There’s not much you can count on these days. Friends turn their backs on you, your job gets you down, Big Brother’s a snoozefest this year. Even your favourite restaurants go and change their menu as soon as you step out the door or decide that a bright purple coat of paint is just the thing to bring the place up to speed decor-wise. Like we said, it’s hard to know who to count on.

On the other hand, some restaurants make no bones about the fact that they’re not out to do the same old thing forever – in fact, they’re not planning to be around very long at all. We’re talking temporary restaurants here, last seen at the uber-popular Reindeer during December 2006. …

Taste of London is finally here after many months of waiting (and drooling) in anticipation of the food on display.

Although hundreds of hungry Londoners traipsing around Regent’s Park sounds like something out of a horror film (it’s even worse when you picture everyone with little plastic forks…) people were pouring through the gates late into the evening. The £21 entry fee and oodles of crowns to purchase are nothing when a mouthful of a Michelin-starred meal is on the line.

And then of course there’s the celebrity spotting. Whilst we didn’t see anyone double-take worthy in the crowd this year, we did spot some celebrity chefs hard at work. …

Although everything we’re hearing on the news seems to shine bright red flashing lights on the fact that our economy is going down the tubes and our money isn’t worth anything anymore, restaurants in London are laughing in the face of the credit crunch – and getting a bit gung ho about going all out. Seriously.

First we heard that Notting Hill favourite Mulberry Street has put together a £350 pizza. (Mulberry Street is modelled after famous Little Italy-style, New York pizzerias, but even the wealthiest Wall Street daytrader would think twice about spending all those Benjamins on a pizza…) So what makes it worth 350 big ones, you ask? Beluga caviar as a …

Poor dads. They get a rough break, sometimes. Mothers Day comes and goes with such much fuss and flurry that they’re practically comatose – and broke – when it’s all over. A few months later their big day’s around the corner, but what do they get? A tie – and an ugly tie, at that. Thanks, kids.

So with that in mind we’ve come up with a few restaurants that you can take your dad out to for Fathers’ Day this weekend. Some good food, some good conversation, some good drinks – he’s pretty easy to please, anyhow. Here’s our pick of the best places to take dear old dad if he’s…

…business-minded
Today’s City boys may put Cristal away like there’s …

With Taste of London just around the corner you’re undoubtedly gearing up for a marathon of cuisine-sampling in Regent’s Park. (Let’s just pray it doesn’t pour like it did last year – Michelin-starred food isn’t quite the same when it’s eaten out of a soggy bowl under an even soggier umbrella.) Personally, we can’t wait. You’ll spot us in the queue at Pearl, Skylon, Le Cercle, Theo …