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Dine Out of Doors Out of Town

Taking a break from London?  Fancy a lazy meal out the in the soft summer air?  We’ve drawn up a list for you of delightful restaurants with al fresco dining and special offers, some so good you’ll plan your weekend around them.

Haxted Mill Restaurant at Edenbridge in Kent near Lingfield racecourse has a charming terrace overlooking the mill race and pond, and big market umbrellas to shield your complexion.  The cuisine here is classic French with divine fruits de mer.  You’ll want to grab the two courses for £18 offer and linger as the light turns golden.

If you find yourself in Lamberhurst in Kent near Tunbridge Wells early in the week, you won’t want to miss The Vineyard restaurant hard by the historic Lamberhurst vineyards and their 25% off food deal.  This refurbished 14th century inn has a sunny garden for drinking and dining and a menu that’s a terrific combination of French bistro and trad English. 

The Gun at Gun Hill restaurant at Heathfield has exactly the same deal: 25% off food Monday through Wednesday, and you won’t want to miss this historic inn with a sprawling, spacious garden.  There are even climbing frames and swings for the children.  The menu is high end gastropub dining employing the finest of British ingredients. 

Lussmanns Fish & Grill restaurant in the historic town of St Albans is stylish and smart with a super menu encompassing a selection of the freshest fish as well as steaks, meats and burgers.  This award-winning restaurant has won plaudits from critics and punters alike, so you’ll be keen to try to two courses for £10.95 set menu at lunch and early supper.  The al fresco dining is delightful too.

When in Stratford-upon-Avon, Sorrento is the spot for fine Italian dining on a charming patio.  The De Angelis family runs Sorrento in the classic style, with silver service, plush fittings and a menu steeped in the traditions of Italy.  The two-course menu for £13.90 is ridiculously good value for food and service of this quality.

Great food, a warm welcome and polished service are what’s on offer at The Westwood in Beverley also has an al fresco patio and a brace of special offers.  Located in the grounds of Beverley’s former Grade II listed Georgian courthouse, The Westwood has a menu that’s a perfect blend of English and modern European, both familiar and sophisticated.  The special deals include two courses with a glass of wine for £18.50 Tuesday through Friday evenings, and two lunchtime courses for £17.50.

We’re hoping the sunshine lasts, but in London or out, wherever you find yourself, toptable has top restaurants with unbeatable special offers just for you.

Flaming Good Deals

Whether you’re sprinting to Stratford, sailing down to Dorset or diving into the thick of this summer’s free events, we’ve got great restaurants nearby, nearly all sporting terrific special offers. 

After a hard session of beach volleyball, head for The Cinnamon Club, one of the world’s most innovative and exciting Indian restaurants, for two course lunch or early or late supper with a Saffronika cocktail for just £22.

Or stroll into St James’s to Sake No Hana, a creative fine dining Japanese restaurant from the brilliant chap who brought us Yauatcha and Hakkasan.  The special offer here is a marathon five course tasting menu for just £35.

If Stratford is your ultimate goal for all the park events, The Caribbean Scene Family Restaurant is just the ticket: a reasonably-priced, locally-owned restaurant with buffet that gives an authentic taste of the Caribbean.  And it’s a short stroll from Stratford tube and Stratford International Rail Stations.

Or on your way to the main gate, stop for a bite at Busaba Eathai in Westfield Stratford City.  Busaba Eathai’s award-winning style of freshly prepared Thai cuisine  is served with full marks for style.  But you be the judge.

Been lucky enough to score tennis tickets?  Then you won’t want to miss dining at Cannizaro House restaurant, a country house hotel and restaurant on the borders of Wimbledon Common.  Their special Simply Sauvignon meal offers two courses of divine modern European cuisine with a glass of Marlborough sauvignon blanc or Kinross Cabernet Shiraz from South Africa for £39.

