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The first Browns opened at Brighton in 1973 with one simple guiding belief, that classic food, well delivered in a stylish environment, would be a recipe for success. The only thing that has changed since then is the number of Browns, now running at fourteen, of which six are in London, all prospering with the same theme.

Some of their buildings are particularly legendary in style, sometimes listed and always interesting, Browns at Cambridge was formerly the outpatients department of Addenbrooke's Hospital. No wonder that the bar is famous for its Bloody Mary's.

The main menu, available throughout the day, starts with appetisers, designed for sharing, with antipasti of Italian meat, vegetarian or seafood. Try also the flatbreads with a range of interesting toppings. In amongst the thirteen starters expect to come across smoked duck, crisp noodle and cashew nut salad with red peppers, tumeric cauliflower, spring onions and a sherry vinaigrette. The fish and salad choices include fish and chips tempura battered cod with minted mushy peas and tartar sauce and pan-fried butterflied tiger prawns tossed with linguine in a tomato, coriander and chorizo sauce.

The same theme of comfortable food, well-cooked and presented, continues throughout the mains course with roast chicken breast in sour dough bread with baby spinach, tomato and mayonnaise, served with seasoned chips, and steak frites 6oz prime sirloin, served with a lemon, parsley and peppercorn butter.

Afternoon tea is served from 2 to 5.30 pm with cucumber or cream cheese and smoked Scottish salmon sandwiches, slice of rich fruit cake and a large fruit scone with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam. Team up a raspberry and chocolate brownie with a raspberry grand cru wheat beer. By the way their breakfast and brunch menu is just one of the best and the pre-theatre supper from 4 to 6.30 pm takes no heed of your next intent, and offers terrific value.

The wine list is masterful and not over long, sometimes a great relief to those who find it difficult to navigate their way through an interesting, but lengthy list. Many bottles are available by the glass and helpfully each group of wines is classified under headings such as white, red and rose with house recommendations, New or Old World wines under them.

Browns at Cambridge are well able to deal with groups, and have special menus to look after their particular interests. Click on their excellent Website for further details and menu changes.

A highly acclaimed restaurant and traditional pub in the delightful village of Hemingford Grey, offering English and European cooking, it has been transformed from the former village pub into a place where the regular village lads are as much at home as those who come from further afield to enjoy the full range of facilities. Conveniently The Cock is open seven days a week.

The Cock is listed in The Good Food Guide, The Good Beer Guide, Michelin Guide, Hardens, Alistair Sawdays and Good Pub Guide. It has also achieved further recognition when it was made 'County Dining Pub of the Year' five times in the last six years. The Times have named The Cock as their 'favourite gastropub in England and Wales'.

On dull winter days the décor is bright enough, perhaps helped by wood burning fires, to encourage thoughts of summer days not far away, when the spacious garden also comes into its own. Sunday lunches are a speciality, with the meat sourced from local suppliers.

An á la carte menu makes a strong play for the fish eaters of this world with a daily board offering the best the market has to offer for starters and main courses. Pressed ham hock, beetroot and tarragon terrine with Cumberland sauce, and duck parcels with sweet and sour cucumber are regular attendees amongst other starters, along with roasted fig, walnut and Stilton salad with green peppercorn dressing.

The Cock is renowned for its selection of homemade sausages, notably the beef and porter variety, redolent of a lost age when quality had not been superseded by mass production. Sirloin steak, chips, roasted parsnips, braised onions and sauce off the boards offers excellent value.

Puddings kick off with a Pimms and raspberry crème brûlée, there's the Cock's take on sticky toffee pudding and strawberry and orange tartlet, crème fraîche and caramel sauce. British and Irish cheeses make a welcome appearance to round off a meal that carries the hallmark of quiet excellence.

An extremely informative Website, as you would naturally expect from such a well run place, will tell you much more about what you are going to experience.

The Crown Inn is a sixteenth century freehold, a family-run, thatched inn situated overlooking the village green in probably the most beautiful village in Cambridgeshire, some five miles west of Peterborough. Not far away is the River Nene, reputedly the source of inspiration for that all-time best seller, Wind in the Willows. The whole surrounding area is sheer old England and a walk down to Elton Mill and Lock make a good prelude to lunch or after dinner on velvet summer evenings.

