Isarn, 119 Upper Street, London

Went to Isarn with my friends Amy and Mathieu last night.  Been there before and can’t recommend it enough.  Fantastic decor which gives it the air of a really high class place, but the prices (£8 for a main) mean that its a very good value Thai.  Service is always friendly and unassuming, and little things like having your glass of water topped up repeatedly is really nice.  In the summer, it has an open garden at the back.  We ate duck red curry, steak, braised duck with shitake and swordfish – all perfectly done, delicate, intricately spiced.  Wine list is great and the viognier (£20 a bottle) went really well with the food.  The exotic fruit desert (£10 for two) is worth it – incredible fruits that you don’t get to eat often.  Apparently a lot of crappy restaurants on Upper Street, but this one’s definitely worth a visit.

The Luxe, Spitalfields

Got rather smashed with my friend Max at the Luxe last night.  Its the baby of John Torode (him off Masterchef and of Smiths of Smithfields fame) and the first time we went, the man himself showed us to our table and brought our drinks which I thought was a great touch.  As a massive Masterchef fan, I really wanted to chat to him about it, but all I managed was to ask him where the toilet was… On Sunday its a fantastic place for brunch inside or outside – great atmosphere, interesting menu, great spicy bloody mary.  We had a chicken salad which was yummy and whitebait which were lovely and crispy and served with lemon mayo.  You could never eat the amount that you get – great value too.  Last night it changed somewhat – it was more of the City crowd and really noisy.  Good music though and a good drinks list.  Started with an amazing raspberry martini, then went on to wine, and finally prosecco, whoops.  The bar snacks – chicken legs, falafel, whitebait and chips – were delicious and really good value at around £4 a pop.  If you can bear the city crowd, then it is highly recommended.