If Earls Court is your venue, a stroll up to High Street Kensington for a three-course meal at Babylon at The Roof Gardens is exactly what you want.  For £28.5o you dine on three courses of modern European cuisine from a set menu while you enjoy an acre and a half of magical gardens high above the London madness.

If all that race walking and marathon running in the Mall has you gasping for sustenance, The Avenue in St James’s has excellent  modern European cooking in a smart restaurant that has earned many stars from toptable diners.  Their four different special offers, covering Afternoon Tea or a two course meal plus Pimm’s or prosecco for just £19.50,  Saturday special menu including three courses, half a bottle of wine and a coffee for £30 or super quick pre or post-theater two course menus for just £17.50.   

In fact, we’ve got a whole section of toptable’s website devoted to dining near the venues right across the UK.  Click here to get up to speed with world-class dining and flaming good deals.

Mediterranean Weather = Mediterranean Dining

When the sunshine makes you feel as if you’re living on the shores of the Mediterranean, the only thing to do is to dine like you’re on the shores of the Med.  Colourful produce, healthful fare, relaxed meals and long, light evenings make for some of the most memorable meals of the year.  Book now and get out your espadrilles.

How does two courses and a Bellini for £24.50 sound?  Just about right?  Then Aurelia in Mayfair is the place for you.  With modern Mediterranean cuisine that follows the path of the old Via Aurelia, the ancient Roman road, Aurelia’s menu embraces charcoal grills, charcuterie, gorgeous fish and rotisserie chickens and meats.  The wine list matches perfectly too.

Impressive surroundings in Mayfair and a homely Italian menu make Babbo restaurant an excellent spot for classic Italian dining, especially if you fancy Tuscan colours and food made with real love and devotion.  The special offer, two course lunch for £19, is a convincing reason to make Babbo a first choice for Medi dining.

For some, the only Mediterranean dining that truly counts is Greek, and that means Aqua restaurant in Croydon.  Here you’ll find authentic Greek cooking made simply with the freshest ingredients in a menu that includes meze, charcoal grilled steaks, fish and chicken, and gorgeous salads as well as a super choice of pastas and Italian dishes.  The host of special offers include Monday night steak night 50% off, Sunday lunch two course set menu for just £14.95, and a two course set menu for £14.95, three courses £17.95.

At Restaurant Sauterelle in the City, the flavours of Provence make themselves known in every bite, thanks to the Provençal background of Head Chef Arnaud Delannay.  This lovely restaurant is found in the heart of the Square Mile on the first floor of the Royal Exchange building.  A trio of special offers — two courses for £20, three courses and a glass of prosecco for £25, five course Market Menu for £35 –will have you booking right this minute for a taste of Southwestern France with modern European details.

Adiva restaurant in Spitalfields is a cheery, friendly spot with great diner reviews and a BYO deal that should spark your interest.  Their menu, a fusion of Lebanese and Turkish cuisine, itself a fusion of influences dating from the days of the Persian Empire, is generously portioned and fine for sharing with mates.  The deals include a two course lunch for £8.95 and a mixed mezze starter plus main course and BYO for £14.95.

Of course, the Mediterranean has a southern shore too.  Bogayo Restaurant & Bar is a terrific mix of traditional Moroccan cuisine with some modern European interpretations alongside.  Add in the shisha pipe seating and a very cool chill out lounge and you and your friends will want to stay and stay.  Especially with the 50% off food deal — that can’t be beat.

We have hundreds of special offers and great deals covering all the nations and cultures of the Mediterranean for celebrating the reappearance of the sun.  Book now and let the sun shine in.

Eat for Britain!

We’ve got our national colours on and are ready to cheer our British athletes like fury.  We shall cheer them from the Stratford arenas to Eton Dorney, from Greenwich Park to The Mall.  We shall cheer them in beach volleyball, we shall cheer them on the hockey fields, we shall cheer them in the race walk streets, we shall cheer them on Wimbledon turf and when we need sustenance, we’ll retire to one of these very good British restaurants and revel in our national culinary culture.

