I've had some truly horrible meals in hotels; after all, hoteliers know they've got a captive market – people who are too tired, lazy or jet-lagged to want to head out to a restaurant; so the quality of the food may often be compromised even in otherwise decent hotels.

Bland ‘international' cuisine that's low on anything that could offend a delicate diner's senses is the result – and often cooked without much attention or care.  Even worse, ‘traditional' British cooking done badly: cold over-done roast beef, limp vegetables or overcooked turbot or Dover sole.

And don't even dare to get me started on the horrors of hotel toast!

But London hotels are fighting back against this schlamperei in the kitchen.  You're no longer a leading hotel without a ‘name' chef running the show!

So Claridge's has given its restaurant over to Gordon Ramsay, while Brown's Hotel features Mark Hix with ‘modern British' cuisine, and the Hilton on Park Lane has Marvin Jones (Gary Rhodes' protegé).

Personally out of the three, I'd probably go for Hix – his combination of scallops and hedgerow wild garlic, or beetroot with goat's cheese, show he's got a great feeling for how to match strong flavours.  There's nothing understated or genteel about his cooking; it's got flavour and lots of it.

The food is also sourced with great attention – fallow deer venison, red mullet from Cornwall, British cheeses – and it's hearty food; not for dieters.  The other sign of a great restaurant for me is that the vegetables should be just as good as the meat and that's definitely the case here.

Brown's itself is a hotel steeped in history right in the heart of Mayfair.

The Albemarle Restaurant at Brown's offers sumptuous combinations and strong flavours to tease and delight your palette

However, the doyen of London hotel restaurants may well be Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley.  He has two Michelin stars and demonstrates a real sense of theatre in his technically-outstanding French cuisine.

The ambience of the restaurant is dark, plush opulence without being chintzy and the menu includes interesting flavour combos – like game and black pudding torte or scallops and cod with white chocolate sauce.

If you want a true five star foodie experience (and have 7 friends who can stump up more than £100 each), consider booking the Chef's table – actually inside the kitchen, giving a view of the restaurant's inner workings.

The Pomerol Room at the Berkeley is available for private dinners and special occasions - a stunning room with delicately-cascading light and a magnificent chandelier

Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester is currently the only London hotel restaurant with three Michelin stars. 

It specialises in serving up top-notch seasonal ingredients with a modern flourish.  Try the fillet of Angus beef and seared foie gras Rossini if you're feeling indulgent. 

Their rather unconventional take on "rum baba" is also worth checking out.

The showpiece "Table Lumière" inside Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester is curtained and it's currently the only London hotel restaurant which has 3 Michelin stars

Viajante at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green is the new kid on the block, and has just won a Harden's award for the best new restaurant in London.  Chef Nuno Mendes takes an experimental approach to his cooking, mixing flavours and influences in unusual combinations.

And the hotel's interesting too: luxury in a landmark building in a slightly downbeat area (only one stop on the tube from ‘civilisation' though!).

Another newcomer to be praised in the Harden's awards is Bruno Loubet, whose Bistrot is at the Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell.  Loubet does French traditional cuisine with a twist; his ‘revised' Lyonnaise salad adds pigs' trotters to the classic dish for instance.  He shows flair at breakfast too.

Bistrot Bruno Loubet at the Zetter gets consistently good reviews

The "name chef" trend in London hotels will continue with Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental due to open in January 2011. Rumour has it that it will have an English medieval (16th century) theme!

Finally, there's the Andaz by Liverpool Street with no less than 5 restaurants to choose from!  Several of them are very good, including the flagship 1901 restaurant which we've already reviewed on this blog.  And it's a hotel that takes pride in being the gateway to the East End.

1901 at Andaz has both style and substance serving well-sourced "best of British" food with a real flourish

While the above hotels bet big on their restaurants, others are taking a contrarian view and moving away from full-service restaurants.  Hotel 41 for example – the current number 1 London hotel on TripAdvisor – has a great kitchen (which makes lovely food and a proper breakfast "to order" including kippers) without a formal restaurant. It's a useful reminder that not everyone wants the fuss of fine dining – even in a 5 star London hotel.

Hotel 41 offers an antidote to "stuffy" 5 star dining: a good kitchen without the hassle of a formal restaurant (though with the option downstairs at the Rubens)

Last but not least, no London foodie break would be complete without a trip to some of the capital's best food shops.

The true foodie may give Harrods Food Hall a miss – it's too "bling" for my taste – but Fortnum and Mason is worth a visit, if only for the marmalade and of course Borough Market – one of London's best food markets.

Note that you'll only see the market fully in action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, though several of the shops (such as Neal's Yard Dairy with its huge selection of British cheeses) are open on other days too.

Do pick up some truffle oil, fine cheese or chorizo; Borough Market is also a great place for a quick foodie lunch, with a choice of gourmet pies, tapas, or antipasti washed down with fine ales at microbrewery Brew Wharf.

Borough Market is absolute heaven for foodies - and you should definitely also stay there for lunch!

But my final suggestion for foodies may surprise.  It's Billingsgate Market, far in the wastes of Docklands – London's main fish market.

Visiting a fish market is always interesting, but Billingsgate's trump card is the Billingsgate Sea Food Training School.  This has cookery classes at which you can learn to prepare seafood – and get to eat it too!

Put together a class at Billingsgate, a visit to Borough Market, and a stay at a top hotel with a great restaurant, and you'll have a five star gastronomic weekend spectacular.  Your waistline and bank account may end up somewhat impaired but the experience will be truly unforgettable!

http://londonhotelsinsight.com

Photo credits: Brown's Hotel, Berkeley Hotel, Dorchester Hotel, Andaz Hotel.