Eating sushi and sashimi at midday is now as common as having a lunchtime sandwich. But until recently it was rare to find many outlets for truly upmarket Japanese cuisine.Today, as the first Japanese restaurant is named best new Restaurant in the Which? Good Food Guide London, there is a sign that the Nobu chain has some serious rivals. The authors of the Which? Good Food Guide London said that the Sake No Hana restaurant, in Mayfair, central London, had provoked more reader comments than any other. One described it as "pure and unadulterated joy for people who understand and love Japanese food"; another dubbed it a "temple of cool". Alan Yau, the restaurateur, said: "We haven't been open that long, so it's a really pleasant surprise. There is now a market for top-end Japanese food, but that simply wasn't the case 10 years ago." He said that it was Nobu, the London restaurant which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, which first put the idea of quality Japanese cuisine on the map.

"Nobu opened the door for this", he said. "They taught people how to eat Japanese food at a fine dining level." Mr Yau said he had been travelling to Japan every month to ensure the venture was thoroughly researched for its authenticity. The restaurant took the bold move of taking wine off the menu, and serving 65 different varieties of sake and hiring a sake sommelier. This is not the first accolade Mr Yau has received for his cuisine. Following the success of his chain of Wagamama restaurants, which popularised eastern cuisine, he was made an OBE for services to the restaurant industry in 2006. Sake No Hana is the third top-end restaurant opened by Mr Yau – his earlier ventures, Hakkasan and Yauatcha, have both been awarded a Michelin star. Chain restaurants such as Yo Sushi and Itsu have been springing up across the capital, offering Japanese food at high-street prices, but high-end eating has been harder to come by. In recent years, however, quality Japanese cuisine has gradually been permeating the London scene, with swanky eateries such as Zuma and Nobu springing up in the capital.

Elizabeth Carter, consultant editor of the Which? Good Food Guide, said: "The first Japanese restaurant opened in the 1970s, but now they've captured everyone's imagination." jiro dreams of sushi watch online with subtitlesShe believes the reason high-end Japanese cuisine has taken off is that British eaters are becoming more health-conscious. yo sushi menu reading"People like to eat lighter now than they used to," she said. sushi cat 3 jeu"In the old days it was lots of cream and alcohol-laden sauces, but customers don't want that now, they want something lighter. jiro dreams of sushi korean

Japanese food is light and healthy, and that fits in with people's lifestyles now." The Japanese cookery book author Kimiko Barber said she was excited by the way Japanese food had become so popular. jiro dreams of sushi full movie online"When I came to this country in the 1970s there were only five Japanese restaurants in England, so for me it's a dream come true to see sushi sold next to smoked salmon sandwiches.mail order sushi grade fish "Companies such as Yo Sushi and Wagamama have brought Japanese food to the general public, which is great, but now there is an increasing demand for top end restaurants".ichiban sushi online order But while Barber, who has recently been to review Sake No Hana, said she was glad to see Japanese food put on the map by the award, she was disappointed that it did not go to another restaurant.

"I don't think they deserve it", she said. "The food is very mediocre, and I have never seen such ugly sushi in my whole life." Good Food Guide winners * Best new restaurant: Sake No Hana, Mayfair * Best value for money: Tom Ilic, Battersea * Best budget restaurant: Viet Grill, Shoreditch * Best gastropub: Carpenter's Arms, Hammersmith * Best set menu: Wild Honey, Mayfair * Best vegetarian: Manna, Primrose Hill * Best for breakfast: Roast, London Bridge * Best wine list: The Square, Mayfair * Best fish restaurant: One-O-One, Knightsbridge * Best up-and-coming chef: Tristan Mason, formerly of Orrery, MaryleboneMayfair is one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods (and the most expensive place to land on the original Monopoly boards). Old-world grandeur is present in the beautiful buildings, even though the headquarters of MI5 – the British secret service – have now moved on from Curzon Street. Edwardian townhouses line Mayfair’s streets and surround its landmark squares – Grosvenor Square, dominated by the US embassy, and Berkeley Square, flanked by original 18th century terraced houses.

