Golborne Road's hottest new opening, The Counter is bringing the bold flavours of southeastern Anatolian cuisine to west London. Headed up by chef Kemal Demirasal, who is also behind Istanbul's Alancha restaurant, which closed in 2021 in preparation for this London launch, the inviting 45-cover space features a mish-mash of seating - brown leather banquettes, wicker chairs and metal bar stools - complemented by overgrown potted plants, bare-brick walls, exposed pipework, pendant lighting and blonde wood. All eyes are on the open kitchen, which also doubles as a bar, where the dynamic chefs whip up your order on the open-fire charcoal grill. Seasonality is at the core of every dish, from starters that include mint-drenched lamb skewers served with tahini cream, to mains such as sirloin kebabs with thin-cut fries, and majestic, perfectly seasoned pork chops. Turn to the dessert menu to find traditional semolina cake, burnt rice pudding and sorbets in every flavour.

This is not Fadi Kattan's first rodeo. The Franco-Palestinian co-founder and chef of the recently opened Akub is also behind Fawda ("Chaos") in Bethlehem, an acclaimed 12-key boutique hotel and restaurant where there's no menu, dishes being based on whatever Kattan can get hold of from the farmers on any given day. Here, in the sedate surrounds of Uxbridge Street, in an intimate, three-storey townhouse, the modern Palestinian menu might leave less to chance, but the food is just as firmly rooted in the Levantine larder. Arriving on earthy tableware from Jaffa-based Palestinian ceramicist Nur Minawi, standouts include the shish barak with beetroot - squidgy little pumpkin dumplings in a pine nut-studded swirl of beetroot tahini - and sheikh el mahsi - glossy baby aubergines stuffed with pickled herbs and walnuts. On our visit, we toasted the restaurant's health with Palestinian Taybeh beer and a smooth Armenian Tale of Two Mountains red, and somehow found room for the hilbeh baba - a syrup-drenched fenugreek and cardamom baba with whipped cream and pistachios.

FoodTok has entered the chat. If you thought your favourite social app only offered dirty burgers and alarming candy creations in the food department, think again. One of its stars, Thomas Straker, has made video fame a stepping stone to owning his own restaurant. We're exaggerating - a bit. Straker also has solid kitchen pedigree, having worked at The Dorchester and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, but it was his pandemic-era posts that made him one to watch - and set London abuzz over the opening of his first bricks-and-mortar restaurant. Swing by to eat small plates and sharing platters centred around sustainability and seasonality, though, at only 40 covers, you'd be wise to secure a table reservation first.

Named after the Outer Hebridean region where chef Jackson Boxer and his family have spent their summers since he was young, Orasay has a refined menu that focuses heavily (and somewhat unsurprisingly) on seafood. Tuck into the likes of scallops, river oysters and Shetland mussels - alongside a fair few land-based dishes, including a wood-grilled Tamworth chop with Cévennes onions and brown shrimp. Book ahead: the elegant dining room - kitted out with slouchy linen banquettes and unclothed antique French oak tables, lime-washed walls adorned with abstract paintings by the chef's mother, Kate Boxer - has limited seating.

Suzi Tros offers similar Greek cuisine to its neighbouring sister restaurant Mazi, but with a focus on pared-back small plates. Dishes inspired by the diners of Thessaloniki are simple and prices are modest, ranging from £2 to £22. Start with the creamy taramasalata served with grill-marked bread, then move on to the prawn saganaki and smoked aubergine laden with tahini and honey. Other must-orders include a more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts tomato and cucumber salad, and turbot (served off the bone) with zesty greens. Request a table upstairs in the bright back room if you're planning a drawn-out dinner or, for a quick bite, aim for the bar seating towards the front of the restaurant.

Choose from a well-edited menu of small bites at the Tel Aviv-inspired Haya to stave off hunger while final decisions are being reached. Our suggestion? The grilled halloumi skewers and padron peppers served with smoked salt and harissa mayo. Mains-wise, a strong order for two would read: Jaffa-style cauliflower; asparagus with cashew sauce and feta cheese; spiced lamb cutlets with honey yoghurt; and a tendril of grilled octopus served with rainbow chard and turmeric emulsion. The dessert offering is just as good. Let your fullness levels be your guide and either go light - the deconstructed lemon meringue and raspberries (perfect for those whose key interest in the traditional dessert is the whippy top) - or go all-out - the home-baked cookies served with chocolate fudge, salted-caramel ice cream and hazelnuts.

