Highlights:
Not much in the way of fine dining for me this year, and London overally really disappointed
6 months in South Africa did see me visit La Colombe about 5 times in 2011, each time having a lovely meal (try the rabbit, langoustine and chestnut starter) and receiving great service from the team who I gradually each got to know
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London. I've been to a number of Robuchon's restaurants before and generally love his fine cuisine but am a bit ambiguous about his Atelier concept. London has upped their game and delivered a really top rate experience

Disappointments:
Having been to the London Atelier de Joel Robuchon just a week beforehand, I met up with some of my best foodie friends in Hong Kong to try the Michelin 3*'d Hong Kong Atelier. Whilst it was perfectly nice 1* quality food and service, it's more like the Tokyo Atelier than any of his fine dining restaurants. The wine list meanwhile was the single most ridiculous I've ever come across - the cheapest drinkable wine I could find was $140USD, with the median for the list being somewhere around $400.

Surprises:
I reluctantly took a date out to Viajante as she insisted on going somewhere in East London. The chef used to work in El Bulli and does the whole Experimental Cuisine thing. This can be fantastic, but Viajante has been panned by all the restaurant critics (shortly before receving a Michelin star). Not all of the courses were stars, but there was some genuinely innovative and lovely food served for £60 for a ~10-13 course meal, depending on how you count courses. One to visit before the chef gets his first Zone 1 restaurant.