Where the top chefs eat in London

Do you really think chefs lead a glamorous life of Michelin-starred dinners, posh sommeliers, fish knives and five kinds of butter? You must be joking. When London's chefs go out to play, they just want a great feed, a few laughs with their mates and a beer or three. We think they might just be onto something. Here's our round-up of the capital's top chefs' hangouts. Just don't expect silver service.

Cây Tre
Chef, über-foodie and east London ­resident Mark Hix was the first to ­champion this Vietnamese caff, and his fellow foodies have been flocking there ever since. Unlike many of the samey Vietnamese eateries on nearby Kingsland Road that serve Chinese-Vietnamese hybrids, Cây Tre offers authentic dishes.

Of the house signatures, two stand out: Cha Ca La Vong (£5 per person), a monkfish, fennel and shrimp dish inspired by a Hanoi restaurant of the same name; and campfire sirloin steak served sizzling in its clay pot (£7).
In spite of a trendy new look and its hordes of cool punters, Cây Tre remains a basic caff at heart — albeit permanently rammed.

■Who goes there? Rick Stein, Mark Hix, St John's Fergus Henderson and food writer Anissa Helou.
Cây Tre, 301 Old Street, N1 (020 7729 8662)

Gourmet San
Not for the faint-hearted, this "no-frills" Sichuan joint has a stronghold on the "nose-to-tail" set — chefs who think nothing of having wibbly-wobbly pig's intestines, beef tendon or jellyfish for their supper. Note that Jeremy Lee, star of TV's extreme eating manifesto Could You Eat An Elephant? is a fan.

However, many of the less scary-sounding dishes are worth the journey. Deep-fried whole crab (£11) in Sichuan peppercorns makes the centrepiece of a glorious feast, while the skewers of cumin-spiked lamb, £1 each, are a must. Frilly folds of beef tripe with chilli and coriander salad are another favourite. The setting is unremarkable, the service is limited, it's dirt-cheap and quite brilliant.

■Who goes there? Bocca di Lupo's Jacob Kenedy, Jeremy Lee, and Racine's
Henry Harris.
Gourmet San, 261 Bethnal Green Road, E2 (020 7729 8388)

Ciao Bella
Ciao Bella is one of a dying breed: a good, old-fashioned Italian trattoria. It has it all — phallic pepper mills, breadsticks, straw-covered chairs and flasks of chianti. All that's missing is a René and Renata soundtrack.

Even the menu reads like one that time forgot: Parma ham and melon (£6.50), avocado vinaigrette (£3.30), veal escalope Milanese (£10.50) and sorbet in a hollowed-out lemon (£4.25), are just a few of the vintage hits.

The Italian restaurant fraternity piles in at the weekend for long, raucous lunches with their bambini. Great fun.