Baltic

A sleek success from Jan Woroniecki of Wodka, Baltic looks more like the nearby Tate Modern's baby cousin than a restaurant. Which is probably one of the many reasons why it's appreciated by the media, Arts and City crowd that come here to enjoy a beguiling break from the dining norm. Originally a coachbuilders, this really is a stunning space in which a low-lit grey metal entrance bar expands into a vast white-walled restaurant with a wooden trussed ceiling and skylights. Here an efficient Eastern European staff wearing designer uniforms serve excellent Eastern European cuisine from the Baltic to the Adriatic. Blinis are a must-eat, or if you're in the mood for country cooking, get stuck into golonka - pork shank with sauerkraut and new potatoes. Last but not least come the vodkas, especially the gorgeous range of 32 flavoured 'Baltic vodkas' made in-house and served in icy shot glasses. Na zdrowie!"Choose one of the round tables in the middle to fully appreciate the size of this former bus garage. Clientele includes South Bank arties, TV execs, actors from the Old Vic around the corner and City types. Among the patrons are Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stephen Daldry, Tom Ford and Ralph Fiennes, who pops in for blinis when he's at the National. - © Evening Standard 2003 / Kate Spicer/b> This spacious rebuild of an old coachworks delivers well-executed, gutsy, Eastern European cuisine. Dishes are paired with an above-par line list that mixes Old and New World in