1. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
The most exciting gastronomic restaurant on the rise outside London is tucked away on the outskirts of Nottingham. Cutting-edge cooking; bright, friendly service and the option to make a night of it by booking one of the eight rooms, make this the obvious choice for any foodie-fixated couple.
Old Lenton Lane, Trentside, Nottingham, 0115 986 6566, www.restaurantsatbains.com
2. Hand & Flowers, Buckinghamshire
This already very appealing pub with fine grub has recently become even more attractive with the opening of a guest cottage. Those who think every Michelin-starred meal should end in a cowhide-clad room with a hot-tub terrace now know where to go.
126 West Street, Marlow, Bucks, 01628 482277, www.thehandandflowers.co.uk
3. Les Saveurs de Flora, Paris
Flora Mikula's restaurant is high-camp sexy, rather than dark-and-sophisticated sexy. There are butterflies attached to glitterballs on the ceilings, flowers sit in twiddly vases, and colours range from rose to blush to good old-fashioned fuchsia. The food is fabulously rich - lobster, foie gras, suckling pig or duck - but Mikula also makes inventive use of ingredients like daikon, green curry and even mango lassi. Your meal will be punctuated by plenty of exciting amuse-bouches and palate-cleansers involving mousses, shot glasses or perhaps marshmallows. The staff don't seem to mind if you allow your meal to last for hours either.
36 Avenue George V, Paris, +33 (0)1 40 70 10 49
4. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Marina Villa Hotel, Cornwall
With a picture-postcard perfect view across the Fowey Estuary from its dining room perched on the waterside, and fine Cornish produce rendered in a restrained modern style in dishes such as lobster risotto, orange and basil, this one's definitely worth getting a room for.
The Marina Villa Hotel, Esplanade, Fowey, Cornwall, 01726 833315, www.themarinahotel.co.uk
5. The Gingerman at Drakes, Brighton
Nicely put together cosy basement dining room in a boutique Brighton hotel offering assured cosmopolitan cooking from local-born chef Ben McKellar.
44 Marine Parade, Brighton, East Sussex, 01273 696934, www.gingermanrestaurants.com
6. Cristal Room Baccarat, Paris
It is almost impossible to imagine a more opulent or sensual place to eat than the Cristal Room restaurant in Paris. You reach the restaurant through the Baccarat crystal museum - itself quite stunningly plush as it includes some of Baccarat's most iconic pieces of crystal, including Philippe Starck's insanely expensive designs. The restaurant is the old salon of socialite Marie-Laure de Noailles, who owned the house originally. Now, redesigned by Starck, it's an extraordinary mixture of antique gilt, bare bricks and pale pink satin, silk and fluffy carpet. Thierry Burlot's menu is short but luxurious and changes monthly according to seasonal availability - try to go in truffle season. If you eat in the seclusion of the private dining room, you will dine cocooned in pink beneath an enormous black Starck chandelier, and between courses you can wander out onto a terrace that's decorated with huge Baccarat mirrors. A place to eat illicitly or to propose in.
11 Place des Etats-Unis, Paris, +33 (0)1 40 22 11 10
7. As You Like It, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
This newly opened gastropub-cum-antiques shop is the place to come for high-quality, traditional, predominantly locally-sourced food. The place is stuffed with quirky pieces collected on the owners' travels and you can sit on a private balcony if you're lucky. Friday nights are Supper Club nights, with live, late jazz. Smooth.
Archbold Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 0191 281 2277
8. The Kinmel Arms, Conwy, North Wales
Slope off to one of four gorgeous suites after dining on local produce such as Pontysgaun goats' cheese, Conwy crab, Snowdonia cheddar or Welsh beef.
The Village, St George, Conwy, North Wales, 01745 832207
9. L'Ecrivain, Dublin
The Irish capital's answer to the Ivy but with much better food, this discreetly appointed Baggot Street institution is a class act. All pale wood, smoky mirrors, charming service and the best fresh Irish produce from lobster, oysters and Dublin Bay prawns to lamb, venison and rabbit.
