LET THEM EAT CHOUCROUTE: the gilded, plumped, marble-clad and sconced Brasserie Zedel is a vast, bums-on-seats crowd pleaser, a love letter to the classic Parisian brasserie .. above all, though, it's cheap.

BAR OF THE WEEK: a short list of mixed drinks is faithful to the golden age of cocktails. They all cost £9.75. This, coupled with the close service and the fact this is one of the most truly opulent bars in London, is excellent value.

THE PRIX IS RIGHT; A place to eat and eat smugly, in surroundings that would make any occasion feel rather special.

A STUDY IN PINK: Zedel is a huge room with golden ceilings, marble pillars, velvet banquettes, gilt rails .. all out of a fairytale. The menu is a walk round French classics, and ridiculously cheap.

Corbin & King's new Piccadilly joint is so fiercely French it puts the beret back in bourguignon

The team behind The Wolseley and Delaunay has opened a third restaurant. It is pleasingly retro - especially the prices.

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK: A French lesson well learned at this reasonably priced Soho brasserie.... you will eat better here than in comparable establishments in Paris.

What I truly love about Zedel is the desire to make a grand and elegant dining room that serves the classic canon of European epicurianism to working people in a setting that doesn't just make them feel important for an hour, but shows them they are important always.