Nobu knocks Ivy off top spot

The Ivy loses its position as London's premier restaurant for the first time since 1998 in the latest edition of the Zagat guide, which is published today.

Although praised for its "stunningly simple modern British-European fare" and "wall-to-wall celebrities," Gwyneth Paltrow's favourite restaurant drops to second place, with "achingly trendy" Nobu moving up into the top slot.

Gordon Ramsay - celebrating after this week's U-turn decision by the AA Guide to award his Petrus restaurant a fifth rosette for culinary excellence - triumphs again in the Zagat survey.

His Chelsea flagship takes third place in London's top 10, followed by Le Caprice, The Square, Le Gavroche, Zafferano, Mirabelle, River Cafe and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. The Chelsea restaurant also keeps its place at the head of the top 10 food rankings.

Londoners dine out 2.4 times per week on average, while Parisians manage 2.9 times a week and New Yorkers 3.7, according to the guide.

Nearly 70 per cent of diners said they were most irritated by poor service, while fewer than 10 per cent had any complaints about smoking, noise, prices, parking, tipping or even the food itself.

Italian topped the list of favourite cuisine, followed by French, Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Indian.

Zagat editor Sholto Douglas-Home says that despite some notable closings - including cheznico, Neat Restaurant and Oak Room Marco Pierre White - London's "appetite for lively dining destinations continues unabated, regardless of the economic climate".

It cannot be the prices that encourage so many people to eat out. Apart from Tokyo and Kyoto, London has the most expensive restaurants, with the average bill per person up more than four per cent since last year to £32.15, compared to £29.96 in Paris and £23.82 in New York.

The average cost of a meal in the 20 most expensive restaurants is up 3.5 per cent to just over £61.