Mes Amis (CLOSED)

It's on the same road as the high-stepping River Café, but this bijou neighbourhood restaurant couldn’t be more different. Fabulously kitsch, kooky, colourful and stuffed to the gunnels with the owner’s personally collected paraphernalia (musical instruments, fans, lavishly decorated lanterns, upturned parasols dangling from the ceiling etc), it feels like an eccentric’s front room with a little kitchen area in the middle blasting out heat and spicy aromas. Don’t be fooled by the restaurant’s French name, the food’s authentically Lebanese, straightforward and generous – with the main man always on duty at the stoves. The short pared-back menu offers things like shish kebabs topped with tahini sauce or Lebanese ‘traditional chicken’ (prepared with onions, garlic, courgettes, mushrooms and cinnamon), although most people opt for one of the mixed meze feasts with warm pitta bread. Immense fun.