Baltic- Southwark, London

74 Blackfriars Road, SE1 8HA
http://www.balticrestaurant.co.uk

Dining in Baltic is a refreshing change from the typical cuisine you come across; on a freezing February evening, warm and hearty Eastern European dishes really hit the spot.  We were brought  fresh bread and beetroot dip before deciding on the reasonably priced pre-theatre menu. A traditional soup with sauerkraut and bokzec (ham) to start followed by a warming beef and dumpling stew were delicious choices. 

Great service and food aside, the design of Baltic is a massive selling point. The vast restaurant room (formally an 18th century coach builder's works) is painted completely white with large wooden beams spanning the length of the ceiling. Numerous exposed brick and grey concrete walls add further roughness to this clean interior. Each table is clothed in white and dotted with candles. One side hosting a large intricate wall sculpture and the other a hanging formation of gold beads, both ends of the room have beautiful focal points. With jazz nights on every Sunday and a bar Boasting 60 types of Vodka, Baltic is worth a visit even if you're not eating.

Ottolenghi- Islington, London

287 Upper Street, Islington, N1 2TZ
http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

From the outside, Ottolenghi looks like a high end deli with its array of beautiful window front cakes & pastries, large counter filled with bowls of delicious salads, blackboard of daily specials and shelves of jam, preserves, oils and quality wines. Further through, you’ll find a small and elegant restaurant which was still packed when we took our seats at 9pm on a Tuesday evening. Completely white, the room is minimal with accents like oversized gold candle holders and several bright orange chairs. Whether you order from the counter or kitchen, the dishes are small so you need a few each. We sampled unique flavours from plates such as pan fried gunard with baby onions & Jerusalem artichokes and seared lamb fillet with peanut paste & piquillo peppers.  Most interesting, and unexpectedly good, was the blood orange salad with complimenting pecorino, spiced macademia, pickled red onion and orange blossom dressing.

Polpo- Covent Garden, London

2 Maiden Lane, WCE2 7NA
http://www.polpo.co.uk/

Polpo has small, rustic restaurants in several locations; Covent Garden, Soho and Smithfield. Reasonably priced, the menu offers a wide selection of delicious sharing size Venetian dishes and has won rosettes in the AA guide for culinary excellence. Arriving on a cold Wednesday night, we were ushered down to the low-lit and cosy cellar.  The interior is authentic; stripped back walls, a selection of high and low tables and an open and well stocked bar.  An interesting touch was the drinks menus being presented on clipboards. Our choices were all good ones; lamb and mint meatballs, goats cheese, kale & pine nut pizette, arancini, duck ragu parpadelle and potato & parmesan crochette. Too stuffed from dinner, we missed out on plates like ricotta crumble or panacotta with rhubarb & pistachio for dessert…a return visit is a must!