iStarvin.com

Welcome to the seventh weekly round-up of reviews from the national restaurant critics by food writer and blogger Oliver Thring.

Fay Maschler visits Bel Canto, the bizarre restaurant where waiters double as opera singers. Their 'enthusiasm and [mutual] supportiveness' is 'heartwarming', but 'long waits for food' are 'almost fatal'. Salmon fillet is 'succulent', though, and beef fillet 'tender' if 'expensive'. Towards the end, with customers 'encouraged to clap', it feels like 'a Christmas party at a pensioners' daycare centre'.

Marina O'Loughlin can't fathom why 'bijou and luxurious' Il Vaporeto is so 'under the radar' – though she suspects it's because the 'Eurotrashy rich like their privacy'. The 'staff are lovely' and the fusion food is 'pretty good'. Veal Milanese is 'the best I've ever tasted', a snow crab kedgeree is 'more interesting than successful', and chocolate fondant is 'textbook perfection'. 'If you've got the loot, it's a hoot'.

Tom 'Idler' Hodkginson stands in for Adrian Anthony Gill this week, giving The Sunday Times restaurant column its first outing to rural Britain in yonks. He reviews Millers at The Anchor in Somerset. 'The whole thing was absurdly decadent, ridiculously indulgent and even silly'. He lavishes most of his attention on the décor, which looks like 'Oscar Wilde's salon', but prawn cocktail is 'nice', Thai lemongrass soup is 'light' and beef Wellington 'tender'.

Matthew Norman heads to Belgravia stalwart La Poule au Pot, 'as thriving as it ever was'. Onion tart is a 'vast wedge of fluffy, eggy, cheesy'n'oniony delight', chicken comes in a 'delectably smoky sauce' and chocolate mousse is 'flawless'. These are 'big helpings of plainly delicious food'.

Tony Turnbull, The Times food editor, troops to The Ashmolean in Oxford, and likes its 'grown-up, design-literate vibe'. That's no consolation for its food, though: artichoke risotto is 'devoid of seasoning and flavour', and overcooked partridge looks like 'a walk-on part from The Towering Inferno'.

Also at The Ashmo, Zoe Williams loves the 'amazing refit', finding the staff 'keen, beautiful, charming and a bit clueless'. She largely agrees with Turnbull on the food: pumpkin pasta needs more sage, and ribollita 'didn't taste of anything much'. Puddings of rum baba and a salt-caramel chocolate mousse are, however, respectively 'brilliant' and 'incredible'.

Jay Rayner has a mixed meal at Kitchen W8. Overall, everything 'needs fine tuning': game consommé had 'a depth of flavour you could swim in', but red mullet is 'underseasoned' and 'the colour of a bruise'. Pink veal has 'textural problems', and a 'raised-pinkie' passion fruit Eton mess is less 'satisfying' than the classic version.

And Su-Lin of the blog Tamarind and Thyme visits the new Chiswick outpost of legendary Brixton pizzeria Franco Manca. Homemade lemonade is 'an odd colour' but refreshing nonetheless, while cutting into the pizzas results in 'brilliant ... crispy, shattering sounds'. 'What they're doing, they're doing very well'.