Mayfair’s most famous shopping street, Savile Row, is where discerning, well-heeled clients come to get their suits cut at the likes of Henry Poole & Co, who once outfitted Charles Dickens. This is a focal area for British designers: Henry Poole’s neighbour is Alexander McQueen’s designer wear, while Paul Smith, Browns and Stella McCartney boutiques flourish in surrounding streets. You’re steps away from Smythson (fine stationary), Grays in the Mews (antiques) and Berry Bros (Britain’s oldest wine merchant) cater to a cosmopolitan, demanding clientele. Along busy Piccadilly road, Mayfair’s southern border, Burlington Arcade (Britain’s first shopping arcade) is every bit as grand as in the 1820s, patrolled by ‘beadles’ in top hats and featuring high end food shops, fragrance houses and Italian leatherwear. Further east, Bond Street is lined with high street heavyweights. North of Mayfair, newly fashionable ‘Marylebone village’ attracts both moneyed Londoners and visitors: the latter come to visit Madame Tussaud’s and the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, the former – for the independent boutiques and upmarket delicatessens such as La Fromagerie along Marylebone Lane.

Stretching along the south bank of the Thames, the two-mile pedestrian walk between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge is an almost non-stop procession of attractions, from historical to post-millennial. The gentrification of the area began in the 1950s to boost public moral after WWII but the South Bank really came into its own in the 21st century with the arrival of several iconic cultural attractions. If you have kids, start at the western end, where they can be entertained by torture, death and disease at the London Dungeon and sea creatures at the London Aquarium. Next up, the London Eye offers great views of the city on a clear day. Further along, the contemporary art powerhouse, Tate Modern, is flanked by the tiny Bankside Gallery and the rebuilt Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre; many of the Bard’s plays were first staged in the original. A food market dating back to the 13th century, Borough Market attracts discerning foodies from all over London and this is also where many London chefs seek out fresh ingredients for their kitchens.

Busiest between Wednesday and Saturday, it has an extensive array of exotic street food stalls – your best bet for lunch. Towering above Borough Market is the jagged glass edifice of the Shard, London’s highest skyscraper. Pay for the incredible views from the observation deck on the 72nd floor or enjoy slightly less lofty views from Gŏng bar on the 52nd floor for the price of a beer on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, Shaftesbury Avenue and Regent Street form a rectangle around the dense grid of tiny streets that make up Soho. For a long time, Soho has had a sinful reputation as the city’s red light district and as a haven for the unconventional: the bulk of London’s gay bars and clubs are still based here. ‘Ladies of the night’ and seedy sex shops are largely gone, replaced by London’s highest concentration of bars, clubs, restaurants specialising in diverse cuisines and offbeat independent shops selling vinyl. Many restaurants are clustered around the leafy Soho Square and Greek Street that leads up to it, while Wardour Street plays host to TV production companies.

Just south of Shaftesbury Avenue and its grand Victorian theatres is the small, busy Chinatown, centred around Gerrard and Lisle Streets, its speciality Asian grocery stores catering to chefs and savvy foodies. Many of its restaurants cater squarely to the visiting tourist contingent, however, there are a few exceptions for those in search of authentic Cantonese and Sichuan cooking. Bordering Chinatown to the south is Leicester Square, once one of London’s most exclusive addresses and now home to several cinemas. Movie premieres take place at the Odeon Leicester Square; around the corner, Odeon Panton Street attracts film buffs with classics and cult hits. Head south along Charing Cross Road and join art lovers at the National Gallery, or mingle with the crowds, the pigeons and the buskers in front of Nelson’s Column on Trafalgar Square. Covent Garden is a great neighbourhood to base yourself as a first-time visitor to London. It is particularly popular with tourists and reviled by some locals in equal measure for the proliferation of high street chains and the buskers along Bow Street.