Paradise by Way of Kensal Green restaurant is a brilliant incarnation of both British pub glory and modern British dining with quite a few classic dishes thrown in for good measure.  And the menu lets you know the provenance of much of what lands on the plate, like Dorset scallops, Vale of Evesham asparagus, Bob Kitching’s goat curds.  A tasty 50% off food offer should get you booking right this minute.

A bastion of British cuisine, The Rib Room restaurant at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower has had a very elegant makeover and is back in business with sublime seasonal cooking and a justly famous roast rib of beef.  Their special offer could not be more British: three courses and a gin cocktail for £30.

But if superb fish is more your thing, Kensington Place can’t be beat.  This iconic modern British eatery has its own in-house fishmonger right next door and it shows in every dish.  Their summery special offers should be hooked and landed: two courses for £17 or three courses for £20, both with a glass of prosecco.

For a great deal in the West End (near the race walk course and beach volleyball), The Angel and Crown‘s two courses for £11 is exactly what you want.  Just opposite the  Noel Coward Theatre, The Angel and Crown is true blue, from its Norfolk asparagus to its Shetland mussels to its Shetland venison and marrow pie.  The beer list would bring tears to an Englishman’s eyes.

Anytime is the right time to book Boisdale of Belgravia, an outpost of Caledonian food and culture with some hot jazz, splendid whisky and fine cigars thrown in for good measure.   Right now, you and your friends can immerse yourselves in the glory of Scottish cuisine with 50% off a five course Taste of Scotland evening.   Or you can tuck into the two course lunch special for £16.50 or the two courses plus a glass of fizz for £19.50.  If you’re on the other side of town, Boisdale of Canary Wharf has its own selection of fine Scottish food and super offers to choose from.

When it comes to great British food, we could go on and on — The Grill at The Dorchester, Launceston Place, Charlotte’s Place in Ealing, The Commonwealth Kitchen, The Criterion — naming great restaurant after great restaurant, all of them with super special offers.  This is the summer to eat British.  Check out our British restaurants page and cheer.

Vive La Cuisine!

There’s nothing revolting about Bastille Day on 14 July – it’s a brilliant excuse to gather friends for a French meal and a terrific time.  We have so many excellent offers, from chic to bohemian, that there’s no need to lose your head.  Just book now and have a storming day.

You owe it to yourself to discover Seven Park Place by William Drabble, a hidden gem that also has a Michelin star and a constellation of AA rosettes. The French cuisine here is created using the finest seasonal British ingredients — now that’s entente cordiale!  There are far too many special offers to list here, from a lazy lunch to a degustation menu, all of them fabulous.

Koffmann’s restaurant in Knightsbridge is the eponymous restaurant of the legendary Pierre Koffmann, a byword for sublime, provincial French cuisine with deep classical roots.  If you fancy whiling away your Bastille Day afternoon in gastronomic delight, the lunchtime special offer is three courses for £28, while the dinner deal is two courses for £21.50.  Both offer a meal that makes memories.

Classic French bistro dining is the specialty of Le Vacherin restaurant in Chiswick overlooking Acton Green Common.  The ambience is smart and relaxed and you toptable diners recommend it for romance.  The special offers include a two-course lunch for £18.50, or three courses and a glass of Crémant de Bourgogne  sparkling wine. 

The Balcon restaurant in Piccadilly has all the flair of les grands brasseries of Paris of the Belle Epoque.  With a soaring ceiling and the stunning balcony –hence the name — this restaurant has style and comfort and a great sense of occasion.  As well as French classics and franglais creations, The Balcon is famous for its charcuterie menu and champagne bar.  Deals start from two courses for £15 and become more intriguing from there.

