Mishkin's, Covent Garden

'Kind of a Jewish deli with cocktails' is how the proprietors of Polpo, Spuntino etc describe their latest restaurant. It has a similarly cool vibe to the others with good service and an upbeat playlist which picks up as the evening progresses. In a move away from small plates to share, it actually has starters, mains and desserts.

I sipped a Hendrick's cucumber martini while waiting for Ana. There are a lot of gin based cocktails on the menu which suits me. I didn't know that was Jewish though?! But we opted to share a bottle of wine. The list is reasonably priced, and also has half carafes like its sister restaurants.

We shared a simple baby gem and walnut salad to start. For main, I had half a salt beef sandwich which was delicious, and a roast courgette, feta and carroway piroshky (good to try but I probably wouldn't bother again).

For dessert we both had the very -Jewish summer berry pavlova! I have to say its one of the best pavlovas I've had.

No Meg Ryan scenes but a fun night. Next time I'll go for lunch and have a malted milkshake and try a Reuben on rye or Turkey Rachel.

Duke's Brew & Cue, Hackney

By chance dinner on Thursday night was in Hackney again and meant I had a second journey to Haggerston in as many days!

One of the latest London foodie trends is all americana - hot dogs, burgers, sliders and BBQ washed down with whisky and bottles of beer.

Lucy and I joined hopped on the band wagon at Duke's Brew & Cue.

Owned by Beavertown Brewery, and as the name says, there is a big focus on beer. I had a couple of bottles of the Flying Dog pale ale.

We both had the BBQ pork ribs (the beef was going to be barbecuing for another hour) served with slaw. We politely started with knives & forks but quickly ditched the cutlery in favour of fingers which was far more effective. They were really tasty. I don't have a lot of points of comparison but I can say they were better quality than the ribs I had at the Big Easy.

The place itself had a casual, cool atmosphere. The rough and worn dark timber bar, tables and chairs suit the theme of the restaurant. Service was good but I thought the 1.5 hour sitting was a bit rushed. We moved to the bar for a last beer and dessert (strawberry sundae).

Waterline, Hackney

It's not often that I end up in a totally new area of London but it does happen, and it did on Wednesday night when I met Becky & Laura for dinner.

I caught a tube and then the overland train to Haggerston, deep in London's eastern borough of Hackney. Instantly I liked it. Loads of new builds, converted warehouses and best of all, Regent's Canal.

The Waterline is right on the towpath of the canal and the waterside setting makes an delightful change of scenery from my usual dining scene.

My roast duck with a side salad of chicory leaves, walnuts, apple & blue cheese was excellent. The salad was a surprisingly good accompaniment. Becky and I shared the chocolate mousse with black olive caramel which was nice but only had a small drizzle of caramel so didn't add much flavour to the mousse.

I loved the atmosphere though. Good service and very reasonable prices too. And they have a cinema on Tuesday and gigs on Wednesdays. I'll be back to check those out for sure.