For opening/closing times contact the restaurant directly either via telephone or their website. London is expensive city to begin with more so for Americans because of the weak dollar so it is difficult to find bargains these days. Usually I just cut back on lunches on focus on eating in nice restaurants for dinner or if I do have a nice lunch I will have a small inexpensive dinner.  

Andrew Edmunds, 46 Lexington Street, Soho W1 Tele: 020 7437 5708. Great ambiance. Modern European cuisine. Nearest subway station is Piccadilly Circus. Moderate - Expensive. Reservations are advisable.

Aperitivo, 45 Beak Street, London Tele: 020 7287 2057. Cuisine: Italian. Nearest subway station is Piccadilly Circus. Reservations advisable. The menu is posted on their website along with an online reservation form.

Bibendum, Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, London SW3 Tele: 020 7581 5817. Nearest subway station is South Kensington. If you are in the mood for oysters then had over to the Oystar bar on the ground floor of this fabulous Art Nouveau building. Upstairs their is a restaurant. Very expensive, but the food and setting are well worth the expense. Great place to go if you are in the mood to treat yourself.

Brasserie St. Quentin, 243 Brompton Road, Kensington SW3      Tele: 020 7589 8005. Nearest subway station is Knightsbridge. French cuisine. Down the street from the V&A. French. Expensive, but you can’t beat the beautiful setting and excellent service. Good place to have lunch because they offer a fixed priced two or  three course meal. The menu is posted on the website along with an online reservation form. Fun place to go for lunch after visiting the V&A down the road.

Golden Hind, 73 Marylebone Lane W1 Tele: 020 7486 3644. Nearest subway station Bond Street. No frills establishment, but one of the best places in London for fish n chips. Another great place to go if you are in the mood for really good fish n chips at a great price is Fryer’s Delight, 19 Theobald’s Road Holborn WC1 Tele: 0871 075 2446.

J. Sheekey, 28-32 St Martin Court, London WC2 Tele: 020 7240 2565. Nearest subway station is Leicester Sq. Good seafood restaurant convenient to the West end theaters. The menu is posted on their website.

La Barca, 80-81 Lower Marsh SE1 7AB Tele: 020 7928 2226. Nearest subway station is Waterloo. Great Italian restaurant near the Old Vic. Very popular with theatre people who perform at the nearby  National Theatre and Old Vic. The walls are lined with autographed photos of actors, directors and so fourth who have eaten here. Not terrible expensive, but not cheap either. However, definitely worth the price. They stay open late for those who are seeing a performance at the Old Vic and are dinning afterwards.

Le Deuxieme, 65a Long Acre WC2. Tele: 020 7379 0033. Nearest subway station is Covent Garden. Creative modern European dishes. Changing menu and a great wine list. Offers a fixed pre-theater menu. The menu is posted on their website.

Pizza Express, 29 Wardour Street, Soho W1 Tele: 020 7431 822. Pizza and pasta chain. The food is quite good and this was one of the cheapest places I have eaten in. The location near the Haymarket Theatre Royal and the one up from Covent Garden are open late.

ZAGAT TO GO for Pocket PC - Restaurant and Entertainment is ideal to have because the information is stored on your PDA making looking up a restaurant quick and easy. There is a nifty feature called “add to calendar” that will automatically add all the relevant information - name of restaurant, address and phone number - to your personal calendar. If you really liked the restaurant you can mark it as a favorite, so on your next trip you won’t forget about the restaurant. Under advanced search you can look for restaurants by cuisine or restaurants in a specific neighborhood.

Web www.goingeuro.com