Elena's L'Étoile

A feature of Charlotte Street for over a century, Elena's L'Etoile - partly named after renowned London maître d' Elena Salvoni (it was simply called L'Etoile, 'the star', until it changed hands in the 1990s) - is resolutely old-school in both its ambience and its rather tired but reliable menu.

When you're seated on a red-velvet chair, one of the medley of waiters will insist on tucking a blanched linen napkin into your shirt. The sunflower-yellow walls plastered with celeb-signed photographs from yesteryear (from Sir Cliff to Mavis from Corrie via, er, Eamonn Holmes) remain intact. Where once this was a haven for Fleet Street editors and advertising executives, now you're more likely to be sat beside a party of Japanese tourists, but it's a fun place to visit if you're after a slice of nostalgia.

Chicken liver parfait with red onion marmalade and toasted brioche, and chilled melon soup with peppermint tea sorbet give an idea of the type of starters on offer, while salmon and leek fish cakes, and a trio of slow-cooked pork are firm fixtures when it comes to mains. Desserts - such as the pave of Valrhona chocolate, and lemon tart with clotted cream and marinated berries - are suitably calorific.