109a Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, +353 (0)1 6611919, www.lecrivain.com
10. Sketch, London
Still the most bizarrely ambitious, multi-faceted, ever-evolving bar-meets-restaurant-meets-art-gallery-meets nightclub that London - perhaps anywhere - has ever seen. From eating Pierre Gagnaire's food in the opulence of the Lecture Room or surrounded by video art in the Gallery, to the head-trip that is the Swarovski crystal-coated toilets complete with tinkling music box soundtrack, Sketch is one of a kind. Chef Chris Galvin, of Galvin at Windows, says 'At Sketch, you're spoilt with great food, music and surroundings that are pure fantasy'.
9 Conduit St, London W1, 0870 777 4488, www.sketch.uk.com
11. Find a secluded spot for a picnic
Get a yourself a proper hamper from Fortnum and Mason (treat yourself to the Anniversary hamper, £150) and a sturdy picnic blanket. Head off the to the woods with champagne, smoked salmon and buck's fizz truffles.
12. Hakkasan, London
Six years on and Alan Yau's flagship modern Chinese, tucked away in a basement at the dead end of an unpromising looking alleyway behind Tottenham Court Road, has not lost any of its sex appeal. Christian Liaigre's much-imitated interior, all lacquered screens and soft blue light, provides an irresistibly atmospheric backdrop to the ever-seductive combination of exceptional Cantonese cooking, classy cocktails, hip nightclub buzz, and front-of-house eye candy.
8 Hanway Place, London W1, 0207 927 7000
13. The Dartmoor Inn, Devon
As recommended by chef Michael Caines from nearby Gidleigh Park, the Dartmoor Inn serves up proper pub grub. Fill up on fish and chips or caramelised rice pudding in one of the several cosy dining rooms, and then retire to one of the three prettily appointed French style bedrooms and sleep it off in a king-size hand-painted bed.
Moorside, Lydford, near Okehampton, Devon, 01822 820221
14. Bam-bou, London
Successfully sumptuous simulation of 1930s Saigon, all bamboo, tobacco-washed walls and dark wooden blinds, set in a rambling four-storey Fitzrovia townhouse. Has more than enough intimate nooks and crannies to get lost in conversation while sipping an Indochine martini and nibbling on peppered beef fillet.
1 Percy Street, London W1, 020 7323 9130, www.bam-bou.co.uk
15. The Company Shed, Essex
A wooden hut among the boatyards and salt marshes of West Mersea island, the Company Shed is a basically a fishmonger's with no licence and a few tables with plastic tablecloths. But in native oyster season, with a dozen of Colchester's finest in front of you and a good bottle of your own wine, there's nowhere sexier on earth.
129 Coast Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, 01206 382700
16. Aqua, Hong Kong
There's a spectacular sweeping view of Hong Kong harbour and city from Aqua, spread over two floors at the top of a Kowloon office building on Peking Road. You're similarly spoilt when deciding what you want to eat and drink with two restaurants - a Japanese and an Italian - and a lounge bar where they do a fine line in lychee martinis.
28th floor, One Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, +852 3427 2288, www.aqua.com.hk
17. Hélène Darroze, Paris
For a seriously sexy food experience, head upstairs to Hélène Darroze's double Michelin-starred dining room rather than eating in the (significantly cheaper) downstairs bistro. She is famous for her truffle menu - five courses (at least) of dishes such as foie gras topped with white truffle shavings - but her eight-course 'Inspiration' menu is also renowned. Make sure you stay for coffee, or rather an infusion, poured ceremoniously at your table and served with a whole trolley of petits-fours. With its burgundy walls and velvet cushions, this is the place to linger over a very indulgent meal à deux.
4 Rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris, France, + 33 (0)1 42 22 00 11
18. Scott's, London
Successfully reborn at the tail-end of last year, the famous Mayfair oyster bar and fish restaurant's new look has already won the hearts, minds and wallets of many of the Ivy's starry regulars, who happily tuck in alongside the burghers of Mount Street. Feels as special at lunch as it does at dinner. You know you're in safe hands from the moment you arrive outside, greeted with a well-groomed smile by London's greatest doorman, Sean McDermott. Don't bother with the main dining room and instead cadge seats at the green onyx-topped oyster bar, built around a white curvy three-metre-long display designed by Future Systems (famous for their iconic Media Centre at Lord's cricket ground) and laden with a fine selection of shellfish. From there guzzle oysters and champagne to your heart's content while viewing all the goings-on in the bustling, increasingly star-studded, oak-panelled dining room.
