games to play on zoom

With so many video chat options available today — services like Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype — there are tons of opportunities to stay connected and get competitive. And luckily, these platforms are great for playing games, which means you can go from virtual gossip session to game night in a matter of minutes. Whether you prefer word games, trivia games, ice-breaker games, or online games you can play on apps and websites, there are many Zoom games to choose from. Our list of easy games to play on Zoom will ensure that your next virtual hangout is just as fun as your last in-person one. And for even more things you can do on Zoom, don't miss these fun virtual happy hour activities.

While Codenames is usually an in-person card game, it's also one of the best online games to play on Zoom. When playing Codenames via Zoom, have one player, who is not a spymaster, share their screen. Then, split participants into either the red or blue team, and designate one person as the spymaster of each team.

As players attempt to guess which cards their spymaster hints at, send teams off into breakout rooms, so they can discuss their strategy. Whichever team successfully guesses all cards with their color first, while avoiding the forbidden card, wins the game. The easiest virtual games to play on zoom are the ones you already have! (And I have a lot.) Board games are really easy and fun to play over zoom, as long as you don't have to share a board with the other players. If the game does require a community board – like checkers, chess, Sorry, or Monopoly – it's going to be hard to reach through the computer screen to move your pieces around.

But if there's no game board, you can each set up your own copy and play on Zoom. For two player games, both players need a copy and should simply set up their own game as they normally would – just leave the other half of the game in the box! Board games that are perfect for this are Battleship, Scattergories, and Guess Who. Another simple game that works really well via Zoom, which has a whiteboard function built-in.

To access this, simply start Zoom and hit the share screen button and you'll see the option for the whiteboard. You can either draw for everyone to guess, or work in teams on either side across different homes. It's great fun for kids and adults alike and you can either use cards from a Pictionary set at home, or use an online word generator on your phone. Don't let distance grow between you and your friends or colleagues. At least not when there's a simple solution to the new normal - Zoom games!

Get online and check out any or all of the fun games you can play on Zoom. Whether it's happy hour with friends, games with co-workers for team building or simply a student activity, this online platform can help bring people together. Scroll through our list of options and start planning the many enjoyable things you can do on your next call.

For larger groups, you can turn your Zoom call into a game night with a group party game. Divide the group into two teams and only two players need a copy – just make sure those two players are on different teams. Teams take turns trying to guess all ten items in a category and you can easily get everyone on video calling out answers and participating. The two players with the game act as the score keepers while the other team shouts out guesses. To start playing Zoom Charades, split players into two teams. Then, use a random charades generator to find a word to act out in front of the camera.

Since an important aspect of charades is that players cannot use spoken words to express the prompt, mute participants when it is the player's turn to act. Whichever team can guess the most prompts correctly wins the game. It's likely that you have been to bar trivia at some point in your life, so you probably know how fun it is to play trivia games with a group of friends! Because you don't need any playing pieces, it's almost made for Zoom.

It's a great game to play with friends and family or coworkers! If someone has a copy of Trivial Pursuit, you can just read the cards right out of the box and answer them together. A classic drinking game in its own right, Never Have I Ever can easily be transferred to your very own Zoom Happy Hour. The rules are simple, people take turns saying "Never Have I Ever" and something they have never done before. If no one in the group drinks, then the person asking the question must drink. You can also play a non-drinking version of the game where you hold your hands up and if you have done what the question asks, then you simply put your hand down.

This makes for a great evening full of laughs as everyone learns more about each other. You can play without any props, or download an app for inspiration. Board games are always a great game to play on Zoom since they take care of almost all the work for you. Depending on the game, there are a number of options for how to take care of the proverbial board. If it's a simpler board game like Pictionary, you can easily play it with an online idea generator and Zoom's whiteboard function. If you're feeling like something more complicated such as Monopoly, then there are also numerous options.

You can play with the classic game board across Zoom and coordinate your moves. In some cases, you can also download the app and play together as a group. Another fun game to play on Zoom with family and friends (and co-workers) is the 9 Truths Game. In the game, players anonymously answer True/False questions on their laptop, phone, or tablet, and then guess how many of the other players also answered "True". Points are scored based on how close you are to the correct number, but the real fun of the game is the hilarious stories that go along with people's answers.

