Sifting through the entries it was easy to arrive at three worthy winners

From Jo: 'Cured carpaccio and tartare of red tuna, spring onions marinated in sesame seed oil, tomato tartare with vanilla, yoghurt and Sichuan pepper ice cream' - W'sens   (No wonder W'sens is now defunct, we just weren't ready for such gastro-extravagance)

From Lorraine, a double header from Bacchus: "Fresh calamari linguini 'blanco y negro', black paella paint, candied garlic and lemony mayonnaise sponge"  and  "Cinnamon rubbed pork tenderloin cooked at low heat, pureed leeks, mangosteen, wasabi and rose froth, wild rocket and salty caramel"

From Christine (who found the item at the new Southbank branch of Benugo): "A pint of sausage rolls" - and who said British food was uninspiring?

Next week we'll kick off another thrilling instalment

Charles Campion

It is always laudable when someone takes a long hard look at a tried and tested formula and goes on to upgrade and improve it. Hop & Spice opened in November 2006 with the promise that we would get the beer and curry that was reflected in the name. The curry was represented by a range of Sri Lankan dishes and the beer by a list that stretched from Lion Sri Lankan lager, to Old Speckled Hen, or Youngs Double Chocolate Stout by way of Paulaner Bavarian Wheatbeer. This is a pleasant modern restaurant that has a real buzz to it, despite the ever-irritating policy of having someone ask "Have you eaten with us before?" which is code for, "We have an unusual and complicated system, brace yourself for a lecture". There is a terrible temptation to say "Yes" even when you have little idea of how things work.

In practice Hop & Spice cobbles together the tapas/grazing approach with traditional thalis - most of the dishes come as small portions; you order about four per person; they arrive on a thali. The food is good and fresh , although the kitchen has eased back on the chilli (should you want hot Sri Lankan food there's plenty to be found just up the road in Tooting) The daily specials are worth a look, otherwise the Jaffna coconut lamb; the fried spiced chicken; the Batticaloan king prawn; the Ceylon calamari are all very sound. Hidden away at the end of the menu are a few main courses - lamb kottu roti is a trad dish made from a combination of noodle like strips of roti stir fried with lamb, chilli and egg, not authentically hot but great comfort food. I would hazard a guess that the successful tag team - food that is different from mainstream Indian restaurants but not chilli-intimidating; and a good range of beer will continue to keep this place busy.

Some news in respect of the Great Menu Outrage Competition, after a lengthy period of being pushed to the bottom of the "to-do" list there is finally some action and the first three lucky winners will be announced on Friday 29 June.

Charles Campion

Hop & Spice, 53 Bedford Hill, SW12 (020 8675 3121) 

It is always particularly galling when you finally pitch up at a restaurant, (one that you have been meaning to visit for a year or more), only to find that it is good. It's worse when it is very good indeed. So many wasted meals. Such a gap in the repertoire. So many smug and knowing nods from other foodists.  With the next edition of my restaurant guide book due out in September, the final copy is due in during the summer months. That means I am fully employed scampering round a few contenders checking them out. The Dragon Castle was just such a contender and it's a surprise just how good this restaurant is.

The media keeps banging on about the regeneration of the Elephant & Castle but such a rebirth is a long drawn out and pretty laborious process, and until you spot a squadron of Large Blacks barrel-rolling over the vast roundabout it's best to step off the Walworth Road into the Dragon Castle as quickly as possible. When you finally get round to trying this restaurant you will know that it is good from the moment you walk in. Even early evening, and early in the week, it is heaving. Large tables of happy people are having birthday parties (big cakes presented with a flourish and an American rendition of Happy Birthday at max volume), small tables are occupied by couples stopping off for a single course on their way home from work.

The room is huge, there is an imposing staircase, there is a stag's head over the bar, service is slicker than the Chinatown norm. All the steady old favourites are listed and done well, but it is much better to stray off the beaten track: a starter of eel strips stir-fried with chilli is very good; crispy salt and pepper squid is freshly cooked and tender. A dish of pork hock cooked in a pot with preserved plums is A). enormous B). delicious and C). has a fabulous texture. It's also worth looking out for the steamed chicken with ginger sauce. The best dish is from the Chef's Specials menu and is a whole crab braised in a pot with beer and cellophane noodles - you'll wait while it is cooked but that is time well spent - this dish is a classic and may be qualify as "best-ever" crab.  The only other essential is to cast your eye over the mix'n'match vegetables - water spinach with chilli and preserved bean curd is splendid. Really good food…even if it has taken me a little while to follow up on all those rave opening reviews.

Charles Campion

Dragon Castle, 114 Walworth Road, SE17 (020 7277 3388)

I must confess that what is on the plate always commands my attention, I do glance around the dining room when eating but that is usually to reassure myself that the other diners are having a good time. But there are people who are wholly focussed on where they are eating rather than what they are eating and their influence is starting to make itself felt. Sometimes the "style" element of a restaurant interior can be so over the top that it starts to have a certain charm.

At his new place "Rhodes W1" the spiky haired one has stirred up this debate with an interior by Kelly Hoppen. The room is a symphony in taupe with Swarovski crystal chandeliers and fabric framed mirrors (you'll have to check these unlikely sounding elements out for yourself). The food was very good indeed and a starter that presented a runny boiled egg with a crisp coating and morels with little Roquefort toast soldiers was outstanding; as was a cauliflower and Lancashire cheese mousse with broad beans that was like a very snooty cauli cheese; and the salt roast pigeon, white asparagus, cabbage hearts and lemon cumin gravy. This is French classical cuisine seen through a British prism. The head chef here is a man called Brian Hughson and anyone fancying a wager before this year's stars are dished out should jot down his name.

Also in the frame for eccentric décor is Clos Maggiore which opened in February and was a remake of an existing site. Someone has re-designed the restaurant so that it looks like a cross between Country Living and a French holiday brochure. Sitting in the rear part of the dining room with the faux gas log fireplace, under the interwoven twigs with everlasting silk flower cherry blossom that make a canopy under the roof light, does lead to a surreal feeling but the food is compensation enough. The menu is both seasonal and ambitious, dishes are complicated, multi-textured, rich… and none the worse for that. Starters may include an etuvée of asparagus and new season morels with ricotta gnocchi and a sauce made with marc de Gewürztraminer; or a remoulade of Dorset crab with marjoram, pickled cauliflower and brown shrimps  - works really well - contrasting textures. For mains, slow cooked Cornish Cod fillet comes with ricotta and Burgundy snails; hake is plated with slow cooked pork belly - a stunning dish, well thought through. Roast black leg chicken with foie gras is presented in a tight roll, like a ballotine, but still remains light and juicy. Puds are elaborate - the tarte Tatin of apples and quince with cinnamon ice cream lingers in the memory. This is a terribly ambitious, and largely successful,  French restaurant… and we could all do with a few more of those.

Why should we settle for the triumph of style over substance? These two restaurants seem to achieve both at once…

Charles Campion

Rhodes W1, Cumberland Hotel, Great Cumberland Place W1 (020 7479 3737)

Clos Maggiore, 33 King Street WC2  (020 7379 9696)