This 750-seat, blockbuster Soho spot -- the creation of Sir Terence Conran -- is the biggest restaurant in London. The mammoth space is the former site of rock's legendary Marquee club. Mezzo is actually composed of several restaurants: Mezzonine upstairs, serving Thai/Asian cuisine with a European flair (deep-fried salt-and-pepper squid flavored with garlic and coriander; and roast duck with Thai red curry and fragrant rice are some examples); swankier Mezzo downstairs, offering modern European cuisine in a 1930s Hollywood atmosphere; and Mezzo Cafe, where you can stop in for a simple sandwich and a drink.

The food is at its most ambitious downstairs at Mezzo, where 100 chefs work behind glass to feed up to 400 diners at a time. This is dinner-as-theater. Not surprisingly for a restaurant of this size, the cuisine tends to be uneven. We suggest the rotisserie rib of beef with red wine and creamed horseradish, or the roast cod, which is crisp-skinned and cooked to perfection. For dessert, you can't beat the butterscotch ice cream with a pitcher of hot fudge. A live jazz band entertains after 10pm from Wednesday to Saturday, and the world of Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward comes alive again.