What's new in the world of restaurants

Until Sun 29 Feb the Goring Hotel is holding a Great British Food Festival. We are promised potted Arbroath smokies, homemade piccallili, braised oxtail, roast English leg of lamb, steak-and-kidney pudding, bread-and-butter pudding and spotted dick.

In the depths of February such dishes are welcome indeed.

Mela are also on the festival trail and from Tue 10 Feb-Fri 19 Mar will be hosting the Ambari Ayurvedic Food Festival.

You can enjoy rarely seen and complicated Indian dishes such as kundan kaliya - a boned shoulder of lamb in a gravy infused with zaaraqoosh, mushqedanna and edible gold leaf.

Vivat Bacchus is a new restaurant on the fringes of Smithfield. As the name implies, there is an emphasis on wine, particularly South African wines, as this place has been set up by the owners of Browns in Rivonia.

The two head chefs come from Launceston Place and Foliage, and the menu is ambitious.