Galvin Bistrot de Luxe restaurant in Marylebone outdoes the French at fine, seasonal bistro cooking.   This was the first restaurant opened by the Galvin brothers and it made an indelible mark on the capital, having been voted Best French Restaurant two years running, as well as earning a host of other awards.  Three courses and an aperitif maison are £19.50 at weekday and Sunday lunch and £21.50 at supper.

If you’re headed for the big Bastille Day events at Canary Wharf this weekend, you’d be a wise one to book the Plateau Bar & Grill restaurant in advance for lunch or supper and snatch their two courses for £15 deal right out of their hands.

And if only the finest French cuisine, most professional and elegant service, and loveliest surroundings will do, then Hibiscus restaurant in Mayfair is a choice that will make you very happy indeed.  Chef Claude Bosi has earned a pairof Michelin stars as well ashis restaurant’s making the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants last year.  So the special offers here — three courses and an aperitif for £34.95 and four courses and an aperitif for £49.50 — are ridiculously excellent value. 

For these and many, many more offres spéciaux on French restaurants for Bastille Day, click here and have a super time.

Dealissimo!

From osso bucco and candlelight to pizza and beer, Italian food is on everybody’s top ten list.  Right now we have fantastic deals on Italian dining to suit every taste and pocket.  Mangia bene!

For instance, Il Convivio restaurant in Belgravia is a smart local eaterie in a neighbourhood that expects top cuisine and fine service and Il Convivio delivers on every count.  Three special offers should tempt you: 50% off lunch, 25% off supper or two courses for £17.50.  Set in a Georgian townhouse, this restaurant is perfect for business lunches and romantic suppers beneath the stars under the conservatory at the rear.

If the City is your haunt, Caravaggio restaurant is all about gastronomic excellence and agile service in a grand and elegant setting.  Opened by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti in 1996, Caravaggio has been centre stage for high flyers’ corporate entertaining and celebrations ever since.  Take advantage of four stunning offers:  50% off lunch, 25% off supper or two courses for £17.50, or the opportunity to earn 1,000 Dining Points.  Caravaggio is a culinary masterpiece.

Charming, rustic Italian trattoria within the sound of Bow Bells, that’s Taberna Etrusca in a nutshell.  The tiled floors, exposed beams, charming courtyard will transport you from gloomy old Blighty to somewhere in golden Tuscany, while the special offers won’t bring you down with a bump.  Two courses for £17, 50% off food, 25% off food at lunch and 1,000 point dining slots are all part of the irresistible charm of Taberna Etrusca.

Artigiano restaurant in Belsize Park near Hampstead shakes up the local prettiness with a dining room that’s cool and sleek and a menu that lets you dine on the classics or enjoy some more inventive dishes in the Italian tradition.  With offers like 50% off food, 25% off food on Thursday and Friday evening, a two-course set menu for just £16.50 and 1,000 point reservation times, Artigiano should be first on your list of Italian restaurants.

Isolabella is as famous for its superb service as it is for its traditional Italian menu and charming trattoria decor.  Just off Red Lion Square in Holborn, Isolabella is a fine spot for lunch — 25% off food special offer — and supper with a 50% off food special offer.  Besides classic salads, pastas, meats, steak and fish dishes, there are also some divine pizzas and a blinding wine list.

Bellaria restaurant in Fitzrovia has a trick up its sleeve.  The ground floor dining room is a bright, pleasant space to enjoy traditional Italian cuisine and friendly service. Belowdecks, however, you’ll find a rustic, arched wine cellar with low lighting, chandeliers and trickster mirrors, just thespot for a romantic meal for two.   The not-at-all-tricky special offers include 25% off food for weekday lunches, 50% off for supper and weekend lunch, or a three-course lunch for just £18.95. 

For refined Italian dining in Holborn, look no further than Bacco Restaurant & Bar.    This is a perfect spot for a business lunch or an evening celebration with smart, modern decor and fleet-footed service.   The two-course set menu for a very reasonable  £16.95 is super when you fancy something light, while the 50% off starters and mains is welcome whenever you dine.

