Hi Mark

I can suggest quite a few places to eat here since I am a bit food oriented myself.  The thing to note of course is that London is very expensive.  Even cheap food is not that cheap.  Here are some of my favorites, either for atmosphere, or for food:

i) Joy King Lau - the best dim sum I have found after years of searching;  I eat here at least once a week and have done so whenever I have lived in Britain during the last 14 years. 

ii) Alastair Little on Frith or Greek St. in Soho.  Their 30 pound 3 course menu is quite good, and it is a Soho icon now.

iii) Stephen Bull on Chiltern Street.  Another restaurant named after a star chef, this one has slightly better price/performance than (ii), and they often do something which goes well with chilled red Sancerre.

iv) Le Gavroche on Park St., 2 Michelin stars, very expensive, run by 2 French brothers, the food and service is truly faultless, though the food is quite conservative haute cuisine.

v) Le Muscadet on Paddington St., this is much less formal, but I think very good French food for a reasonable price.

vi) I would avoid the namebrand Indian restaurants like Bombay Brasserie, and just pick a random Indian restaurant.  Failure to have Indian food in London would be a mistake.

vii) If you must have fish and chips, Geales in Notting Hill is quite famous and quite good, but it is not a proper "chippy." For that you would need to visit South East London, which I would not recommend.

viii)  Give the undeservedly famous Riverside Cafe a miss.

ix) The Oxo Tower is in a spectacular location but the food, while good, is unexceptional.

x) I am very fond of Livebait, the best branch of which is on The Cut, near the National Theatre and several other theatres.  The fish is very good, and very fresh.

xi) Wagamama is a legendary Japanese noodle place which is as famous for its low price and canteen atmosphere as it is for its noodles.  The branch near The British Museum is best.

xii) Belgo on Earlham Street in Covent Garden is a neat place.  Try one of their many moules dishes, or the wild boar sausages with stoemp mash.  They have over 200 Belgian beers, with my suggestion being the Leffe Brune on tap.  It is also across from the superb Donmar Warehouse theatre.

xiii) I am fond of an Israeli/Arab place called Gaby's on Charing Cross Road right near Leicester Square.  It is pretty cheap and always good.

xiv) While in Leicester Square, a good escape from the crowds into a subterranean wine bar haven is the Cork and Bottle across from the Lovestuff sex shop.  The food is quite good too.

xv) For cheap simple Chinese food, try China China on Gerrard St., where you can still get out for under a fiver if you have something like rice and duck.

xvi) Give up on Japanese food in London, and know that it is one thing that California is much much better endowed in this area.  (It is possibly the only food I miss from NoCal.)

xvii) There are many Italian restaurants but they all seem much of a muchness to me.  The one exception I know of for sure is San Lorenzo (Princess Di's favorite) which is pricey and showy, but does some very fine novelle Italian cuisine.

xviii) To sample the current mid-haute cuisines which is the real pride of London these days try one of the Conran restaurants like Bibendum, or a place called Alfred's at the East end of Shaftesbury Avenue.

xix) The French brasserie chain Cafe Flo is a very reliable place to get a classic brasserie meal at a fair price.  The steak and frites prix fixe deal is one of the power bargains to be had in London.

xx)  I don't have many favorite pubs, but I am very fond of the Vodka Martini's at the Duke's Hotel off St. James.  Their vodka martini is without equal as best I can tell.  It's 9 pounds a throw but it's almost a meal in itself.

I hope that helps to get you started.  My number is 0171 793 1668.  Let me know when you will be there.

David.