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When to go: When you feel like five-star Italian quality at one-star prices.

What to have: The daily specials of silky pasta, saving room for own-made gelato and wicked sweet stuff from the oven.

If you like Anima e Cuore, you may like…
Artusi, Trullo, Bocca di Lupo

The non-existent décor and amateurishly presented menus of this tiny, no-frills Kentish Town restaurant might explain how they can do what they do: serve some of the best Italian food in the capital at laughably low prices. The owners have worked at big London hitters such as The Ledbury, Sketch and Le Gavroche – and it shows. From the daily specials to the exceptional ice creams, sorbets and baked desserts, there’s fantastic quality throughout. Anima e Cuore translates as heart and soul, and it’s clear the owners have thrown theirs lovingly into this wonderful little restaurant. And did we mention that it’s BYOB? Just one more reason why we love it.

When to go: When you need some relief from the chaos of Borough Market, and a cool drink with some lovely mezze is an appealing prospect.

What to have: The breads, which are baked to order, and the many vegetarian small dishes and sharing plates.

If you like Arabica Bar & Kitchen, you may like…
Yalla Yalla, Comptoir Libanais

Outside of the Edgware Road, London’s Levantine restaurants tend to be basic cafés or marble palaces built to attract Gulf money, but Arabica is neither: it’s a fashionably modern place in a railway arch, attracting people who are interested in trying new flavour combinations. The Borough Market location is, of course, perfect for food lovers. Nearby you can shop for victuals, then come here to drop your bags and get pampered by the attentive staff. Arabica started out as a market stall selling imported Middle Eastern provisions; now this lovely newish restaurant (opened in summer 2014) showcases the same ingredients on their menu, while you can still buy pretty jars, dried spices and other edibles from the front counter.

When to go: When you want to surprise someone with south-of-the-river sophistication.

What to have: The homemade pasta is a knockout – but leave room for the day’s cake (olive oil and nectarine, perhaps).

If you like Artusi, you may like…
Trullo, Zucca

This classy venture in Peckham thumbs its nose at run-of-the-mill local Italians. With its smart looks, daily menu of simple yet accomplished dishes and carefully chosen cellar, it could give the best central London Med joints a run for their money. The minimal interior, complete with communal table and open kitchen in the back room, lets the food do the talking. The short menu – full of punchy propositions such as asparagus with gorgonzola and horseradish, plus own-made pasta and wickedly good ice cream – is an ambitious labour of love that further ups the ante on Peckham’s poshest street.

When to go: When you’re in the mood for vodka, merriment and the authentic taste of central Europe.

What to have: Soul-satisfying kaszanka (black sausage); blini with an assortment of toppings; or the choucroute of golonka (ham hock), karkowka (pork neck) and biala (unsmoked sausage) with braised sauerkraut.

If you like Baltic, you may like…
Ognisko, Mari Vanna

Baltic was one of restaurateur Jan Woroniecki’s original London ventures, along with the now-departed Wódka and Chez Kristof. Though more than a decade old, Baltic retains its glamour and is incredibly popular. This is a big place, loud and with closely spaced tables, so it’s better for revelry than a quiet date. But for Polish and central European classics, sometimes with the modern touch that Woroniecki brings to these underrated cuisines, it has few peers in London. Starters of blini or herring give way to earthy braises or more refined fish dishes. And the drink of choice is, obviously, vodka, from an extensive list.

When to go: When you’re looking for grub that will light your fire without burning a hole in your pocket.

What to have: If you’re feeling adventurous, cold pig’s ear, tongue and tripe; otherwise, a lustrous gong bao tofu and long beans with marinated minced pork.

If you like Baiwei, you may like…
Baozi Inn, Yipin China

Baiwei means ‘100 flavours’ in Chinese, and it’s an apt name for this cosy place serving authentic, home-style Sichuan, Hunan and northern Chinese dishes. Along with Barshu, Ba Shan and Baozi Inn, it’s one of the Gang of Four masterminded by menu consultant Fuchsia Dunlop, Britain’s leading authority on Sichuan cooking. The key to these cuisines is flavour, in very robust doses: Dishes from the Southwest of China use dried chillies, Sichuan pepper and fragrant garlic in near-industrial quantities – stay away if you like it mild, or can’t abide chilli-fire. At Baiwei, ‘100 flavours’ translates as ‘100 ways to dazzle your taste buds’. Extra bonus: uncommonly friendly service.