For these and dozens of other Italian restaurants with special offers, click here and tell them ‘Ciao!’ from toptable.

Independence Day Goes With A Bang

American Independence Day — the 4th of July — means culinary fireworks, a supersized night out and all-star deals to celebrate the cousins across the water.  Go for Old Glory special offers or book a Grand Old 1,000 point time slot — the partying’s the same.

Christopher’s restaurant in Covent Garden is a constant reminder that America is blessed with a vast richness of regional cuisine and they really pour it on for Independence Day.  What are we saying?  Independence Day?  Independence Week!  From Monday 2nd July through Friday the 6th, Christopher’s is bringing the outside in and serving classic BBQ dishes with a modern contemporary twist from their own restaurant grill served with some fabulous American style cocktails including Margaritas, Traditional Long Island Iced Tea and Lynchburg Lemonade.  Two courses are £34 and three are £38.

Dollar Grills and Martinis in Exmouth Market is going retro with an Independence Day Post War Vintage Party.  There’ll be classic rock, pop, 50′s and 60′s tunes and American classics from the DJ, a special menu — two courses £19.50 and three for £24.50 — featuring their amazing burgers along with a host of other US-inspired favourites.   Vintage pinup girls and army officers will be welcomed with a free glass of bubbly.  Beat that, eight to the bar.

The Blues Kitchen in Camden is American to the soul of its boots.  Book supper and get here in time for the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest and see if anyone bests last year’s record of 19 hot dogs in half an hour set by King of the Dawgs Ed Conway.  Stay for The Rumours playing Stripped Back Sould from the vaults of Stax and Motown.  Then tuck into some authentic southern BBQ food while it all swirls around you.  Are you American?  Then bring your passport along for a free drink.

The Big Easy is going mad for the 4th, as usual, with its annual rib eating contest that kicks off at 6pm.  It’s free to enter and then you’ll be in position for unbeatable American menus: the ‘Works’ double burger for £12.95, lobster roll with fries, salad and a frozen margarita for£19.50, a whole two-pound lobster (nearly a kilo, baby) with fries, salad and the same aforementioned frozen ‘rita for £19.50 and much, much more.  Including red, white and blue Margaritas.  The bombs bursting in air, indeed.

Planet H0llywood in London invites you to Eat, Drink and Feel Famous in their Hollywood-inspired restaurant stuffed with all-American movie memorability.  Book on the 4th of July and grab yourself a tw0-course menu for just £19.99 or a three-course menu for £24.99.

From burgers and BBQ to fine regional dining, we at toptable have loads more American restaurants to choose from so you can mark the day when Britain lost a colony and gained a friend.

Free Meals Fast

The new toptable dining rewards program is a brilliant way to earn free meals fast in the form of toptable dining cheques.  It’s easy and quick, so give us a minute to walk you through the programme and you’ll be up to speed in no time and on your way to free meals in toptable restaurants.

Every time you make a regular toptable booking, dine out and rate the restaurant on toptable, you’ll earn a minimum of 100 toptable dining reward points.  So far, so ordinary.

But, when you book a restaurant during its 1,000-point scheduled booking slots, your booking immediately earns you 1,000 tasty toptable dining reward points.  And there are thousands and thousands of 1,000-point bookings slots available every day.

For instance, a booking at diner favourite Café Des Amis French restaurant in Covent Garden earns you 1,000 points for every booking from noon to closing every day of the week.  Café Des Amis is one of Theatreland’s iconic restaurants, pleasing customers for more than twenty-five years with its combination of classic and modern French cuisine in a chic brasserie ambience.

Some restaurants, like Coco Bamboo, a Caribbean restaurant full of good cheer and hugely happy diners in Camden, offers 1,000-point bookings every lunchtime through 8pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  If you take a moment to peruse your fellow diners’ reviews, you’ll find recommendations for the mojitos, rum drinks, feijoada, jerk chicken, saltfish fritters with mango chutney — almost everything on the menu has its fanbase.