And the best part is that it's free to play and there are no ads. Zoom has a Whiteboard feature that allows members of the meeting to draw and share their screen. A game of "Pictionary" is perfect for this set up, so participants can guess what the other member is drawing. A random word generator is available online to help the game along. For those much-needed Zoom Happy Hours, Drunken Pirate is the best, free online drinking game for Zoom ever.

The game is easy as hell, simply type in all of the player's names, and begin "flipping" the online cards. The flipper's name will be highlighted in blue on the left side and will give them a prompt to either do or read aloud. Some cards will make you play minigames, force rules upon players or single-handedly call players out. All in all, there really is no winning, the point is to get drunk. Scattergories is one of the best Zoom games for large teams because anyone can play this game if he/she has a piece of paper and a penchant for words. Time is of the essence in this trivia game – with players having five seconds to come up with three answers to the question cards.

Start by helping the children to download Tuku Tuku onto a smartphone or tablet. Then have them share the screen with the others on the call. Open the app, select play and type in the number of players (you'll have the option to customise names on the next step). Identify whose turn it is, uncover the card, read it out and press start. From murder mystery games to karaoke, there's bound to be something in this list that you and your friends will love, or deeply regret.

Using screen share and the whiteboard app in Zoom, you can even play a remote game of Pictionary. Then, use an online word generator to pick items to draw. Pictionary is a great game that really lets you stretch your art skills at a party. While you can buy the board game, you can also simply make up your own game with an online idea generator. First, you split into two teams and one person from each team receives a generated idea. They must then draw the item on either a piece of paper or on the Zoom whiteboard as their team members guess at what the term is.

Another classic party game for large groups is Cards Against Humanity. The game itself is simple, one person who acts as the round's judge chooses a topic card with an unfinished statement. Other players then must play their own cards to complete the phrase and try to come up with the funniest answer that will appeal to the judge. Though you can purchase the card game yourself, you can also use your creativity to come up with your own categories and cards for even more fun. One person draws a person, place or thing, and everyone else tries to guess what it is. You don't actually need a physical copy of the classic party game to make this work virtually.

Or you can keep it analog and use a big sheet of paper and a pen, and hold your masterpiece up to the camera. You've played it in person, but online is even easier. Simply pick a couple of categories such as TV shows, things that can destroy Earth and girl's names, then create and game and send a link in the Zoom chat for all players to access. You don't even need to screen share — it's that simple.

Charades is one of the livelier options on this list for those looking to add a little energy to their game night. In Charades, one player draws a card then pantomimes this clue, and their teammates attempt to guess the mystery word. Each correct guess scores a point and these points are tallied after a predetermined number of rounds. Swellgarfo actually offers a solid faux-Scattergories experience with a question template already in place, a built-in timer, and a random number generator to boot. One player will need to share the Swellgarfo screen with other players and everyone will need to record their answers on scratch paper. Alternatively, the original playing card lists are readily available online and individuals can simply jot down their answers on scratch paper.

However, this super DIY approach will require additional tools such as a random letter generator and a digital stopwatch. For the Scattergories purists, it's also possible to load the original timer audio on YouTube for a more authentic experience. A classic parlour game, you can really take advantage of video conferencing to get Charades working. Those on the video call can watch, keep track of time and make sure there's no cheating! If you both happen to have a set of Charades cards at home, even better.

It's an ideal game to bring two halves of a separated family together, and great for kids to get involved. Introduce the children to the world of two fat ladies and legs eleven. Thanks to the guys at My Free Bingo Cards, you've got everything you need to set up bingo zoom games for kids. Ahead of the video call, get one player to download and distribute the bingo cards to the other players.

Due to COVID-19, many people have started inviting family and friends to play virtual games. Technology has paved a new path to socializing, teaching, communicating, and learning. If you have this classic game, you can use the cards from it or search online for card topics. As the question is asked, every person will type possible answers into the chat box. Whoever gets the top answer will get the point for their team. This is a great Zoom game for large groups since all everyone needs is a piece of paper and a penchant for words.

Though you can always go for the paid for card game, you can easily put together a name for free. All you need to do is find an idea generator online, choose a topic and a letter and watch as everyone tries to write down as many related terms as possible. This is a great game to stretch the group's thinking in a fun way. This party game comes from the makers of Heads Up — and it's just as fun. To play, participants make up fake answers to real trivia questions, and one player must choose the real answer among the fakes.

