aubergine purée and red pepper vinaigrette; vegetables and fish provide a sustaining combination of protein and carbohydrate.

The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly, W1. Tel: 020 7499 6996
Starter: Don't choose croustade of quails' eggs and hollandaise. You can almost see the fat and taste the calories in this sauce. Choose the
Matjes herrings on Pumpernickel or half a dozen oysters. Herrings are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids; pumpernickel makes a change from wheat-based bread and is low GI, and oysters are a good source of protein and zinc.
Main course: Don't choose the Châteaubriand with sauce Béarnaise and pommes pont-neuf or the confit of duck with bean cassoulet. It's a dietary blow-out. Do choose the prawn, crispy bacon and avocado salad (for good, mono-unsaturated vegetable oils) or the baked whole sea bream for a satisfying dose of protein.

Jamie Oliver's Fifteen
15 Westland Place, N1. Tel: 0871 330 1515
Starter: Don't have dressed Devonshire crab with lemon aïoli (the aïoli pushes up the calorie and fat content) or the ravioli of pork, tomato and mascarpone with cinnamon, butter and Parmesan sauce (the butter and Parmesan make it high in saturated fat). Do have tuna crudo (raw tuna cured in lime juice with ginger, coconut and coriander), full of omega-3 fatty acids, or chickweed soup, for its antioxidant content.
Main course: Don't have potato and chestnut flour gnocchi with cabbage, taleggio, castelmango and almonds (high in carbohydrates and fat) or pot-roasted loin of pork with roasted Jerusalem artichokes (anything roasted will retain a good amount of the fat it was roasted in). Do have chargrilled chicken with agritti (marsh grass), lentils and black olive sauce (lower calorie, with varied vegetables to provide phytochemicals and antioxidants) or grilled sea bass (for low-fat protein) - and go easy on the salsa verde.

Zuma
5 Raphael Street, SW7. Tel: 020 7584 1010
Starter: Don't have the crispy fried squid with green chilli salt, or the roast-duck roll; delicious, but higher in fat than the other options. Do have the homemade tofu (it's a phytooestrogen and a good source of vegetarian protein) or the thinly sliced sea bass with yuzu, truffle oil and salmon roe (protein that's lighter on the stomach than meat).
Main course: Don't have the crispy fried lemon sole or the whole lobster tempura; the cooking methods add fat. Do have hat cho miso marinated lamb chops with pickled onions or the jumbo tiger prawn with yuzu pepper; lower fat, high-protein treats.

The Boxwood Cafe
The Berkeley Hotel, Wilton Place, SW1. Tel: 020 7235 1010
Starter: Don't have the grilled pear and endive with blue cheese dressing (the dressing is fatty) or the fried oysters with fennel and lemon (anything fried should be anathema to the dieter and fried foods created oxidative damage - ie free radicals in the body). Do have the ceviche of organic salmon with chilli, lime and coriander, for health-giving omega-three oils - or, better still, order the eight-course Beauty Bites tasting menu which consists of eight tiny courses, each designed with the help of a nutritionist to be of maximum benefit to the body, from chilled carrot and ginger soup to roast Cornish mackerel.
Main course: Don't have the veal and foie-gras burger with chips. Don't even dream about it. The stress on your liver where fat is metabolised would be immense. Do have the chargrilled squid with rocket and red pepper salsa, or the steamed fillet of sea bass, both of which will provide protein without weighing you down with saturated fat and calories.

Kate Cook (0845 050 2442; www.the nutritioncoach.co.uk)