When to go: When you’re in the mood for fiery food you can eat with your fingers.

What to have: The fried chicken or confit pork bao, though the small plates (pig’s blood cake, trotter nuggets) are brilliant too.

If you like Bao, you may like...
Flesh & Buns, Smoking Goat

Forget Narnia. This is a wardrobe you really want to enter, but then stay in. Okay, Bao isn’t actually a wardrobe; but the interior of the dinky Soho eatery feels so much like being inside a giant wood-veneered Ikea creation, you can almost hear the couples debating whether they really need 350 tea lights. But looks aside, Bao is a truly exceptional place. It serves award-winning Taiwanese street food with plenty of kick (having started life as a tiny Netil Market stall before grabbing the attention – and financial backing – of Trishna’s deep-pocketed chef-patron Karam Sethi). It’s the kind of stuff that’s great if you’re a little bit drunk. Just not paralytic – it’s too good to be wasted on the wasted.

When to go: When there are four of you (so you can sit in a booth) – but expect to queue.

What to have: A bit of everything – portions are small and prices fair, so knock yourself out.

If you like Barnyard, you may like…
Dabbous, Dirty Bones

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Barnyard is another me-too joint trying to hitch a ride on the homespun comfort food bandwagon: this Fitzrovia restaurant was created by chef Ollie Dabbous and chums. This no-bookings younger sibling of Michelin-starred Dabbous, which is just down the road, may have swapped industrial luxe for farm chic (oil-barrel seats, distressed wood, a huge tree) and haute cuisine for homestead cooking, but sky-high standards and culinary blazed trails is something they’re keeping in the family. Dishes are of the ‘pimped’ variety: roast beef on toast with horseradish buttermilk, smoked paprika chicken wings, acorn flour waffles.

When to go: On a carefree sunny weekend for brunch, Sunday roast or alfresco cocktails.

What to have: Wood-grilled meat and fish are the kitchen’s calling card.

If you like Beagle, you may like…
The Dairy, St John Bread & Wine

Located under the railway arches of Hoxton Overground, this enticing three-in-one offering (bar, restaurant and café) owes its hip looks to New York’s coolest districts, with bare brickwork, industrial lighting and grown-up colours adding an edge to the proceedings. Chef James Ferguson deals in gutsy platefuls of seasonal ingredients, but his light touch lifts the likes of rabbit rillettes with pickled cucumber or juicy Suffolk lamb with grilled aubergines, chickpeas and labneh to another realm. Cocktails on the terrace – which is heated and covered when necessary – are a must.

When to go: When you’re with your very best mates and you want to eat, drink and get the party started.

What to have: The cauliflower shawarma (order an extra plate – do it!) and the hummus. For something more meaty, it has to be the joojeh chicken thighs.

If you like Berber & Q, you may like...
Meat Liquor, Pitt Cue Co

First things first: Berber & Q is not the place if you want a quiet chitchat, or if you’re one of those chronic hand-washers who can’t touch anything sticky. This stripped-back, under-the-arches Haggerston spot (near neighbour to Tonkotsu East) is loud and dark; food comes heaped on sharing trays, and eating with fingers is encouraged. Flavours are Middle Eastern and smoky, but unlike most grill joints, it’s the vegetarian dishes that really shine. The deliciously charred cauliflower shawarma, with its balance of sweetness and smoke, softness and crunch, is mind-blowingly good, but don’t overlook the tahini-slathered, pine nut-strewn hummus either. Team it with a cocktail – we love the Haggerstoned, a citrusy muddle of tequila, green Chartreuse, pistachio syrup and orange bitters.

When to go: When you’re after an excellent plate of comfort food in the company of a few neighbours.

What to have: Don’t miss the bar snacks, they are bound to surprise and impress. The menu changes regularly, so ask the staff for the latest recommendations.

If you like Bistro Union, you may like…
The Rookery, Lamberts

Claphamites are lucky indeed to have such a good neighbourhood restaurant. Self-styled as a British bistro, it’s a place where the staff are chummy, the look rustic and the clientele ever appreciative – it’s seriously popular. The food at this second Clapham venture from Adam Byatt – who also runs The Trinity, the even smarter Modern European restaurant – riffs on a range of hearty Anglo, American and French influences, but gives them a British sheen. The likes of toad-in-the-hole and fish pie sit comfortably alongside chicken liver parfait and mac ’n’ cheese – and all are prepared with impressive precision. For the best spectator seats, head to the tall stools by the bar.