An extensive but sympathetic renovation programme has resulted in the Inn being awarded 5 stars in the Inn Category from the AA. Those who knew The Crown of old will be delighted to hear that the great inglenook fireplace and oak beamed ceilings are alive and well.

The restaurant and bar have been refurbished in traditional country style, and there are five luxury en suite bedrooms, three under the impressive thatched roof and two in the courtyard. Names of all the rooms bear relevance to local villages or places of interest nearby and they are decorated sumptuously with due thought to every conceivable comfort, right down the wi-fi which never lets you stray too far from the Internet.

A string of distinguished links includes the Michelin Red Guide 2009, Michelin Eating Out in Pubs 2007, 2008 and 2009 and Alistair Sawday's Special Places to Stay 2009. Two dining areas can seat up to 60, with 40 in The Orangery and 20 in The Snug. In summer, the old chestnut tree provides ample shade to those who enjoy their food al fresco.

Chef proprietor Marcus Lamb produces menus that are loyal to Britain, and most of his suppliers are local. They include Cambridge Smokery, Grasmere Pork farm, and Normans of Oundle, who supply vegetables, fruit and flowers. Smiths of Oundle are responsible for the excellent cheeses, and fresh fish is from the not so distant North Sea.

The à la carte is the principal working menu and covers lunch and dinner. Starters of chicken liver and brandy parfait with homemade chutney and toast, or parpadelle pasta ribbons in a creamy slow braised ham hock, mushroom and Parmesan sauce make regular appearances on the menu. Those with a love for fruits of the sea will favour the North Sea lobster and cucumber salad marinated in sesame oil with mango, radish, coriander and lime salsa.

A beef and ale pie with carrots and mushrooms is well topped with melt in the mouth puff pastry. For those who like their steaks the roasted rump of Stilton butcher's beef served with celeriac and potato mash, spinach and confit shallots with shitaki mushrooms complete the enjoyment.

The Elton Swan provides a dessert that is hard to resist; swan shaped profiteroles stuffed with vanilla ice cream, swimming on a mill pond of dark chocolate sauce. A fine cheeseboard is supported by some decent port, and together these twin indulgences make that walk to the Mill almost obligatory.

In the bar six real ale pumps dispense Cask Marque accredited beers, including Golden Crown Bitter, to keep the discerning drinker happy and guest beers could yield Timothy Taylor Landlord, Exmoor Gold and Caledonian Deuchars. All wines are supplied by Concept Fine Wines of Harrogate, a name that guarantees reliability.

Weekends are busy at The Crown with so many attractions in the locality. Booking is strongly recommended for dinner on Saturday, and for Sunday lunch which is taken very seriously and offers tremendous value.

The addition of five luxurious bedrooms with en suite bath and shower facilities, flat screen TV with DVD player and a library of DVDs upon which to draw, wifi enabled and such everyday items as iron, hairdryer and tea and coffee making kit has proved to be a much overdue improvement - be sure to book in advance.

Details of more such special events nights, the splendid new accommodation, and menu changes with the seasons can be viewed in more detail on the Crown's attractive Website.

Dining by the river has fascinated guests since time immemorial, and who would not like the sound of clinking cutlery set against the gurgling river appearing to flow into The Brampton Mill, accentuated by a working water mill in front of the building. Inside it's old world at its best, with oak beams, log fires, snug sofas, subdued lighting and an abundance of wood. The dining area is split into several levels with plenty of nooks and crannies to cosy up in, which could possibly be in keeping with its reputation as the hidden gem of Huntingdon.

The atmosphere is one of joviality and when the sun is out, there are few things better than dining al fresco, overlooking the river. For all those special occasions, the Mill Room with its retro-chic furnishings could be just the place with seating for 15 - 20 people, and bespoke menus to suit all tastes and budgets.

The cooking is straightforward with a slant towards gastropub and traditional English fare, but things tend to perk up a bit with an occasional touch of innovation. So you could probably see wood fired pizzas, steaks and fish and chips interestingly juxtaposed with daily specials bringing in the best of what the market has to offer.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, baked Camembert with rustic bread, Greek mezze of taramasalata with humus, tzatziki, feta and flatbread, or a pizzette with garlic, rocket and Parmesan.