If earning toptable dining rewards points is easy, redeeming them is a snap.  Earn at least 2,000 points — that’s two bookings – and redeem them via your account page for a toptable dining cheque.  toptable dining cheques can be spent at ANY TOPTABLE RESTAURANT.   Here’s a little chart so you can see how much you can earn:

2,000 points = £10 toptable dining cheque

3,000 points = £20 toptable dining cheque

4,000 points = £27 toptable dining cheque

5,000 points = £35 toptable dining cheque

10,000 points = £70 toptable dining cheque

As you can see, it makes sense to make your bookings during 1,000 slots and to let your points build up for higher value cheques.  Let the programme work for you.

For instance, schedule a few business lunches at the Dockmasters House in Canary Wharf and you’ll be on your way.  Or make it a great evening out with a pre-theatre supper at The Savoy River Restaurant before taking in a show.  Gather some friends or family for a long, lazy Saturday lunch at one of London’s very best, award-winning restaurants, Thirty Six by Nigel Mendham at Duke’s Hotel, and add 1,000 points to your balance.

For more info, here’s the page that explains it all.  To find 1,000 point booking slots at your favourite restaurant, go to the toptable.com homepage, set your location, then click on the black box and book yourself in for an excellent — and lucrative — toptable dining experience.

Thanks, Dad

Father’s Day this Sunday, 17 June, is a great chance to say thanks to the first man in your life.  Whether he’s a buttoned-up father type to whom a hug is a weird custom, a matey, sporty dad to whom you can open your heart, or a new daddy with a baby on his shoulder, bags under his eyes and a proud grin on his face, we’ve got super spots to take him for a meal to celebrate how special he is to you.

In London, three favourite toptable restaurants are offering special deals with views of the Thames, which always gives a meal a bit of a fillip.  At Le Pont de la Tour, a two course lunch is £20 and and a three-course dinner with a glass of champagne is £30, with unparalleled vistas of Tower Bridge and the City beyond.  While Le Pont de la Tour is French, La Cantina del Ponte is rustic Italian and it also has a pair of very smart deals: two course lunch for £12.50, two course dinner for £18.95, each with a glass of prosecco.  If your dad is a cool design-led type, he’ll love a meal at the Blueprint Café at The Design Museum.  Weekend lunch is just £16 for two courses from a set menu, while Sunday supper is an absurd £12.50 for two courses (two people only).  The Design Awards exhibition is on just now, including the Olympic torch.

If the other side of London is more your neck of the woods, The Fish Place restaurant in Battersea (near the heliport, if you’re airborne) also has divine views over the river and a very good deal of two courses for £25.

Linger over a high-end Michelin-starred lunch in smart surroundings at the corner where Belgravia meets Knightsbridge at Apsleys — A Heinz Beck Restaurant where a three-course weekend lunch with a glass of prosecco is £35.  Or spend the day elsewhere and end with a magnificent three course supper with  a glass of champagne for £45.

Antico in Bermondsey is a new Italian restaurant in a converted warehouse that’s had a lot of enthusiastic feedback from toptable diners.  Right now you can dine with 50% off food when diners have two courses, which you will certainly want to do, and we can’t recommend it highly enough.

Does your dad love jazz and wine?  Then you must book Davy’s Wine Vaults in Greenwich next to the mainline rail station.  It’s a cosy, friendly spot with live music on Sundays at lunchtime.  Study the shelves of excellent wines and buy one or two at retail price, then pay the reasonable corkage and open it over lunch.  If the sun is shining, you’ll enjoy the patio space too.

For daddy’s with little ones, Carluccio’s Caffè in Covent Garden is a brilliant choice.  Not only is the Italian attitude to children one of enjoyment and welcome, but the menu is perfect for little ones, high quality for adults and all the distractions of Covent Garden are right outside the door.  The price is tasty, too.