20 Mount Street, London W1, 020 7495 7309, www.scotts-restaurant.com
19. The Treehouse at Alnwick, Northumberland
Perhaps less about the food (which is, incidently, delicious) and more about the setting, this is an other-worldly restaurant, literally an enormous treehouse set in Alnwick Garden, built around living trees, from sustainable woods. Go for dinner when it's terribly dramatic - this is sexy in an eco-warrior kind of way.
The Alnwick Garden, Denwick Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland, 01665 511852
20. Wakiya, New York
This is the restaurant that Alan 'Hakkasan' Yau was meant to have opened as Park Chinoise for famed nightclub-owner-turned-hip-hotelier, Ian Schrager. With the project all but finished, Yau pulled out of the deal leaving behind this opulently designed dining room and bar in the Gramercy Park Hotel. Now it's opened as Wakiya and is being managed by the team from Nobu with Japanese chef Yuji Wakiya's take on regional Chinese cooking.
2 Lexington Avenue, New York, +1 212 920 3300, www.gramercyparkhotel.com
21. Cecconi's, London
Nick 'Soho House' Jones' transformation of this famous old Mayfair Italian from plush but half-empty thickly carpeted fine-dining mausoleum to bustling brasserie with snappy service, monochromatically tiled floor, green leather upholstery, Prosecco on draught and Parma ham behind the bar, gets all the girls.
5a Burlington Gardens, London W1, 020 7434 1500, www.cecconis.co.uk
22. Gordon's Wine Bar, London
This candlelit cavern buried beneath Villiers Street is the oldest in London. It has an award-winning wine list, serves schooners of sherry and beakers of port, all of which are best soaked up with a shared plate of cheese.
47 Villiers Street, London WC2, 020 7930 1408
23. Mix, Las Vegas
This dramatic-looking restaurant and lounge comes with a chandelier made from 15,000 handblown glass spheres, a menu overseen by Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse and an exhilarating wraparound view of the entire Las Vegas Valley and seductively gaudy Strip from summit of the 64th floor of TheHotel at Mandalay Bay.
3950 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, +1 702 632 7777, www.alain-ducasse.com
24. Fifteen, Cornwall
The West Country chapter of Jamie Oliver's charitable restaurant foundation has a spectacularly beautiful setting overlooking Watergate Bay near Newquay. It's the perfect place to be when the weather's foul, with a glass of red and a plate of antipasti as the waves lash the beach into submission.
On The Beach,Watergate Bay, Cornwall, 01637 861000, www.fifteencornwall.co.uk
25. Jean-Georges, Shanghai
Designed by acclaimed American architect Michael Grave, this oriental outpost of culinary superstar Jean-Georges Vongerichten is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful-looking restaurants on the planet. It has a sultry red interior inspired by the grandeur of old Shanghai and a view from its setting on the legendary Bund that looks across to Pudong and wonders of new Shanghai. The perfectly executed, Asian-accented, modern French cooking is none too shabby either.
No.3 The Bund, 4th Floor, 3 Zhong Shan Dong Yi Road, Shanghai, +011 8621 6321 7733, www.jean-georges.com
27. Noma, Copenhagen
Located on the ground floor of a harbourside warehouse that once stored salt and whale blubber from Greenland, Noma's sensitively restored interior, with its whitewashed walls, exposed beams, pale wooden floor and classic Danish leather chairs draped in animal hides is the height of Nordic cool. So, too, is the cooking from rising gastronomic force René Redzepi, who applies modern techniques to seasonal Nordic produce in dishes such as musk ox, grilled leek ashes and milk-skin which you're invited to slice with a leatherbound, reindeer-handled Saami blade.
