The perfect ten treats (all under £10)

Ingenious chefs, mad cocktails, barmy bartenders and a lot of seriously good food and wine. Here are ten new openings you have to try before Christmas, all for £10 or less.

Smushi at Madsen, South Kensington

(madsenrestaurant.com)

Chef René Madsen’s smushis are a cross between a traditional smørrebrød (a Danish open sandwich) and sushi, and feature fresh, clean flavours that epitomise both Scandinavian and Japanese cooking. They’re the kind of thing you fancy on a chilly autumn day when all you want to eat are things that might ward off winter bugs. Try the smoked salmon or prawns with citrus and dill, served on deeply flavoured rye bread.

Chargrilled chicken at Chooks, Muswell Hill

(chooks.me)

For a treat, or to fill up before a night on the tiles, go for a quarter (£4.25) or a half (£7.50) of all-American barbecue-grilled chicken with a side of dirty rice at this cool new neon-decked diner. There’s no sign of London’s chicken obsession abating and this is one of the latest places to celebrate the humble chook in old-school US fashion — from fiercely spicy buffalo wings to buttermilk fried chicken with mash and gravy, it’s all here.

Barrel wine at L’Entrepot, Dalston

(boroughwines.com)

L’entrepot is the restaurant outpost of Borough Wines and recently started selling wine to take away. For a couple of quid you can buy a bottle with a swing-cap top and whenever you take it back to one of the shops in Borough or Stoke Newington or the restaurant you can get it filled with house wine for just £5, straight from the barrel. And it’s about to start working with top London artists such as Gavin Turk, who will design one-off labels, making the bottles collectable, too.

New England crab cakes at Honky Tonk, Chelsea

(honkytonkchelsea.com)

The New York-inspired food here is bang up to date, with truffled mac ’n’ cheese or rare-breed burgers alongside rich New England crab cakes — the crab is actually Cornish — (£6.95). Order a Maple Trace, a cinnamon-twisted version of an Old Fashioned (£7.50), to go with them. This place is all about old music and mismatched fittings (check out the lights, which come from a Japanese ship), so there’s honky-tonk and old-time jazz with your supper.

Mouthfuls & looseners at The Shed, Notting Hill

(theshed-restaurant.com)

The Shed is one of those rare places where eating sustainable and seasonal food has been made both fun and cool. Try its ‘mouthfuls’, little bites of things such as pork scratchings or beetroot-cured pollock with celeriac (£1.50 each), washed down with one of its seasonal ‘looseners’ — such as a rosehip spritz or lemon verbena mixed with pear juice and Chase vodka (£6.50).

Mezcal at Qui Qui Ri Qui, Hackney

(quiquiriqui.co.uk)

There’s very little that beats the illicit feeling you get from heading into a dark underground bar beneath a kebab shop… unless you also throw in some mezcal, a Mexican spirit with a naughty reputation. It’s made in a similar way to tequila, from agave plants, and these guys find the very best artisanal versions. They make it easy to try several as a small glass starts at £4, or go for a cocktail (£8), which comes blended and infused with spices such as cardamom.

Baked brioche banana sandwich at Beard to Tail, Shoreditch

(beardtotail.co.uk)

You must try Beard to Tail’s irresistible baked brioche banana sandwich with salt caramel ice cream (£6.50) or its gingernut cheesecake doused in Southern Comfort syrup (£5). This is the new opening from the fellows behind the terrific cocktail bar Callooh Callay, and although it’s billed as being all about the meat (the pig’s trotter is worth ordering), save room for pudding. Just take someone who can carry you home afterwards.

Queen scallops at Bonnie Gull, Fitzrovia

(bonniegull.com)

To be transported to the English seaside without leaving town, make for the Bonnie Gull and try the queen scallops with Yorkshire chorizo, spinach and lemon purée (£7.50), a delicious balance of sweet seafood and umami-rich sausage. This pretty seafood restaurant has blue striped awnings, bleached wood chairs and checked tablecloths but doesn’t feel twee, and the menu changes daily depending on what’s fresh that day.

Machiavelli egg at John Salt, Islington