There's even an "And the Truth Comes Out" deck that allows you to do the same thing with personal questions about each other. It's a classic word game where players have to describe the word on the screen to the person holding the screen to their head. You can choose from a range of categories and play with as many people as you want. Pictionary is a classic game-night game, in part because the rules are so simple. Open this Pictionary word generator and choose a team to play first, as well as a designated drawer on that team. The drawer generates a word and has one minute to draw that word for their team to guess.

If the team guesses the card correctly, they get a point. Charades is a great game to play on Zoom with the students in your class. You will want to type a secret message to one of the students in your class or allow them to pick what they are going to act out. Once they start acting it out, set a timer for 1 minute for the class to guess what they are. Logo quiz is a fun game which can be played with older students.

The students can join in on the Zoom app and start the logo quiz, while the host shares his Zoom app screen. Then the participant who guesses the maximum number of correct logos wins. You can show the answers by writing them in a notepad and then all can show the notebook together towards the screen. TODAY invited Toy Insider Mom, Laurie Schacht, to share some interactive games that will make your next video call exciting, competitive and entertaining. The team at Shop TODAY also spoke with gaming experts to get their recommendations for the best games to play on Zoom for a virtual game night.

Charades is a party classic that's appropriate for all ages. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, essentially one person picks a word in a category and attempts to wordlessly act it out for their teammates to guess. You can find the game online, or make your own list of categories to play. Bingo is one of the more popular video conference games at the moment.

That's because the game transitions well to the virtual setting and is conducive to both large and small groups. It's easy enough to make a bingo card at home with common household items, although there are bingo cards available on Amazon for those so inclined. Even if you aren't meeting your friends for happy hour in person, many people are holding weekly "zappy hours" – a combination between zoom and happy. It's actually pretty fun, and since you don't typically have props with you at the bar, it turns out that most drinking games become virtual games over zoom with no changes at all!

Two of my favorite happy hour games are Never Have I Ever and Think While You Drink. In this game, you complete fill-in-the-blank statements with other words that make hilarious combinations. Unlike many word games, you fill in the blanks by using words from other cards. Each player needs to have the game at home, and all players can draw their own hand of cards from their own box. It doesn't really matter if multiple people accidentally end up with the same card – you will probably all use it differently and this game has so many cards, it's pretty unlikely. Each player should access the drawing palette by clicking "View Options" at the top of the screen.

Then select annotate from the dropdown menu to pull up a tool bar. You can change the color and size of your brush and easily start drawing by clicking on the screen with the mouse or touchpad. If you are playing from a touch screen, you can draw with your finger!

Take turns drawing clues while the other players on your team try to guess the answer. Score one point each time your team guesses the right answer, and the team with the most points wins. Bingo is a classic and fun game that is perfect for keeping your guests entertained.

african food near me

The five-course menu, developed by Akokomi and Chilila over many months (Akoko is the Yoruba word for 'time'), is a reimagining of the traditional dishes found in Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana in particular – those they grew up eating. It kicks off with a generously portioned trio of starters, presented on a tray with bespoke ceramic plates inspired by mid-century-modern Nupe pottery. There's a Ghanaian yam croquette piled with truffle shavings and filled with mushroom puree; grilled plantain topped with cashew cream and spiced peanuts ; and a savoury doughnut filled with beef cheek.

Jollof rice is underplayed as 'just a popular West African dish' by the waiter but here it appears in beautiful earthenware pots with a theatrical puff of smoke, served under sticky goat leg given smokiness from a blast in the Big Green Egg. Then it's yassa again – essentially a rich onion stew with lemon and mustard – this time alongside a dainty barbecued quail. And finally, a not-at-all sweet lemon sorbet with mint and cucumber preps the palate for the delicious dessert; goat-milk ice cream with Ghanaian cocoa cream, African nutmeg and uziza oil for a peppery hit to cut the richness. The menu doesn't bow down to gimmicks or trends; instead, it's a showcase of seasonal, locally sourced high-quality ingredients. Kick off with a few small bites – squidgy sourdough with whipped Marmite butter or crispy vegetable tempura with a herby crème fraȋche to dunk into are good places to start.