Strandgade 93, Copenhagen K, Denmark, +45 3296 3297, www.noma.dk
27. The Rose and Crown, County Durham
Take yourself off for a lost weekend in this pretty 18th-century coaching inn, all horse brasses, open fires and grandfather clocks, set in a perfect English north country village. This is an award-winning pub, but that hasn't made it off-puttingly expensive, with a four-course set dinner starting at £28 and rooms from £65 a night.
Romaldkirk, Barnard Castle, County Durham, 01833 650213
28. Seaham Hall, County Durham
This lovely hotel and spa has a Michelin star, courtesy of the skills of chef Stephen Smith. The rooms are funky without being absurdly trendy and the spa has won almost as many accolades as the restaurant. Just the place to be soothed and spoilt.
Lord Byron's Walk, Seaham, County Durham, 0191 516 1400
29. Per Se, New York
Perched on top of the Time Warner Center, Per Se is the sophisticated East Coast city cousin to acclaimed chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville, California. Its heavily oversubscribed 15 tables overlook the recently restored Columbus Circle on the south-east corner of Central Park, which twinkles at night like a giant Christmas bauble. The service is second to none and the food, comes exclusively in nine-course tasting menus consisting of exquisitely executed, silky mouthfuls such as Oysters and Pearls, a savoury pearl tapioca custard with oysters and caviar.
10 Columbus Circle (at 60th Street), 4th Floor, New York, +1 212 823 9335, www.perseny.com
30. Shochu Lounge, London
Roka, Rainer Becker's Japanese robata grill, has got everything going for it except for the bright lighting. Tucked underneath Roka, this sleek, slick subterranean bar offers table service, comparative darkness, exotic cocktails and, aside from bar nibbles, the full menu of sushi and succulent robatayaki from upstairs.
37 Charlotte Street, London W1, 020 7580 6464, www.shochulounge.com
31. Gidleigh Park, Devon
Gidleigh Park's sexiness is the sort derived from tramping about all day in the fresh air before retiring self-satisfiedly to an elegantly-appointed room to remove your walking boots and get dressed up for a posh supper. Michael Caines' double Michelin-starred cooking makes the most of local seafood and meats: Hatherleigh venison, Dartmoor lamb and Cornish sea bass may all make an appearance.
Chagford, Devon, 01647 432367
32. Le Poule au Pot, London
Proper French food, in proper -sized portions, is the attraction here. This is chef Tom Aikens' favourite - 'both sexy and romantic' - and for those who wish to really lose their inhibitions, the house wine only comes in magnums.
231 Ebury Street, London SW1, 020 7730 7763
33. Le Gavroche, London
Charmingly old school with the sort of clubby interior that went out with Thatcher, there's something undeniably seductive about this beloved fine-dining institution, from service that's slick without ever being obsequious or officious, to cooking that keeps it just the right side of classic in dishes such whole poached duck in a light consommé.
43 Upper Brook Street, London W1, 020 7408 0881, www.le-gavroche.co.uk
34. L'Atelier, Paris
The Parisian outpost of what has since become a global brand, with branches now in London, Las Vegas, New York and Tokyo, is where the legendary Joël Robuchon's comeback started to gather momentum. It's hard not to be seduced by its small-plate menu, low-lit red-black bento-box-like interior and chic clientele.
5-7 rue de Montalembert, Paris, +33 (0)1 42 22 56 56, www.robuchon.com
35. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris
Ducasse's sumptuously appointed Parisian flagship within the legendarily luxurious Plaza Athénée pampers you with 55 members of staff to serve 50 guests. A striking interior that includes rather modish-looking Corian chairs, replete with retractable handbag shelves, and a huge exploded chandelier complements the faultless, seasonally inflected, classic French cooking.
Hôtel Plaza Athénée, 25 Avenue Montaigne, Paris, +33 (0)1 53 67 65 00, www.alain-ducasse.com
36. Louis XV, Monaco
As chosen by Raymond Blanc, chef-patron of the deeply sexy Manoir aux Quat' Saisons. He says, 'this is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited! It is so over the top, but it is just absolutely beautiful. Bold gold colours and cherubs, and it has the most amazing ambience. All the staff dress in black tie, yet the welcome is so warm and personal. The colourful dishes reflect local flavours and the menu reflects the seasons with wonderful themes including the vegetable garden and the sea.'
