From the people behind Nina and Bottarga, Lagana is the latest ‘place-to-be’ opening. This Greek restaurant in Shoreditch is for people who say “let’s just share everything” as a way to prevent their incurable dish FOMO. In the kitchen, flatbreads spin into the oven like they’re on a carousel, coming out blistered, chewy, and smothered in spicy lamb and whipped yoghurt. The lamb belly is fatty and soft, and the energy slowly builds up to what feels like the beginning of a house party come 8pm.

The Macbeth is a pub for people who love pubs, but would also like to pretend they’re in Portugal. Groups of friends hunch over plates of tasty rabbit piri piri—our go-to Murphy’s-soaking dish here—and a huge mural of a banquet scene from the eponymous play is a fitting backdrop to have the realisation that you’re an offal person now. With a member of the Four Legs team (of The Plimsoll fame) in the kitchen, the snacky Portuguese small plates are more Serious Restaurant than packet of Taytos.

While this gorgeous Parisian-feeling bistro is the perfect backdrop for an I’m-cooler-than-you thirst trap during the day, it’s also an incredible wingman come evening. You’ll notice the single, flickering candle on each marble table and corner seats that invite cosy conversations, and later discover the downstairs drinking den that begs for a nightcap. Come for dinner and order half a roast chicken with creamy mash, pillowy truffle ravioli, and the golden, skinny fries.

Everybody knows that a cheese slice is the measure of a pizza place. And the excellent one at Bad Boy Pizzeria elicits some involuntary noises that we aren’t proud of making in public. Expect that to happen a lot during a meal at this fun Bethnal Green spot. You’ll leave having had excellent Vodka-Roni pies and light, fluffy crusts, but also wanting to be part of this friendship group.

Belly has the kind of exciting buzz that can be picked up from your peripheral vision. Everything on the menu is tempting, but these are the non-negotiables: tempura cod pandesal (one per person), ‘bicol express’ scallops (swimming in coconut cream), and the ube tiramisu (no notes).

This pizzeria from the team behind 75 Slices is on Hackney’s reigning floral thirst trap, Columbia Road, but squint a little, sip a glass of vino, and you’re in the Springsteen and vodka sauce heartland of New York. Chewy, proudly thin, with a fire-kissed, puffy crust that dips and peaks like the Dolomites, the NYC-style pizzas go toe-to-toe with some of the finest slices we’ve tried on the other side of the Atlantic.

Forno on Leytonstone’s Church Lane understands what the people need. And that’s a cornetto that has graduated from pleasant pastry into a gorgeous vehicle for pistachio cream, and being seduced by a bag of coffee beans’ branding, all in a space that Phil Spencer would describe as “rather trendy, very mid-century”. Like its fellow tangerine dream Italian bakery in Hackney, the undeniable star here is the plump, cream-centric maritozzi buns.

This Vietnamese restaurant in Peckham glows a seductive red while mixing Blade Runner-ish decor with chuggable gái nhấy rum cocktails and prawn lollipops we could eat all night. While some friends pop in for a beer and a plate of crunching sesame crackers with tofu whip, others stumble down the stairs while cackling, having mixed electric beef jerky and rice paper salad with several phở-spiced whiskies. We’ll be back to try the lunch-only bánh mì.

When our former highest-rated restaurant Singburi closed, we entered an intense period of mourning. Now, Singburi is back. The new Shoreditch location is a shining glass box dressed up in its trendy orange terrazzo best, with a blaring soundtrack of 2Pac and ‘80s Billy Squier and Thai food that will haunt your psyche quicker than you can say “another makrut gimlet, please”. The spice time bomb of the raw beef larb alone makes getting strategic for a booking worth it.

At dinnertime, crowds form outside this sleek spot in Notting Hill. As they should, because the sushi at Eel Sushi Bar, from the people behind Tuna Fight Club and Dorian, is incredible. Behind the wooden counter, chefs work calmly and methodically, placing tray after tray of perfectly plated nigiri while nodding their heads to the quiet, upbeat music. Everything from melting salmon to meaty lobster looks perfect and tastes even better. There is truly no wrong order from the concise menu.

East London is awash with Hector’s and Leo’s and other well-bred-sounding restaurants. Bianca’s is Stoke Newington’s most compelling. This restaurant is from the team behind Casa Fofò, and the Italian cooking has Japanese and Korean accents that will make you sit up and take notice. The Scandi-ish space is half-dominated by a kitchen of chefs sprinkling furikake on egg mayo and fermenting cream for cavatelli. It does feel different to most other small plates restaurants out there.