What if you can't afford major refurbishments and openings?

There's much talk of major refurbishments and openings.

What goes unsaid is how few people can afford a wholesale design job. Take the case of Morgan Meunier, Chef Patron of Morgan M in Islington. When he set up three years ago, he did everything off his own bat. As a result, his 48-cover restaurant was rather a plain Jane, decorated simply in green and white, with just a collection of vintage Michelin guides and Meunier's own paintings to brighten it up.

Three years of critical acclaim and steady business later, he can finally complete the job.

He's added some new paintings, gone shopping for new lighting, plates and antiques, and, along with designer Monica Fino, given the room a new burgundy colour scheme. "I couldn't do it at the start," he says. "We had to open as it was. Now we've arrived where we wanted to be, only three years later."

Meunier's gone for a financially cautious approach, making changes as he could afford to.

"We step things up every six months. It doesn't always get things noticed but it's the only way to maintain standards."

Morgan M, 489 Liverpool Road, London N7, 020 7609 3560 morganm.com