Top Fives: Eccentric restaurants

In a climate when restaurants are owned by conglomerates and big businesses - the bottom line dictates the design and mass demand decides the menu - small independent restaurants are to be encouraged. And when they're absolutely bonkers - while still doing the business - they're to be truly treasured.

1. Archipelago

Little has changed since the days of the Birdcage other than the management. Still the capital's premier spot for weirdness in dècor, menu and accessories - the wine list comes in a cage, all eating vessels are peculiar but strangely enticing. Expect to find bugs and other arcana on the carte.
110 Whitfield Street W1. Tel: 020 7383 3346. Tube: Warren Street

2. Just Around The Corner

Order from the list of mainly French and European dishes and then pay what you think the food is worth. Astonishingly, this generosity of spirit hasn't led to abuse of the system.
446 Finchley Road NW2. Tel: 020 7431 3300. Tube: Finchley Road

3. The Lobster Pot

Step over the threshold to the sound of seagulls into Herve Regent's fishy fantasy. Breton-jumpered staff serve a largely piscine - and not cheap - menu in a couple of small rooms which look like a cross between St Malo and a suburban tart's boudoir.
3 Kennington Lane SE11. Tel: 020 7582 5556. Tube: Kennington

4. Twelfth House

Divinely pretty tiny bar with restaurant upstairs. Fortunes and the future are the thing here, from a card telling you about your star sign while you order to the full tarot to aid your digestion.
35 Pembridge Road W11. Tel: 020 7727 9620. Tube: Notting Hill Gate

5. Elvis Gracelands Palace

Nobody comes here for the food which is ordinary at best; instead, they wait with baited breath for the arrival of Paul Chen 'The Chinese Elvis' - a truly awesome performer.
881-883 Old Kent Road SE15. Tel: 020 7639 3961. Tube: Elephant & Castle