Small plates include stringy burrata with sweet pickled grapes to offset the cheesy richness, crab served in a pool of buttermilk and tarragon oil, and wafer-thin slices of beef carpaccio with pickled Asian mushrooms and a drizzle of citrussy ponzu sauce. There are a lot of different components to each dish – some of which would probably be too fiddly to recreate at home – but they're all packed with bold flavour. If you like to be in on the action, book a seat at the counter where you can watch the chefs crisping up 'nduja and garlic mascarpone flatbread pizzas in the wood-fired oven or smoking and searing rib-eye steaks before they're slathered in chimichurri. Octopus is served with a sticky lemon and saffron marinade, while there's a daily market fish special based on what comes in fresh each morning. Don't scrimp on the vegetables; a dish of charred hispi cabbage with spiced coconut chutney and a tart lime dressing was one of the stars of our supper. And save room for pudding – the chewy, gooey, salty-sweet miso caramel skillet cookie is cooked to order and served piping hot, and is easily the highlight of the menu.

Devoid of clanging pots and hollering chefs, an unusually quiet open kitchen exposes the focused dedication of the chefs as they glide around in an evidently well-rehearsed routine. Harnessing their South American roots and intercontinental experience, chefs Paulo Airaudo and Rafael Cagali add flair to European dishes with clever additions such as Argentinian chillies or 40-year-old Italian balsamic vinegar. Choose between the eight- or 11-course blind tasting menus (you won't be given any kind of menu on arrival), and sit back to experience traditional recipes inverted and elevated – a sense of familiarity is retained as new flavours and techniques are introduced. A punch-packing, crystal-clear tomato consommé is then poured around the centrepiece, followed by a vibrant green basil oil. Similarly, the Portuguese dish farofa, a toasted cassava or cornflour mix usually served with meat, is topped with sweet chillies and served with barbecued Hampshire pork and black-bean purée, and a herb bouquet wrapped in a sliver of melt-in-your-mouth pork fat.

The menu, designed by executive head chef Johnnie Crowe and head chef Joe Laker (formerly at Farringdon's Anglo restaurant and Belgravia's Liv), consists of à la carte options and a chef's set selection offering smaller tastes of the full menu's best bits. We went for the set menu, seven dishes served on speckled china plates and thin tree-trunk cross sections. Kicking things off was FFC , two perfectly crunchy bites of deep-fried chicken thigh served with a dollop of pea-green wild-garlic cream. This was an absolute novelty for me – as someone with a gluten intolerance, simple delights such as fried chicken have been off the table .

Luckily, Laker also has various dietary requirements, so most of the dishes can be adapted. Second was a slice of freshly made bread and cultured butter, followed by beef tartare with fermented chilli, sprinkled with chives and drizzled in a punchy smoked oil. It's all about the noodle soup here, and to make life easier there are just two bases to choose from – the Taipei- and the Tainan-style broth. The Taipei is punchier in flavour and is topped with slow-cooked beef cheek and short rib in a rich soup with spiced beef butter . The Tainan broth comes with a rare beef rump in a light soup, with 400-day-aged soy and a cured egg. Of course, this wouldn't be BAO without a selection of buns and sharing plates to order too.

The soups are hefty, so we recommend just one bun each, adding a couple of small plates if you're feeling particularly hungry. We went for the sweet crunchy pao tsai pickles, the Taiwanese fried chicken – an essential – and boiled cull yaw dumplings swimming in a delicious broth, a new dish that is exclusive to BAO Noodle Shop. First-timers should order the classic, with juicy pork and peanuts packed inside a fluffy pocket. If you have room for pudding, the fried Horlicks ice-cream bun is another go-to; the fried bun tastes a little like brioche while the ice cream is made from the creamy malted drink. The menu is inventive, and largely plant-based, but with seriously hearty French flair. There's more Comté on the main menu to start – it comes dusted on the top of some of the fluffiest fries we've tasted, with a dollop of saffron aioli for dipping.

Other starters include a soft slice of Boudin Noir with a tamari-cured egg yolk and sharp endive, and a bowl of creamy stracciatella paired with salted plums and crispy buckwheat. A caramelised-celeriac ravioli sits in a pool of butter and lovage oil, paired with a deliciously comforting crunch of roasted Jerusalem artichokes. Bigger plates, made to share, include a beautiful half pie layered with dauphinoise potatoes, black trompette mushrooms and a layer of vacherin. There is also a Gloucester Old Spot pork chop served with sweet potato and miso or roast halibut with sprouting broccoli.

There's too much on the list, to try it all, so if you can't make up your mind, opt for the Chef's Menu, a reasonably-priced selection of five dishes picked for the table to share. For pudding, the puffed half-moon tarte tatin or the doughnut choux filled with espresso cream and topped with caramelised hazelnuts are excellent. Chef Johnnie Collins helms the open kitchen and puts the focus on bold seasonal sharing plates – modern British dishes with East Asian and Italian influence.