We at toptable have restaurants for every taste, style and pocket with tables available right now — with instant online reservation confirmation — to please and celebrate the father in your family.  Happy Father’s Day.

Beasting Taste of London 2012

Taste of London is almost here!  To get the best out of Taste of London, we’re offering you our hard-won insider tips.  It is a brilliant food festival that was once referred to as ‘Glastonbury for food-lovers’, and we totally agree.  The restaurants — including toptable stars like l’Anima, Petrus, Bar Boulud, Coq d’Argent, Theo Randall among many others — producers, chefs and food experts are top drawer and you won’t want to miss anything good.  So here are our toptable tips for beasting Taste of London 2012.

1.  When everyone else is turning left, you turn right.  The Taste people have laid out a generous foot traffic-flow scheme, but since the tickets are timed, great waves of Tasters arrive all at once.  The restaurants in the front half, as it were, of the traffic flow are packed right away and you’ll have to queue for your taster-sized portions of yumminess.  But if you boldly make your own way in the opposite direction, you’ll find no queues at some of the best restaurants on the site.

2. Glastonbury is famous for two things: music and mud.  As Taste is the Glastonbury of food, it’s got its share of the squelchy stuff too.  There are dry paths laid out, but they don’t cover every inch, so be ready for weather underfoot that may range from soft to sinking so you can end-run the queues on the walkways.  Consider footwear.  This is the English summer, after all.

3. Take some minutes to plan what demos you want to cover and head there in plenty of time so you get a front-row seat — or any seat at all.  The phenomenon known as Jamie Oliver will certainly draw mega-crowds to the AEG Taste Theatre on Friday at lunchtime, so you don’t want to be squeezed into SRO at the back where you won’t even be able smell the Great British cooking he’s demonstrating, let alone see it.  Other amazing big-name chefs who are appearing include Raymond Blanc, Vivek Singh, Angela Hartnett, Theo Randall, Michel Roux Jr, Gary Rhodes, Bruno Loubet, Atul Kochhar, Alexis Gauthier — and that’s just at one theatre.

4. Buy a starter bunch of Crowns and don’t worry about underbuying as they’ll be happy to sell you more.  Crowns are the currency of Taste of London. You use Crowns to pay for tasting sized dishes at the restaurant stands and all kinds of great things at the exhibitors’ stands.  If you want to go small to begin with, buy 30 Crowns just to get you started.  There are cute girls wandering around ready to sell you more.

5.  If you’re a British Airways Executive Club Gold or Silver Card holder, don’t forget your card.  It will gain you entry to the British Airways luxurious — we’re quoting here — Executive Lounge.  Which may come in handy in case of a shower and will be fun in any case.

6. Are you a grill hound?  Do you love to BBQ?  Then you belong in the Weber BBQ Challenge sponsored with Laverstoke Farm.  You can do your own special culinary magic in front of people and may win a Weber BBQ or utensils or a meal for two at Gaucho.  You have to sign up in advance and convince them of your grilling seriousness in 50 words or less.

7. Beer lover?  Then as soon as you arrive at Taste, hie yourself over to the Explore World Beer tent to get yourself set up for one of their beer tastings.  Love French wine?  Then the same advice applies for heading straight for the Sud de France Wine Experience location as soon as you get inside the Taste festival.  Fancy traditional English tea served on Wedgewood china and accompanied by a tea masterclass with a world-renowned expert?  Then make a beeline for the Wedgewood Tea Bar.

8. Get a great deal on tickets through toptable.  Click here for a pair of standard tickets for £40, a savings of 20% in advance, 40% at the door.

9. Finally, if you can’t wait to get to Taste, take advantage of the pre-Taste special offers at toptable restaurants like Asia de Cuba, Benares, Cinnamon Soho, Iberica Canary Wharf, Launceston Place, Modern Pantry, Patara, Spice Market London and Suda Thai Cafe.  No queuing, no waiting, fabulous food.