RESTAURANT FOR SHOW-OFFS!

It’s the £100 a head Mayfair eaterie where celebs go when they WANT to be seen. And what juicy tales those tables tell . . .

SHE ABSOLUTELY insists they are nothing more than ‘dearest’ friends — but was there ever a more picture perfect image of a romantic date?

When David Walliams, 44, took Kate Beckinsale, 42, out for dinner on Friday night they picked the greatest exhibitionist’s paradise in London: an outdoor table at Scott’s in Mayfair, with the world’s press photographers snapping away.

Everybody concerned looked fantastic — bathed in the warm glow of candles on the table. The publicity for Ms Beckinsale’s new Jane Austen film Love & Friendship will surely have been most welcome. And David Walliams, famed for his camp persona, is greatly noted for his PR-friendly stable of almost improbably beautiful squeezes.

Of course, they aren’t the first to find that pavement outside Scott’s. It’s a paradise for seafood lovers — and those who cannot get through a meal without lighting a cigarette. But, above all, it’s surely the most public place in town for a quiet dinner.

Domestic goddess Nigella Lawson and ex-husband Charles Saatchi were such regulars that they played out practically their entire relationship on the pavement of Mount Street — including, notoriously, the dramatic thoat-grabbing finale.

Not surprisingly, Nigella has not returned — but advertising mogul Saatchi was back within weeks, with a new dining companion, naturally.

So who else has been to the restaurant for show-offs — and why? ALISON BOSHOFF tells the tales of the tables at the restaurant which is a haven for those in need of a quick publicity fix.