The Rose and Crown, 199 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 9ES

The Rose & Crown is at the Highbury End of Church Street and is almost the last pub on the street. It looks as if the interior hasn’t changed in a hundred years – a proper old school pub. It also boasts a real fire, a rarity these days, and one table tucked away in the corner has two seats formed out of coopered barrels. It’s a pub frequented by oldies as well as trendies which give it a nice atmosphere, serves a good Sunday Roast and shows the football on big screens. All of which should keep everybody happy.

Tiblisi, 91 Holloway Road, N7 8LT

I love all things Eastern European, Balkan and ex-Soviet. Despite the increasing numbers of peoples from this part of the world arriving in London the number of restaurants serving their food isn’t increasing at all which is disappointing. With a bit of effort even stroganoff can be made sexy.

Tiblisi is a smart, slickly decorated Georgian restaurant hidden in Holloway Road which I am desperate to like, so I will start from the good points. Georgian wines can be very good, try their house white, it’s beautifully light and crisp. Observe also their heavy silver engraved cutlery. After that maybe escape without eating. It’s not that all the food is bad, it’s just a bit dull. The borscht is good as a starter, rich and full bodied like borscht should be. Their breads are heavy and cheesy. Main course wise, a series of dumplings or potato bakes are the order of the day. There’s only so much that can be done with pepper and parsley alone.

The Square Pie Co, Spitalfields Market, E1

Spitalfields Market has recently undergone a £80m renaissance. It now boasts a Nandos and a Strada, no doubt a Pizza Express and an All Bar One will appear in due course. The mighty Tesco Metro have already put their marker down. The market itself retains a measure of independence and boasts ethnic food stalls all over the place. It also contains a Square Pie Co outlet. I have been curious about the Square Pie phenomenon since this summers World Cup when they devised a variety of pie for each country taking part and kept a total of pies sold during the matches, this I thought was the plan of a genius and I paid more attention to how the pies were selling than the football. The final ended up with Japan’s Chicken Teriyaki versus England’s Steak and Kidney (England won). Amongst the more unusual offerings were Serbia’s grilled lamb and sour cream and Australia’s kangaroo pie.

At the weekends the Square Pie stand, along with all the food stands, is jam packed and seats are at a premium, but never worry your pie comes in a box (square box obviously) and with mash and gravy and a wooden fork. There are only a few varieties on sale now sadly all the World Cup pies are no more. I opted for a roast chicken version and I’m a fan, flaky pastry, good quality meat and proper old school mushy peas. I’ll be back soon to have another go, although can we have the Serbian Square pie back please?

Le Sacre Cour, 18 Therberton Street, Islington, N1 0QX

This is by far and away my favourite restaurant in Upper Street, and indeed the environs of Islington. I normally visit on a Sunday evening, I imagine getting a table on a Friday or Saturday might be a bit of mission. It’s a French brassiere with traditional chequered table cloths and theatre posters all over the walls. The food is exquisite, the cod in white whine sauce and garlic mash, red snapper and saffron, lamb in red wine are all perfect examples of some traditional French cooking. I could easily eat there every night. They specialise in moules and gourmet sausages including wild boar and pork and cider. Word of warning though, check your bill carefully because they never ever get it right.

Rendezvous, 48 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LT

It might not be the weather for eating ice-cream but who cares. Ice-cream parlours, Italian style, are thin on the ground in London, although credit is due to the Patisserie Valerie chain for their new Gelaterias in Bishopsgate and the Kings Road.

One prime example not to follow is Rendezvous in Leicester Square. Now, I do know that it really is just for the tourists but they should have some grasp of reality. Two scoops of ice-cream comes to nearly £11, served up to you by possibly the grumpiest waitress in London. Not to mention the Las Vegas meets Al Capone interior. Anyone tempted would be better off in the Haagen Daz café across the square.

Ten Square, 10 Donegall Square South, Belfast, BT1 5JD

A hotel restaurant is not normally where I’d choose for a weekend lunch, but the legendary Deane’s was closed so we ended up in Ten Square. Very nice it was too, excellent scampi served in old school newsprint (fake of course), perfectly grilled fillet steak and a range of other options including some pan-asian offerings and traditional British.

Highly recommended but bound to be standing room only in the evenings.

The Apartment, 2 Donegall Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JA

I lived in Belfast during a time when there were very few new bars and not that many places to go at night in the city centre and then The Apartment opened, full of steel, chrome and dark leather. It quickly became the blueprint for all new bars and soon the city was awash with chrome and leather replicas. I must admit I didn’t really like it, it quickly filled up with those more concerned with who was looking at them than having a good time. My first visit in 6 years proves it hasn’t really changed, not being able to decide if it’s a bar, restaurant, nightclub or coffee bar…… The food is standard gastro pub fare Northern Irish style, i.e. an abundance of champ and such like, a little over priced perhaps and not that exciting. On the plus side the staff are very nice, less pushy than they used to be. The whole operation appears to have relaxed a little, probably in the face of all the identikit competitors they unwittingly inspired.

The Europa Hotel, Great Victoria Street, Belfast, BT2 7AP

The Europa Hotel is Belfast’s oldest, grandest and most traditional hotel. Over the past 10 years Belfast itself has changed almost beyond all recognition. From a deserted, and in some parts, derelict city centre, the city has transformed itself. It’s now a lively buzzing capital with new bars and restaurants everywhere. Whilst Belfast has undergone this much needed transformation the Europa hasn’t, instead it’s stood still and let time wash over it. During Northern Ireland’s much publicised problems it earned the dubious title of Europe’s most bombed hotel; every blast brought a period of refurbishment. Since the Good Friday agreement back in the 90s the Europa has gone without is annual blast driven facelift, and it shows. Every aspect of this lovely hotel shows wear and tear; cracked tiles, stained carpets, scratched furniture and so on.

That said, the food, the drink, the staff and the service are all still impeccable. The lobby bar is still a classy relaxed drinking oasis and the piano bar lets you watch the sun go down on the city. Mr Hastings of Hastings Hotels needs to get his wallet out for a face lift and be thankful the passage of time is the only reason. Oh, and I forgot to mention the free rubber duck.