This three-floor neighbourhood restaurant on Portobello Road would go unnoticed were it not for the rave reviews being whispered across London. A hybrid between a pub and an al fresco dining space, Gold's interior is informal and eclectic. The ground level is the most atmospheric, thanks to the garden terrace's dusty coral walls, potted palms and a strong hurricane lantern-to-table ratio. Cooked over fire, dishes are designed to be shared and are served as soon as they're ready. Don't miss the wood-roasted whole sea bream with wild oregano and capers, or the black tiger and datterini tomato salad with salted ricotta, basil and verjus dressing. The burrata with charred flat peaches, Tuscan ham, radicchio and balsamic dressing is also a knockout.

This peaceful artisanal bakery-come-wine bar is like a little slice of Paris - all wooden floors, rusty lights and a marble bar topped with perfect floury bread and fluffy cakes. Choose from an all-day breakfast menu of classic egg dishes (including a note-perfect ham and cheese omelette), hot bagels, fruit and lots of seasonal toppings piled onto crunchy sourdough. The coffee is excellent, too, which calls for bagging a corner and curling up with a book in the sunlight until the wine starts flowing.

This casual, contemporary restaurant founded by Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari oozes with character, serving up a romantic vibe in softly lit surrounds. Interiors blend edge and polish - think rough brick walls and velvet seating - and the menu is similarly eclectic, with a focus on Italian and French cuisine (to reflect its owners' respective provenances). Feast on an à la carte menu featuring the likes of stuffed saddle of Lake District lamb, served with spinach, trompette mushrooms, smoked potato and jus, or try a wider selection of dishes by opting for the £115 tasting menu.

After their success in Soho and East London, the soup-and-noodle masters behind Tonkotsu have voyaged west. Few things beat a bowl of steaming ramen with a cold beer - which explains why we struggle to go a week without visiting this place. The bouncy noodles are made in-house and the slow-cooked pork broths come topped with sliced chicken, tender pork, spring onions and a gooey marinated egg, all sprinkled with the famous Tonkotsu "eat the bits" chilli oil. Be sure to try the fried ginger and soy chicken, silky gyoza and one of the killer Japanese-inspired cocktails.

Looking for top-notch Japanese cuisine in west London? Look no further. This modern Japanese diner housed over the ground floor of iconic 1980s music and dance venue the Market Bar is loved locally for signature dishes that include hamachi tiradito, prawn carpaccio, black cod miso, pork belly buns and sushi. The dining room is lavished with pop art posters, retro light fixtures and Japanese cartoons, with live DJ sets adding to the fun every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

Taco obsessed? Head straight to Taqueria, a slick, industrial-chic Mexican joint on Westbourne Grove that started life as a Portobello Road food stall, before opening here in 2005. House-made soft corn tortillas come loaded with traditional fillings like battered fish, juicy slow-cooked beef, and shredded pork with pickled jalapeño, or more contemporary options such as soft-shell crab, and fried plantain with cheese. You'll want to sample as many as you can fit on the table, but save space for some ceviche tostadas, garlic-mushroom quesadillas, a deep-fried oyster with chipotle mayo and, of course, margaritas - the pink grapefruit and cucumber iteration is not to be missed.

Helmed by Chris D'Sylva, the powerhouse behind Notting Hill Fish Shop and Supermarket of Dreams, along with an all-star hospitality team, this elegant bistro has all the ingredients that make for a stellar date-night spot - picture marble-topped tables, dark wood, gold fixtures and chequered flooring. Chef Max Coen is behind a crowd-pleasing menu of refined, French-inspired classics - think Gillardeau oysters, liver parfait on toast, and beef tartare - while the wine list is predominantly made up of French and Italian bins, with an ever-evolving collectors' list of vintages also up for grabs. Tables, unsurprisingly, book up fast, so be sure to reserve in advance to avoid any veal sweetbread FOMO.