Start with yakitori sticks such as Swaledale chicken thigh with preserved yuzu and tropea onion, soft monkfish with black sesame and pressed pork belly with red glaze before trying more substantial small plates. Crispy fried artichoke with spicy cashew green chilli resembles Roman carciofi alla giudia, while Japanese Namayasai English radishes with wild garlic mayo cleanse the palate before bigger mains. We opted for a plate of crab cappelletti with brown crab chilli butter, a dense plate exploding with flavour, although everyone else at the restaurant seemed to go for the half roast chicken with curry sauce and chips. Pudding is limited – a crumbly croissant comes stuffed with rhubarb-miso ice cream and sesame but the slice of Simon Hopkinson dark chocolate tart infused with cream and sea salt takes the win. It's hard to give the food at Trivet a particular identity; instead, dishes take diners on a globetrotting journey inspired by the duo's love of travel. There's reference to Lake's work in Italy with his hand-made pici pasta served with red mullet; nods to trips to Spain with smoky Iberico pluma; and memories from a tour of Japan with the use of shiitake mushrooms and sake.

Plump scallops come with pomegranate, black sesame and bitter endive; artichoke is served in a pool of sourdough broth and topped with a fan of black truffle shavings; and delicate pastry puffs are sandwiched together with sour cream and caviar. The chicken glazed with a vinegar sauce and plated up with mashed potato may sound deceptively simple, but the result is an impressive display of Lake's precision. However, it's the puddings that really show off his talent, fusing flavours that many people won't have tried before. Mille-feuille topped with wafer-thin slices of baked sweet potato and filled with buttery white chocolate and sake mousse isn't just delicious, it's a revelation.

One meatless option is the pounded yam balls in egusi and spinach soup, presented in a playful tricolour of green, red and yellow. My favourite was the sinasir and miyan taushe – rice pancakes for dunking in a pumpkin and peanut sauce. Starters include moi moi, a steamed bean tart with red peppers and onions. The jollof quinoa makes for a fluffier, healthier take on the classic rice version, while the raw okra with honey-chilli vinaigrette is one of many sweet-savoury contrasts that are a running theme at Chuku's. The sugariness is a departure from traditional Nigerian recipes, many of which – plantain excluded – err on the savoury. But incorrigible carnivores can take comfort in the chicken wings coated in caramel infused with kuli kuli – a nod to dishes from northern Nigeria.

Suya, a northern spice mix, is traditionally slathered on skewered beef, but here it's more subtle and used on pan-fried king prawns, in a honey sauce. It's novel, without straying too far from the original, recognisable flavour. One of the most Spanish-style creations is ojojo, another sweet-savoury combo of yam and smoked mackerel croquetas on a bed of Scotch bonnet jam. And dodo, or fried plantain, is a reliable standard – diced and tossed in cinnamon sugar and coconut, it makes a delicious counterpoint to the salt of the suya-peppered meatballs. Unless you live nearby, you might not have ventured to Borough Market since lockdown began. While it would typically be swamped with visitors, these days it's been reclaimed by locals, with room to move, shop and even dine as many of the stalls and food joints have set up al-fresco seating after-hours.

With the idea to make the most of the day's leftover produce, owner Charlie Foster has teamed up with Tomas Lidakevicius, former executive chef of Jason Atherton's City Social, to create a supper club. The influx of outdoor dining options means it's a buzzing, veering on noisy, place to be. But what you're really here for is to see and taste what Lidakevicius can do with the day's ingredients from his converted-shipping-container kitchen. First came Primeur, which set up shop in a former motor garage in Canonbury and served up impeccably sourced, Italian-inspired small plates and natural wines with such infectious enthusiasm that people have been known to trek here from south of the river.

Then came Westerns Laundry, in an obscure corner of Highbury, which did the same thing, albeit in a former launderette and with more fish, and was one of our restaurant highlights of 2017. Now co-founders Jeremie Comotto-Lingenheim and chef David Gingell have opened an all-day bakery-restaurant on Newington Green – which means it's theoretically possible to have breakfast here, lunch at Westerns and dinner in Primeur in the same day. Despite the name there's no rhinestone here but bare walls etched with tiny bits of graffiti, more pencil-case than Banksy, and a raw-plastered, scented bathroom that wouldn't look out of place at Amangiri. We kicked things off with garam masala labneh with fenugreek-chilli butter and spiced chickpeas, and pork and Chinese chive potsticker dumplings with black vinegar and chilli oil. Other starters include jamón and San Simon croquettes or San Daniele prosciutto, but it's best not to over-order and move on to the main-sized sharing plates. Choose from veggies such as the Jerusalem artichokes with tahini and pomegranate in a mint sauce, charred aubergine with saffron buttermilk dressing or sweetcorn in salted pandan coconut milk.

