Top five for out-of-towners

Bistrotheque

23-27 Wadeson Street, E2 (020-8983 7900). Mon-Sun (Mon-Sat dinner only, Sun lunch only) £68 ****

Take your visitors to the burgeoning East End, pointing out that pearly Kings and Queens have had a makeover. In a cobbled street of an industrial area, which in the half-light can still suggest Dickensian London, a converted sweatshop has been turned into restaurant, pub and entertainment space where frolics like the karaoke contest Transvestite Lip Synchronicity take place.

Owners David Waddington and Pablo Flack have been responsible for some cutting-edge Shoreditch bars, but at the Bistrotheque first floor restaurant their concern is single-minded: lively food at friendly prices served without attitude in a workmanlike atmosphere. From an open kitchen which sits alongside the white dining room come beautifully crafted dishes such as spicy crab cakes with saffron hollandaise; summery salad dressed with a soft-boiled egg; sole meuniere with buttery spinach; tarte Tatin with vanilla ice-cream. Not a jellied eel in sight.

The Portrait

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2 (020-7312 2490). Mon-Sun (Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun lunch only) £86 ***

There is much to show a visitor to the National Portrait Gallery, eg Bryan Organ's painting of Princess Diana, Paula Rego's version of Germaine Greer, but the best picture is that of London from the top floor of the Ondaatje Wing.

Architects Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones stipulated unobtrusive decor allowing the eye to wander to the two levels of windows which give a Cinemascope view of the rooftops framing Trafalgar Square and the vista down Whitehall to the Palace Of Westminster. Lord Nelson's bottom is also suddenly in close-up.

It is my favourite London view - more subtle than any grand panorama. A robust modern European menu has highlights such as home-made black pudding with seared sea scallop; rump of lamb with lemon and olive cous cous, crispy shallots and anchovies; passionfruit parfait with pineapple crisp and yoghurt sorbet.

Roka

37 Charlotte Street, W1 (020-7580 6464). Mon-Sun (Sun dinner only) £74 ****

This younger sibling of fashionable Zuma in Knightsbridge is a bit of a stroll from the British Museum but the venues are complementary; both delivering snapshots of other cultures. Authentic urban Japanese cooking - as opposed to the traditional ritualised approach - is what is offered in Charlotte Street and a sense of excitement and immediacy is engendered by the robata charcoal grills at the heart of the dining room.

Big bowls of raw ingredients on display are still lifes which the chefs turn into pictures on the plate, such as salad leaves and grilled vegetables with lemon miso and braised grilled daikon with barley miso dressing. Sushi, sashimi, skewered shellfish and poultry, tempura and noodles comprise chapters on the long menu but the dish not to be missed, in my view, is the rice hot pot with king crab and wasabi tobiko, an eerily sexy assembly.

The Wolseley

160 Piccadilly, W1 (020-7499 6996). Mon-Sun £90 ***
When your visitors demand to eat where it's at, take them to The Wolseley (also handy for the Royal Academy), the latest offering from Christopher Corbin and Jeremy King who previously ran The Ivy and Le Caprice. Despite a few tables kept back unreserved, getting a booking can be a problem, which makes the all-day opening hours a boon.

Go for breakfast, elevenses, late lunch, tea or early dinner and you'll probably be lucky. The menu inspired by the traditions of the great European cafes covers most bases and satisfies the most exigent appetites. Chris Galvin, ex Orrery, is a very fine head chef but producing non-stop service is a problem for any kitchen and there are the occasional culinary slip-ups. However, for a glamorous clientele - concentrate on the inner circle to find famous faces - and elegantly appointed surroundings this cafe confidently challenges its neighbour The Ritz.

The Glasshouse

14 Station Parade, Kew (020-8940 6777). Mon-Sun £80 ****

Should you have visitors on your hands on a sunny Sunday, consider a trip to Kew Gardens and lunch nearby at The Glasshouse. With any luck your guests will be more appreciative than my daughter's Italian exchange student who complained of 'too many roses'.

Few would fail to be moved by the vivacity of the cooking of Anthony Boyd who trained with Bruce Poole at Chez Bruce. The £25 three-course menu offers temptations such as Minola smoked salmon with endive and fennel salad; roast Middlewhite pork with apple and choucroute tarte fine; chocolate and nut brownie with vanilla ice cream. In warm weather there is the luxury of doors open to the street as well as air conditioning in full flow. Wine is the Mastermind subject of the owner which results in a well-informed global list with enough by the glass and in halves to encourage experimentation.