Dr Dishy's culinary clinic

Time Out’s food and drink expert answers your dining out conundrums - and answers some frequently asked questions about using this site

Ask Dr Dishy your London food question

Q: I’m meeting a friend for what I think might be a hot date, and I’d like somewhere nice really close to their place, as I’ve not tidied my flat. How do I find somewhere good to meet and eat in N22?

Dr Dishy says: No problem. On the Time Out restaurants home page, you’ll find the ‘search’ facility. Find out the postcode of the place you want to land up at the end of the evening (the more exact the postcode better), and up pops a list of suggested venues, with their exact distances. The very best places we recommend with a red star (critics’ choice); the places which are cheap are marked with a green star. But if you take someone on a cheap date and still expect to stay at their place, just don’t expect to be asked back in a hurry.

Q: What are London’s best vegetarian restaurants?

Dr Dishy says: Wrong question. With a few notable exceptions, most of London’s dedicated vegetarian restaurants aren’t that great (though you can find the good ones by looking here. Go instead for non-vegetarian restaurants that cater very well for vegetarians or even have special vegetarian menus, such as: (French or Haute Cuisine) Pied à Terre, Roussillon, Morgan M, Pétrus, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. Don’t forget that many other cuisines have much stronger vegetarian traditions than ours, such as Thai (Blue Elephant, Nahm, Mantanah, Patara), Indian (Rasa, Chutney Mary, and many others) and even Ethiopean (Tobia). Vegetarians can also usually do very well in any Italian, and many Turkish restaurants with good meze lists.

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Q: I don’t agree with a review. Are the reviews up-to-date?

Dr Dishy says: As up-to-date as we can keep them, bearing in mind there are around 4,500 on this site. The oldest are less than a year old; the majority are months old; a handful might be mere hours old. We are constantly checking listings at Time Out, and when we find somewhere that has closed, opened, or had a major change, we amend the listings accordingly – and when necessary our reviewers revisit. If you find a mistake or something significant has changed, let us know on food@timeout.com. Alternatively, you can add your comments at the bottom of our review by registering.

Q: Who write the reviews? Can I do it?

Dr Dishy says: We have a crack team of journalists, specialists in their various fields, who are dispatched to review new restaurants – and revisit old ones too. They always work anonymously, paying their way. These reviewers are hand-picked by Time Out, because they have to have an unusually high level of expertise, be able to write an excellent review, get all the facts right and be prepared to work under the strict rules we demand of our reviewers – no hobnobbing with restaurateurs, PRs or chefs, for example. If you think you’ve got what it takes, then send a CV and covering letter to food@timeout.com. But be warned: we receive several applicants every week, but only take on three or four people every year for the training required.

Head east for brunch at Smiths of Smithfield

Q: Where’s a good place for brunch?

Dr Dishy says: London, it must be said, is not like Sydney or San Francisco which do brunch with real panache. However, there are a few places in London for brunch we can recommend that even a Californian or an Aussie would be happy with.

Q: I want to stay in and read a good book. Can you recommend one?

Dr Dishy says: Look at our reviews of the latest food books. You won’t find many cookbooks by hyped celebrity chefs, but you will find plenty of food for thought.

Q: Where’s the best place for a curry down Brick Lane? Some of the touts say Time Out recommends them.

Dr Dishy says: Unfortunately, standards are low in Brick Lane when compared to London’s other ‘curry corridors’, such as Southall, Wembley, or Tooting. But you tend to get what you pay for – those cheap deals aren’t always great value. And the touts are talking rubbish – Time Out hasn’t endorsed any specific Brick Lane curry houses for many years. However, if you’re keen to discover the true taste of Bangladeshi cooking, you need to venture off the well-trodden path, and head down towards Whitechapel. Our feature on the Brick Lane food revival gives a few tips.

Q: If Brick Lane’s not the place, how do I find the best Indian restaurants in London?

Dr Dishy says: A few ways. The simplest might be to look at our list of London’s top 50 restaurants. Alternatively, if you want a more comprehensive list that includes esoteric eats in north-west London and Southall, then go to the home page and search by category – Indian. Up comes a full alphabetical list, with the very best ones marked with red stars.

Q: I’ve seen ‘Scores on the Doors’ stickers in the windows of restaurants. What do they mean?

Dr Dishy says: Our hygiene scores for London restaurants feature explains how these ratings by Environmental Health Officers work. Better still, you can look up the latest scores for anywhere in London, including places you are planning to eat in.

Great cocktails at Lab, Soho

Q: Time Out has annual Eating & Drinking Awards. How can I enter my venue?

Dr Dishy says: You can't. The shortlist is compiled entirely at the judges' discretion, mostly from the best places to have opened in the preceding year. All of the finalists are visited anonymously and judged on that basis. The awards ceremony is also invitation-only, with no charge for attendance; most other awards ceremonies charge a fortune. We wanted our awards to be free of charge, with no entry fee: this gives the little guys a fairer chance. For more information on last year's awards, look here.

Q: I feel like a glass of champers. Where's a good place to go?

Dr Dishy says: We like the champagne bar at Kettners in Soho, not least because of the low mark-ups. But if you prefer somewhere with a bit more bubble, try some of the places recommended here.

Q: I want a proper pub, with proper ale, and no cocktail sticks in sight. Where are the good ones?

Dr Dishy says: there's no shortage of good pubs in London, but also, it must be said, an even greater number of mediocre ones. You need the bars & pubs bit of the website, where you can search by name, area, or consult our shortlist of London’s 50 best bars.

Ask Dr Dishy your London food question

Feature by Dr Dishy