Place du Casino, Monaco, +377 98 06 88 64, www.alain-ducasse.com
37. Shomben Yokocho, Tokyo
Unromantically nicknamed 'Piss Alley', this cramped warren of ramshackle huts tucked between the back of a Shinjuku department store and some train tracks is home to a series of bars and yakitori stalls, serving beer, sake and delicious skewers of grilled meat. Sitting at one of the bars, late at night, watching as tired and emotional salarymen stagger home (hence that sobriquet), the neon flickering, the atmosphere is electric; like eating on the set of Blade Runner
38. Tetsuya's, Sydney
The best restaurant in Australia is guarded behind swish embassy-style gates, has a dining room that opens onto a serene Japanese garden of bonsai and water features and a menu from chef Tetsuya Wakuda that's a 14-course seafood-rich journey.
529 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia, +61 2 9267 2900, www.tetsuyas.com
39. Calistoga Ranch, California
In what was once a hippy commune in a private canyon in the Upper Napa Valley, lies the luxury Calistoga Ranch resort, built around a forest of ancient oak trees. Its restaurant is tucked away in a secluded lake house and has a menu built on organic produce and a wine list heavy with vintage Californian bottles.
580 Lommel Road, Calistoga , California, +707 254 2800, www.calistogaranch.com
40 'C', Los Caos, Mexico
Legendary Chicago chef Charlie Trotter's oceanfront restaurant at the swanky One & Only Palmilla Resort in Los Cabos offers a panoramic view of the Sea of Cortez and a menu that focuses on locally caught seafood.
One & Only Palmilla, Km 7.5 Carretera Transpeninsular, San Jose Del Cabo BCS, Mexico, +52 624 146 7000 , www.charlietrotters.com
41. Les Ambassadeurs, Paris
This is a sexy place to eat or to stay - a super-luxe hotel on the Place de la Concorde where you can sleep in a suite the size of the average British house, all done out in grand siècle style. Eating Jean-Francois Piège's food is a real treat, particularly his crazy reconstructions of dishes such as spaghetti carbonara or rice pudding - nothing like what you might expect but delicious none the less. The dining room is all gold candelabras and marble walls but is nowhere near as hushed and restrained as it initially appears. For those (who get) lucky enough to stay over, Sunday brunch is possibly an even more decadent affair than dinner, involving eggs en cocotte (often with white truffle), raw Joselito ham, miniature pastries, Ladurée macaroons, Norwegian smoked salmon, fruits, breads and tiny little pots of improbably rich desserts.
10 Place de la Concorde, Paris, 33(0)1 44 71 16 16
42. The Crazy Bear, Oxford
Lovably eccentric, laid-back boutique hotel housed in a 16th-century coaching inn with roaring open fires, champagne on tap behind the bar, a Thai brasserie and an English restaurant, each with a seriously comprehensive menu and sumptuous surroundings. Bedrooms are foxy: each one is different - but think animal-print chaise-longues, dark red walls, richly coloured velvet, Tiffany mirrors and baths at the foot of the Baroque beds. For real privacy, go for a cottage.
Bear Lane, Stadhampton, Oxford, 01865 890714, www.crazybeargroup.co.uk
43. Gambero Rosso, Tuscany
A bijou dining room overlooking the cobalt-blue Tyrrhenian Sea in a small seaside town off the main Tuscan tourist trail is the only place that you'll find food prepared by Fulvio Pierangelini. The man many consider to be Italy's finest chef. In an era of jet-setting superstar chefs Pierangelini is an anachronism, a world-class culinary talent with no ambitions to open anywhere else and who simply doesn't open his restaurant if he's not there.
Piazza della Vittoria 13, San Vincenzo, Livorno, Italy, +39 05 65 701021
44. The Witchery, Edinburgh
Patronised by Hollywood stars, this gothic fantasy of a restaurant, in a 16th-century building by the gates of Edinburgh Castle, has seven theatrical suites, all spendidly decorated in reds and golds, with accoutrements such as four-poster beds and roll-top baths big enough for two - if you're planning to let the food, wine and setting all go to your head.
