The Premier places to go

London's restaurateurs must be clapping their hands. Now that the Premiership is again upon us, the capital's top dining spots will once more be full of celebrating (or sorrow-drowning) footballers with high disposable incomes and a taste for the finest wines and ingredients. Where, though, do the British and foreign players who adorn the capital's Premiership teams eat out?

Arsenal star Sol Campbell is clearly a bit of a gourmet. He and current girlfriend Kelly Hoppen are regulars at the esteemed Italian restaurant Daphne's on Draycott Avenue, SW3, and Campbell was recently spotted at Cottons Rhum Shop on Chalk Farm Road, where watching the chefs prepare Caribbean specialities is part of the dining experience.

Chelsea's Joe Cole, meanwhile, is a fan of Hush, just off Brook Street, Mayfair, where the Barbary duck breast is to die for. Cole's team-mate Frank Lampard favours the Japanese fish dishes at the nearby Sumosan, with a £40 tasting menu. But as a resident of Woodford Green, Lampard is also - along with fellow locals Arsenal's Ashley Cole and West Ham's Teddy Sheringham - a regular at the family-run Bel-Sit restaurant and pizzeria on Woodford High Road.

Overseas players signed to London squads tend to look for a taste of home. Arsenal's Thierry Henry is a regular at Leicester Square's Café de Paris, doubtless drawn by the food - such as scallops with wild mushrooms and truffle. (West Brom's Nwankwo Kanu and former Spurs striker Steffen Iversen are also devotees of the Café, reflecting the paucity of restaurants serving Nigerian or Norwegian cooking in London.)

Henry has also been seen at the Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant Shumi on St James's Street, SW1, and at Sketch on Conduit Street, W1, although the fitness demands of a forward probably mean he has to forgo chef Pierre Gagnaire's signature £8.50 chocolate cake.

The Arsenal squad also flock to Elysium at the Café Royal on Regent Street, W1, where chef Andy Campbell's English menu is augmented with specials such as Moroccan spiced lamb with quince. Striker Dennis Bergkamp and manager Arsene Wenger also eat here, as does ex-Spur David Ginola when he's in London. Arsenal's Brazilians, Edu and Gilberto Silva, meanwhile, have been spotted at top-notch Knightsbridge Italian Signor Sassi, where the retro-style mushroom vol-au-vent comes highly recommended.

Chelsea's Carlo Cudicini favours the Hollywood Road restaurant Friends, in SW10, co-owned by former Blue Roberto di Matteo, saying it serves "the best pizza I have found in London". Should the Chelsea keeper venture to the upscale trattoria Scalini on Walton Street, SW3, he might find himself ordering calves' liver and escalope of veal alongside Arsenal's Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, and Tottenham's Jamie Redknapp and his singer wife Louise.

The dining habits of new Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, and his signings, fellow Portuguese Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, are not yet known, but they should note it's just a short hop over the river to "Little Portugal" on South Lambeth Road. Similarly, Hungarians Gabor Kiraly and Sandor Torghelle could celebrate signing for Crystal Palace, and the club's recent (and probably short-lived) promotion to the Premiership with a night out at the Gay Hussar in Soho.

Pity, though, the immigrant footballer who cannot find the food of his homeland in London. Arsenal's Freddie Ljungberg munches on sushi at the upscale Japanese restaurant Zuma in Knightsbridge, or the Vietnamese stirfries at Nam Long on Old Brompton Road. Well, until some Scandinavian entrepreneur opens an eaterie serving meatballs and reindeer steaks, what's a Swedish boy to do?