Its centrepiece is the cobbled Covent Garden Piazza, featuring a restored 19th century market in place of the fruit and vegetable wholesale market that was here for almost three hundred years. The covered market is filled with increasingly high-end boutiques such as Fred Perry and Burberry Brit and a clutch of independent shops selling offbeat jewelry, clothing and arty gifts. Ignoring the crowds of strolling tourists, locals seeks out independent shops indicative of Covent Garden’s disappearing quirky character. Neal’s Yard Dairy in Neal’s Yard has long been a purveyor of cheeses by UK’s small, independent producers, Stanford’s on Long Acre is London’s top travel bookstore, and Vintage Showroom stocks vintage menswear. The increase in luxury brands is showing itself in Covent Garden’s dining scene, with the likes of the Ivy Market Grill and Terroirs competing with mini-chains such as Dishoom and Wahaca. Part of West End and the hub of London’s cultural life, Covent Garden is overlooked by the Royal Opera House, and the surrounding streets are dotted with theatres, from the edgy Donmar Warehouse to the more mainstream Shaftesbury Theatre.

Retaining some of its genteel charm and grandeur from centuries past, the Strand runs along Covent Garden’s southern boundary, parallel to the river. It may no longer be ‘the finest street in Europe’, but its western end is lined with several legendary luxury hotels, as well as the neoclassical Somerset House, home to many London Fashion Week events. The gleaming iconic corporate towers, such as the Gherkin, the Cheese Grater and the Walkie Talkie, mark the spot where the Romans founded Londinium 2000 years ago. Stretching from Clerkenwell and Holdborn in the west to Tower Hill and Aldgate in the east, the City is a compressed into a compact area known as the Square Mile. Its streets busy with commuting bankers, traders and lawyers on weekdays, London’s frenetic business district is packed with sights, from medieval churches to the Tower of London. To appreciate the City properly, take a walk around Holborn’s excellent small museums, or head to Clerkenwell, a fashionable locale with a post-industrial feel, to browse the boutiques, food stalls and excellent restaurants around the colourful Exmouth Market.

Once synonymous with the printing press, Fleet Street is no longer the home of daily newspapers, though it features some fine art deco buildings from its heyday. It leads towards St Paul’s Cathedral, one of the capital’s most symbolic buildings. South of St Paul’s the pedestrian Millennium Bridge leads across the river to Southbank, while to the east of the cathedral is the immense, Jean-Nouvel-designed One New Change shopping mall, its restaurants popular with the business set. The seven streets that meet above Bank tube station mark the symbolic heart of the City, fringed by the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange and Mansion House, Lord Mayor of London’s residence. Nearby, the Tower of London showcases the Crown Jewels and recreates the lives of British kings and queens. It’s hard to imagine another compact part of London as crammed with attractions as South Kensington. Three world-class museums line Exhibition Road: Victoria & Albert, Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.

Nearby is the Royal Albert Hall that hosts anything from rock concert to motor shows. South Kensington is bordered to the north by the vast Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park – vast green spaces popular with strolling locals, skaters and bikers. In the depths of Hyde Park, the Serpentine Gallery hosts contemporary art exhibitions and the park itself has been a traditional venue for protests. Knightsbridge, flanking South Kensington to the east, is where moneyed Londoners shop at the parade of pricey boutiques – Prada, Gucci, Harvey Nichols – that line Sloane Street and where most of London’s embassies cluster along wide, tree-lined avenues. While the legendary Harrods department store on Brompton Road is often overrun with browsing tourists, the fine food halls can be pleasure to browse during quieter times and its art gallery is often overlooked. Further south, Chelsea was once synonymous with the Swinging Sixties and immortalised by the punk movement, but today it’s an exclusive residential area, with grand red brick houses lining the cobbled streets, best known for the annual Chelsea Flower Show.