Restaurant boom hits capital

London's restaurant scene is heading for a record-breaking year, with the list of top names lining up to open restaurants reading like a culinary Who's Who.

Gordon Ramsay, Terence Conran and Georgio Locatelli are behind some of the hottest projects and experts said today that the unparalleled number of new ventures is further proof of London's economic recovery.

Baltic, Zuma, Club Gascon and Hakkasan are all poised to extend their empires. Industry insiders point to at least 14 imminent high-profile openings - and say indications are that new restaurants this year will beat last year's record 135.

"It's a sign of economic growth, London's consolidation as one of the world's top financial centres and a growing perception of London as a great place to live or have a base - especially if you are a person with a great deal of money to spend," said Richard Harden, co-author of the Harden's Restaurant Guide.

"The whole going-out culture is totally different from 15 or 20 years ago. Londoners in general love to experiment with food and we have an embarrassment of choices.

"The quality of dining establishments has probably trebled if not quadrupled since the early 1990s. It's hard to believe, for example, that when the Eagle first opened in Farringdon in 1991 it was the first gastropub in the whole of the capital."

One of the most eagerly anticipated new ventures is Yauatcha, the Soho dim sum restaurant, French-Oriental patisserie and teahouse from Alan Yau, the restaurateur behind the Wagamama chain and Michelinstarred Hakkasan.

The opening of Le Cercle in Chelsea next month is the newest venture from the owners of Club Gascon. It will serve regional French cookery and feature an on-site delicatessen.

Zuma executive chef Rainer Becker is to open the trendy Japanese venue's "baby brother", Roka, in Charlotte Street in May. And Refettorio, TV chef Locatelli's new "grazing" restaurant, opened to widespread acclaim in the new Crowne Plaza Hotel near Blackfriars this month.

Ramsay is plotting a foray into Mayfair, while Conran is to extend his Butler's Wharf Chophouse brand with Paternotser Chophouse in EC4.