If you like cheese, then you've got two options. One, move to France. Two, visit either of La Fromagerie's two shops in London (one west, one north). They sell to all the big-name restaurants, so aren't the cheapest places in the world, but what's money for if not to buy good-quality cheese?

2-4 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW; Tel: 020 7935 0341
30 Highbury Park, N5 2AA; Tel: 020 7359 7440
www.lafromagerie.co.uk/

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This is top-class Italian cooking, at very reasonable prices (£25 for three courses). The restaurant itself is somewhat understated (you might even walk past if you didn't know it was there), which could explain why it hasn't yet become unbearably busy. But it will.

The food is a delight: try the seafood ravioli for your second course and the either the sea bass or pork belly for your third. Actually, try anything - I can't imagine they cook anything less than perfectly.

Don't worry about leaving space for a pudding, though - eat one anyway, however fat you're feeling. And let the waiters talk you through the wine list - they'll pick the right wine for your meal.

21 Berners Street, W1T 3LP (opposite the Sanderson Hotel)
Tel: 020 7323 9123
www.latiumrestaurant.com

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100% real Greek food, they say. Well, even if that's not strictly true, it's pretty damn good. Order some mezedes (small dishes) to start - gigandes beans, aubergine dip, tzatziki, houmos, octopus, etc - with some pitta bread to share.

Then, as the name suggests, you have to tuck into a souvlaki, be it lamb, pork or chicken, and wash it down with a Mythos beer. And, of course, you can't leave without having some loukoumia (otherwise known as Turkish delight) and a piece of baklava or two.

It's not the cheapest place in the world, which is why I recommend getting your boss to take you there for lunch. As often as possible. Even if you are just about to go to Athens, where they really do have 100% Greek food.

140-142 St John Street, EC1V 4UA
Nearest tube: Farringdon or Barbican
www.therealgreek.com/

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Just as you can't not visit the Eiffel Tower, you can't not dine at La Coupole when you're in Paris. Ridiculously big (some say the biggest restaurant in France), noisy, brash, overly lit, and the food ain't the best (though it's certainly not at all bad) - but these are all the very reasons why you have to go there.

Every famous Parisian has passed through its doors at some point, from Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir to Jean Cocteau and Ernest Hemingway, and though its best days are certainly behind it, it's well worth dropping in, especially as it's open until 2am.

When I was there, we dined next to an odd couple - a poorly dressed old Italian man with a stunning combover and his porcelain-doll-like young companion - who helped us to choose from the menu, and then spent the rest of the night whispering sweet nothings to each other. Inevitably we ended up picking a seafood mix of langoustine, oysters and salmon, washed down with a couple of cracking bottles of white.

The waiters were also uncommonly friendly and generous about our stumbling attempts to order in French. Oh, and the profiteroles were great. You'll leave feeling fat, which is as it should be.

108 blvd de Montparnasse; Tel: 01 43 20 14 20; Metro Vavin

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When in Paris there is absolutely no excuse not to get a little lightheaded on a glass or two of wine before lunch. To which end, drop in at Le Baron Rouge around 11am, order some bread and pate and tuck into a little red. Or white. Or both.

Le Baron Rouge is a new-ish but old-fashioned bar, with upturned barrels dotted about the place for you to stand around, and a fine selection of wines. One of life's pleasures - wandering off afterwards for a stroll and a long lunch.

It's also open in the evening, and can become quite busy.

1 rue Th. Rhoussel; Tel: 01 43 43 14 32; Metro: Bastille

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Two London institutions in the same building, down a little side street in Covent Garden. Upstairs, in Slam City Skates, it's all about skatewear, with its legendary array of jeans, trainers and baseball caps. Although it does now seem to have been taken over by visiting tourists.

Downstairs, Rough Trade has been selling the finest music for what seems like centuries. Whether you're into funk, dub, electronica, techno or indie - if you can't find what you went in there for, you'll come away with something better. Plus, it has a small collection of music DVDs and oddball magazines.

Slam City Skates, 16 Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP
Tel: 020 7240 0928
www.slamcity.com/

Rough Trade
Same address
Tel: 020 7240 0105

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Yes, it's a little bit touristy (in other words, the menu has some English on it, which is pretty much unheard of in good Parisian bistros), but it really is a fine little place, with some very typically French fare on offer. Last time I went I had a great chicken stew, and some lovely wine.

And at lunchtime it's full of local office workers, which is a good sign that the food is value for money. Be prepared to rub shoulders with your neighbours though, as it's a tight squeeze. I haven't been in the evening, but I hear it can get busy.

41 Rue Monsieur-le-Prince; Tel: 01 43 26 95 34; Metro: Odeon

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