Daniel Clifford's cooking is an almost faultless parade of beautifully crafted plates, says Amol Rajan

Daniel Clifford's cooking at Midsummer House in Cambridge is an almost faultless parade of beautifully crafted plates, according to The Independent on Sunday's food critic Amol Rajan.

The critic is impressed not only by the high standard of the cooking at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant but also by the remarkable absence of pretension.

"The menu is cleverly balanced, with a gentle rhythm between strong and soft flavours uniting each offering," he enthuses.

The London Evening Standard's Fay Maschler enjoys former La Trompette and Tom's Kitchen chef Ollie Couillaud's thoughtful, complex cooking at his new restaurant Lawn Bistro in Wimbledon.

"To find an independent venture [in Wimbledon] offering dishes like sweetbreads with sauce ravigotte, grilled calf's kidney with wild mushrooms and braised ox cheeks a la Bourguignonne is reason to rejoice - and for Andy Murray to move there and practise until he wins," she says.

Meanwhile Brunswick House Café may be housed in an architectural salvage shop in a Georgian building in south London, but there's nothing old-fashioned about the food, according to The Guardian's John Lanchester.

Zoe Williams of The Sunday Telegraph says Cây Tre in Soho is neither expensive nor cheap, exciting or awful and best described as 'meh', while The Times's Giles Coren likes the idea of Meatballs in London's Farringdon but says its niche idea is not done quite well enough to suggest it will last through the winter.

Writing for The Observer, Jay Rayner visits Australasia in Manchester and once again leaves the city feeling disappointed.

Finally The Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says Elliot's Café in London Bridge is a blast of fresh air - unpretentious, unassuming and bristling with youthful, food-fanatic enthusiasm, from the totally charming staff to the wittily assembled wine list.

For these reviews in full and more, see What's on the menu? Visit Guide Girl for the latest gossip from the fine-dining world.

By Kerstin Kühn

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