Restaurants: Taste of things to come Hot, happening and opening soon

l The description "full-on foie gras" gives you an idea of what Club Gascon (0171 253 5853), near London's Smithfield Market, is all about. This new restaurant revels in all things French, from smoked eels in filo pastry to white cheese sorbet: chef Pascal Aussignac trained with some of France's greatest cooks, including Guy Savoy. The Degustation Menu means you get to try several dishes at once.

l Putney Bridge River Restaurant (0181 780 1811, right) has gained many design awards for its ultra-modern glass frontage and airy, wood-and-steel- pipes interior. Now an all-new team of chefs hopes to win acclaim for its food; lead by Anthony Demetre, formerly of L'Odeon, they are turning out terrine of foie gras, pears and celeriac with quatre epices and rabbit farci with cabbage and mustard.