For pudding there's an incredible dark-chocolate and rye custard tart with blackberry cream, which has the perfect consistency but is – like most things on the menu – best shared unless you're starving. There's one option if you want a full meal – the six-course set tasting menu. It changes regularly to suit what's in season, but is grounded in De Cecco's Italian heritage and modern, inventive cooking. Home-made sourdough bread, served happily as its own course and in the mould it was raised in, starts our meal off, along with a salty, spicy, freshly whipped jalapeno and cod's roe butter on the side. Next up, a complicated pile of tagliatelle is dressed with beef fat, monk's beard (a grassy Italian herb grown in the restaurant's own garden) and butter-soft chunks of cuttlefish. Then there's a duck-confit potato, smothered in a savoury cream sauce, and a fresh take on dukka that has all the usual crunch and spice plus a hit of finely chopped herbs.

And for pudding there's a punchy chilli sorbet with pickled rhubarb and a black-bean paste – strange-tasting elements on their own, but combine them in one spoonful and they create flavour alchemy. Casa do Frango translates to chicken house, which vastly undersells what's happening here. The menu kicks off with a round of sharing plates to start – 'some of them really aren't that small,' our waiter warns us. We tried chewy potato sourdough served warm with whipped butter that was topped with chunky flakes of salt, smoky grilled chorizo which left a trail of scarlet oil in the dollop of black olive mayo that came with it, and Piri-Piri prawns that packed a garlicky punch. For the main course, there's just one option – the house half chicken, brushed with Casa do Frango's signature Piri Piri sauce, it's charred on the outside and juicy in the middle, perfect for ripping into with a group.

Load up on the sides – we particularly liked the African rice, which came with crispy chicken skin and soft plantain. For pudding, make like the Portuguese and order the Pastel de Nata – the chefs here have perfected the balance of flaky pastry casing and oozy, custardy filling. Tortillas are made daily in the team's tortilleria in Bermondsey – the first indicator that this place plates up an authentic, fresh-as-can-be menu. To start, the sea bass ceviche is fiery and tart , while the scallop tostada spotlights paper-thin, slightly sweet slices of scallop. Order a few and share them all – we tried the flaky fried crab, served on a soft blue-corn tortilla, which was zingy and refreshing, and the mushroom iteration, smothered in an almost indecent amount of Oaxaca-style cheese. The showstopper is the namesake Al Pastor – pork shoulder, sticky caramelised pineapple and avocado salsa.

New to the Soho spin-off is the crispy-duck sharing platter – big enough for four, it comes with bottomless tortillas. For pudding, the dark-chocolate and ancho-chilli fondant has a real kick – order it with the roast-corn ice cream, which adds a cooling element to the dish. The cocktail list here is as creative as the food menu, drawing in spices, floral ingredients, vermouths and house shrubs .

Dishes may be tweaked from week to week, but the big-hitters, sourced through consistent channels, rightfully retain prime position. For those who like charred morsels to start with, the corn ribs are great gnarled wefts of sweetcorn cut from the cob and fried swiftly on a high heat, dripping in spiced butter. We'd go so far as to say they're better than their meatier siblings, the smoked-beef dandy ribs, which are served medium rare but still fall off the bone.

Mushroom parfait with shiitake and black truffle is earthy in flavour and silken in texture and arrives alongside freshly baked sourdough. The signature namesake dish comes in the form of fallow tartare, peppered with flecks of hazelnut and pickled onion and, once more, a slab of the delicious bread that aids the all-important mopping. For a larger sharing option, order the whole lemon sole with bacon-butter sauce, brought to the table in its entirety and left to serve at your own pace. There are English beans and Isle of Wight tomatoes to consider, but we were rightfully told to head straight for the kombu fries – miso-heavy and so moreish you'll end up finishing the entire bowl by yourself. When head chef Jonny Lake and master sommelier Isa Bal announced they were leaving Britain's most famous – and probably most expensive – restaurant, The Fat Duck, after a collective 24-year tenure, expectations for what was to come next were sky-high. Heston Blumenthal's three-Michelin-starred spot may trade on its circus-meets-science-experiment brilliance, but diners at Lake and Bal's new project won't find any liquid nitrogen or snail porridge on the menu.

