Top Fives: Opulent restaurants

Blond or wenge wood, stainless steel, 'classic' furniture - you can have enough of somebody else's idea of what constitutes good taste. Sometimes you want to escape into a world of fantasy...

1. LMNT

Glittery sphinxes, a Greek god's face set in the wall, a Romeo And Juliet-style balcony and rude Egyptianstyle paintings in the loo could make you forget you're here to eat at this converted Dalston pub. The food is not quite so adventurous but this is a high-kitsch experience to be savoured.
316 Queensbridge Road E8. Tel: 020 7249 6727. Rail: Hackney Central/Dalston Kingsland

2. Sarastro

Only the unfussy come here for the food, charitably described as European with a Turkish flavour. It's the decor - which could define OTT - and the occasional live opera that attracts. Theatrical boxes and lots of gilding - a real one-off.
126 Drury Lane WC2. Tel: 020 7836 0101. Tube: Covent Garden

3. The Blue Elephant

Jungle huts; giant foliage; a stream with bridge and real fish; staff in national costume - this is an awesome setup in which to eat firstrate, if pricey, Thai food. The Sunday buffet is a comparative bargain.
3-6 Fulham Broadway SW6. Tel: 020 7385 6595. Tube: Fulham Broadway

4. Beach Blanket Babylon

Think Gaudi on acid - this is positively venerable in style bar years. With its drawbridges, gemstone-coloured teeny chairs, dungeon-like restaurant and fireplaces in grimacing heads, it retains its ability to wow the uninitiated.
45 Ledbury Road W11. Tel: 020 7229 2907. Tube: Notting Hill Gate

5. Spoon+ at the Sanderson

Like a bleached-out Bu"uel dream crossed with the castle in Beauty And The Beast, then painted in ethereal white; and the food here is often as surreal as the surroundings. 50 Berners Street W1. Tel: 020 7300 1444. Tube: Oxford Circus