Avanti Bistro Bar Cafe is a smart, highly presentable eating place in Peascod Street, with a combination of Classic Italian and Traditional British cuisine that yields a wide and interesting menu calculated to please all tastes. History does not relate about the possibility of royal patronage but whoever calls will be treated with the same courtesy and efficiency for which Avanti is renowned.

It doesn't take too long for people to fall in love with the tourist town of royal Windsor. Said to be the Queen's favourite residence, the Castle looms, though not unpleasantly, from almost every angle and following the fire in 1992 and the subsequent restoration, visitor figures have increased.

Avanti's red awning gives you a hint of what to expect inside; pasta, steak, wine, beer, cappuccino, cakes, et al. The present owners took over in 2005 and have succeeded in building up a first class response to the widely varying tastes of their customers. Life starts at 8.30am with three enticing options if you include the vegetarian choice. An Avanti and the full English place emphasis on quantity and sausages, bacon black pudding and eggs are only part of a blistering opening to the day. There are plenty of more restrained dishes such as eggs Benedict, croissants, blueberry pancakes and an all day brunch which keeps the spirit of breakfast alive.

For later in the day prawn and avocado salad, gourmet burgers with Aberdeen Angus beef, wonderful pasta including a bolognaise to die for, choice of pizzas and chicken pesto alla Genovese. The British end of the menu offers traditional fish and chips, still a top favourite dish despite incursions from other parts of the globe - and very welcome too.

The food here could not be described as adventurous, but for its clientele is absolutely right, sound cuisine with reliable ingredients and as I am sure they would say in Yorkshire as well as Berkshire, "no mucking about". The British excel in their preparation of lamb, from cutlets to steaks, and a lamb steak at Avanti is served with a red wine and rosemary sauce, on a bed of mashed potato - simple, so very tasty and hunger quenching.

There is an excellent Patisserie menu with all sorts of mildly naughty but oh-so-delicious confections that raise the spirits when taken with one of their speciality or herbal teas. A small but adequate wine list can be purchased by the bottle or glass, London Pride ale carries the flag, and if the day is long and your feet are giving you a hard time a Bloody Mary outside in the sun may turn out to be just what you need.

Yes, the majestic Castle certainly beckons, but how can one forget the quiet charm of those little gift shops and places like Avanti Bistro Bar Café? But charm draws and their book-a-table option ensures that you can find your table waiting for you rather than the other way round.

Check on their Website for menu changes, special occasions and offers.