Castlehill, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, 0131 225 5613, www.thewitchery.com
45. The morning after the night before
Everybody knows that a sexy breakfast is a must after a successful night out, and what could be better than a proper, over-sized New York brunch? Take your date to one of these two: either Norma's for pancakes and four-egg omelettes, or Sarabeth's for French toast and blintzes.
Norma's at Le Parker Meridien, 118 West 57th Street, New York, +1 212 245 5000, Sarabeth's, 40 Central Park South, New York, +1 212 826 5959
46. For British brunch
For that slightly grubby, proper diner experience, head for Rocotillos in Bristol - don't go for a 10-gallon Tex special if you're still trying to impress someone, though. If in Leeds, go to Anthony's at Flannels, where the legendary Anthony Flinn leaves molecular gastronomy to one side and turns out properly good eggs Benedict. For the strong of constitution, there's whisky porridge.
Rocotillos, 1 Queens Row, Clifton, Bristol, 0117 929 7207; Anthony's at Flannels, 3rd floor, 68 Vicar Lane, Leeds, 0113 242 8732; www.anthonysatflannels.co.uk
Jay Rayner's favourites
47. Summer Isles Hotel, Scotland
At the risk of being overly literal, the sexiest restaurant has to be one where there is a realistic expectation of getting some - and that has to mean a restaurant with rooms. Top of my list then has to be the Summer Isles Hotel in Achiltibuie, on the far North West coast of Scotland. It scores on so many levels. For a start even if you've come there from the nearest town you're still miles from anywhere and there is nothing better calculated to encourage a little intimacy than isolation. The view, of tiny mist-garlanded islands, is delicious - as is the Michelin-starred food. Thinks lots of locally caught fish and seafood from the waters just beyond the door, or game from the hills, cooked to its very best advantage, all of it served in a dining room that, while hardly a bordello, has a certain cosy charm. Best of all there's no anxiety over who eats what. The menu changes every night but there is just the one, a five-course set dinner for every guest. So there are no distractions from the important business of dining each other into bed, ideally in one of their log cabins or croft houses overlooking the bay. Any downsides? The Summer Isles Hotel is entirely seasonal and has just closed for the winter, so you'll just have to save it for the spring and the rising of the sap.
Achiltibuie, Ross shire, Scotland, 01854 622282, www.summerisleshotel.co.uk
48. The Fat Duck, Berkshire
Heston Blumenthal's modernist pilgrimage site used to win the sexiest restaurant competition hands down on account of just one course: a curious if delicious concoction - potato, lime jelly, maple syrup - spoon-fed to you by certain of the more comely members of the front-of-house team. You were not allowed to feed yourself. That moment, since dropped from the tasting menu, used to silence everyone around the table, as wistfully they watched their gorgeous waiter retreat. But there is, I think, still something about this restaurant, which is calculated to turn every guest into one large erogenous zone. Blumenthal's food - his roast scallop with chocolate and caviar, his best end of lamb with sweetbread and oyster, the smoky bacon ice cream whipped up tableside in a bowl of liquid nitrogen - is so engrossing, so dramatic, so damn entertaining, that after eating here anything seems possible. This is food that takes you and your companion on a journey. At the end of which all you will really need to complete the event, is the bill and a room somewhere nearby.
Bray, Berkshire, 01628 580333
And finally ...
49. For a kebab
Our columnist Alex James says, 'Kebab shops are sexy. Restaurants are for marrieds and meetings innit?' Sources (who are not Alex James) tell us that apparently one of the best places to go is Marathon Kebab in London's Chalk Farm, a deliciously drunken and debauched post-pub venue up the road from the notoriously heady Camden Barfly. Expect live music from bedraggled saxophonists and the wine to come in screw-top bottles.
87 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1
50. For naked ladies
The most risque recommendation we got? From Mourad Mazouz, owner of Sketch. Apparently if you go to Bordo in Moscow, a restaurant and, ahem, gentleman's club, naked women will drape themselves around as you eat. Rooms for 'private use' are available by the hour, if it all gets a bit too much.