In fact Trivet, squirreled away down a quiet side street a stone's throw from foodie hub Borough Market, opened three months ago to little fanfare. There's no kitchen wizardry, no theatre, no gimmicks; just a reassuringly simple three-course menu. With its muted Scandi edge, even the styling is restrained – bar the flash of colour from the yellow banquette seating and the warm glow of the open kitchen.

In the daytime, pick from beef-short-rib suadero, pork cochinita and cauliflower al pastor tacos. But come Thursday evening, the addition of crispy crab tostadas with guajillo chilli and tamarind, plus Baja-style fried-fish tacos with white cabbage and fennel, makes it the table to book. The red guacamole with circular tortilla chips is a step above most in London and all salsas, rubs and sauces are made in house. Sharing dishes include a smoked suadero short rib which slides off the bone, served with burnt onions and pomegranate, and a whole grilled brill with English peas and jalapeños.

Whatever is on the menu, you can be sure it's made with the best ingredients, and from scratch. But if you order just one thing, make it the corn doused in pasilla mixe and cheese shavings. Pujol is the most sought-after reservation in Mexico City, if not the whole country, currently number 12 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. And since his time in the kitchen there underneath Enrique Olvera, chef Nicholas Fitzgerald has been cooking at London joints including Breddos Tacos and The Mexican at Annabel's.

His first bricks-and-mortar stall sells tacos by day, as well as homemade hot sauces and cocktails, but every Thursday, Friday and Saturday it opens up into the market space for a sit-down supper. Fitzgerald has named his pop-up All My Friends, and so the plates are made for sharing and the flavours are fun. Pull up a stool at the white-tiled counter – between the recently reviewed Turnips and Erev – and get stuck in; this is finger food. There might also be tiny, wafer-thin tartlets of Isle of Mull cheese made into a custard with burnt apple purée and textures of celery, and incredibly warming hen of the woods mushroom tea with toast.

All three pudding courses are a standout, using seasonal flavours such as bramble, juniper, apple and clementine, but the winner is the deliciously rich combination of chocolate and salted ricotta. As a nice little touch to top off the evening, each diner gets a mini spice-packed bun to take away for breakfast the next day, fresh from the oven at the end of service. First up, the homemade sourdough served with bright, peppery Fiorano olive oil and burrata that has to be some of the best in the city – crucially not served too cold.

Always on the menu, and always worth an order, is the famous worm-like pici pasta swimming in creamy cacio e pepe – a satisfying smack of flavour. But it's the silky pappardelle with beef-shin ragu, made with eight-hour-cooked Dexter beef, that could potentially make a three-hour wait for a table seem worth it. Other highlights include fettuccine laced with Cobble Lane cured 'nduja, mascarpone and lemon and a new nobbly cavatelli with slow-cooked broccoli, garlic, anchovy and chilli – all arriving doused in a healthy layer of Parmesan. We're sure puddings are good, but they're not really what you've waited in line for.

Maybe you have your heart set on eating exactly one big spoonful of mac and cheese along with a single rib, a piece of fried chicken, some candied yams, and either four or five green beans. There aren't a lot restaurants that can make this happen, but fortunately, there's Jacob's. It's a buffet where you scoop your own food and pay by the pound, and it has everything from okra and oxtails to spaghetti and fried chicken.

Just grab a styrofoam container, and fill it up with everything your heart desires, along with several things it doesn't desire currently, but might desire later. It's $6.49 per pound, and you can either eat in the little dining room to the side, or take your food to go. To paraphrase Michael Bolton, love is all very well, but a decent neighbourhood restaurant is a wonderful thing. A place to pop by when you can't face buying 25 ingredients for that Ottolenghi recipe, or for a quick bite before a film, or a lazy weekend brunch.

Salon, which enjoys a prime people-watching position upstairs in Brixton Market, has gone from strength to strength since chef Nicholas Balfe opened here in 2013. And this September, Salon unveiled a lovely, redesigned dining room (marine-blue with reclaimed timber and grey fabric) with a snacky menu for the groundfloor bar, which also sells syrups and preserves to take home. Shoreditch restaurant Lyle's is not only one of the best restaurants in London, but it's ranked 33 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants list too.