Rick Stein, Barnes, restaurant

For the past forty years, Londoners have had to leave the capital for Rick Stein's award-winning food. His four restaurants in Padstow and fish 'n' chip shop in Falmouth, Cornwall, are the television chef's pride and joy.

He said he'd never open in London - but now he's breaking his rule, celebrating the best of British produce in Barnes. The dishes, though, have more of an international feel to them. We're excited by his classics, like the bavette steak with bordelaise sauce, or the more curious Singapore chilli crab, stir fried in the shell with garlic, ginger, chili and coriander.

The fish is closer to home though: try a escalope of halibut, grilled langoustines Stein calls "simply the best, caught from the west coast of Scotland".

What bought Stein to The Depot, Barnes, then, when he's avoided London his whole career?

Stein said "I’ve often been asked if I’ll ever have a restaurant in London, and to be honest, I’ve always said I wouldn’t; but when I went to have a look at The Depot it struck me how perfect a place it was: overlooking the Thames, being wonderfully close to central London but far enough out to feel like you’re in your own community, a little village almost."

"I watched people popping in on their way home from work, escaping the hustle and bustle of city life to sit back, have some food and a good bottle of wine and relax. It’s such an exciting opportunity and one that we wanted to accept with pleasure.”