If you're inspired by this year's Great British Menu to try some of the chef contestants' food, here's our guide to the London restaurants with chefs taking part this year and what to order when you get there...
London and the South East
Luke Selby - Hide - finalist (starter)
85 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NB
What to order: Whatever seasonal toppings they have on their flatbreads is always worth considering - right now it's charred calcots with garlic mayo. We had the Herdwick Lamb which is spectacular and right now is being served with spring asparagus. Make sure to leave room for the crazily Instagrammable warm acorn cake with smoked caramel. We presume that Luke's winning course - the British Invasion, of set cheese custard, confit truffle yolk, barbecued leaves and sweetcorn with meadowsweet will also make it on to the menu.
Paul Walsh - City Social
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ
What to order: It's all about British produce at this high rise City restaurant, so whether you’re going for the crispy Lancashire pudding with pigs trotters or loin of Highland venison with a braised shoulder bao, look for the info about local sourcing.
Find out more about City Social
Ben Marks - Perilla
1-3 Green Lanes, Newington Green, London N16 9BS
What to order: The menu changes regularly but there are some classics which you'll usually find on there, not least the amazing seaweed sourdough that they make themselves. Desserts are particularly inventive and right now, that same seaweed is being used in a salted seaweed creme caramel.
North East
Tom Anglesea - The Laughing Heart - finalist (fish course)
277 Hackney Rd, London, E2 8NA
What to order: The best way to get an idea of what Tom’s serving up is to follow him on Instagram where, for the past year, he’s put up some of the most exquisite looking dishes we’ve ever seen on our feed. Right now, his terrine game is particularly on point, whether it’s Terrine of chicken, leek and black truffle, Pork with pistachio or Pate with Yorkshire rhubarb. And we're looking forward to trying the winning dish of Lost Souls in a Fish Bowl - featuring Orkney scallops cooked two different ways: roasted, and used to make a scallop ravioli filled with scallop mousse. The whole thing is then topped with English wasabi, discs of kelp and blowtorched baby turnip and finished with a dashi broth made with dried kombu and shiitake mushroom.
Find out more about The Laughing Heart
Central
Sabrina Gidda - AllBright
11 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1HR
What to order: At this women’s club collective (there’s one in Fitzrovia and another about to open in Mayfair) Sabrina runs the menu at the restaurant and cafe. Unfortunately, you have to be a member (or the guest of one) to dine there, and there’s no menu on the club’s website so we don’t know what exactly they serve. We do know that they have “refined twists on classics” and also have an all-female suppliers wine list.
How to join: Application details are here.
For more on all of the above - head to The BBC's Great British Menu site.
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