Amongst the starters, there is freshly made soup of the day, baked crab and avocado al forno, seared pigeon with black pudding and roast cherry tomatoes or red onion tarte tatin with goats' cheese and rocket. The salads - sorry, that should read 'leaves' - offer smoked chicken with avocado salad and satay dressing, for the seafood fiends some salmon Caesar with anchovies and parmesan or Dolcelatte with honey roast pears, endive and toasted pine nuts.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; expect to find a classic Margherita of tomato, mozzarella and basil, another with pepperoni, chorizo and jalapeño. Pastas include spaghetti pappardella with braised rabbit, mushrooms and pancetta cream or chef's choice risotto.

For the big event, there is always a fish of the day on request. The organic cod with roast cherry tomatoes, parsley sauce and mash is worth trying too. The venison fillet with baked sweet potato, horseradish crème fraîche and roasted beets is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating. For hearty eaters there are good fillet steaks with chicken liver parfait, crouton, frites, and Madeira jus.

A wide range of supporting dishes includes Belgian frites, horseradish cream and tomato, red onion and basil salad. For desserts resort to the blackboard, where there is always a good display, often with some of the local cheeses to set the buffs alight.

A sensible wine list that matches the cuisine to perfection trawls the world and comes up with some pretty interesting numbers - almost as interesting as the laconic descriptions, mostly one word but very accurate, even if 'soft, rich and bountiful' does sound rather like a generous heiress of infinite promise. The Brampton Mill also stocks a wide range of beers alongside continental Pilsners.

Check regularly on their Website for menu changes and arrangements for special occasions like Christmas and Valentine's Day. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

Located on the riverside in the centre of the lively cathedral town of Ely, offering quality eating and drinking in perfect surroundings, The Boathouse is steeped in history. King Canute and Hereward the Wake would have been familiar with the Great Ouse upon whose banks it stands, and in 1944 the Boat Race crews launched from the building when the Race was staged outside London during the war years.

Nowadays The Boathouse is a leading hotspot of Ely, a town renowned for one of the most outstanding cathedrals in Britain, with a brilliant programme of events taking place in and around this ancient place of worship throughout the year.

There is a main menu, in which you can be sure the locally caught eels, a great Fenland delicacy, will feature. Sure enough, amongst the starters is smoked eel and carrot salad, a baked duck parcel with sweet and sour cucumber; mushrooms on toast with chives and poached egg, or chicken liver pâté with red onion jam.

Main courses follow much the same pattern with roasted cod fillet, potato dumplings, spinach, fried mushrooms and green herb sauce. Denham Estate lamb cutlets are served with balsamic roasted red onions, tomatoes, new potatoes and port sauce, whilst sirloin steak comes with hand cut chips and a choice of sauce from the board.

Amongst the desserts there are some very tempting indulgences, like black cherry and kirsch crème brûlée, chocolate and hazelnut parfait, or the ubiquitous hot sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

At lunchtime a more limited menu is on offer with four starters and mains, which could include warm honey and thyme goats' cheese; sausages and mash made on site, and rhubarb and pear crumble. There can be few pleasanter places in Ely in which to enjoy a leisurely lunch than the sunlit quayside area outside The Boathouse.

A wine list drawn mainly from The Languedoc fields eight bottles at £20 or below, and several by the glass or carafe. The Boathouse is a valuable addition to the area and on present form looks set to thrive, in order to find out more a visit to their Website is definitely recommended.

With a name like Cambridge Chop House, one can assume that meat is not in short supply there. It's not just meat but the local ales served straight from the cask, attentive service, and classic British food that draw locals and tourists alike. Located in the corner of Kings Parade and Benet Street, with an entrance on the main street, this vast underground space has been meticulously transformed into a spacious restaurant.

Split over two levels, you could pick a table outside and sip a beer as you watch the world go by, or just head to the basement where the cavernous feel is accentuated by the white washed brick walls and ample lighting, brilliantly contrasted by the polished wooden tables. The cosy little nooks with leather banquettes could just be the place for a group of friends to meet for a good gossip, away from eavesdropping neighbours, and indulge in some delicious food.

The kitchen's philosophy is evident in their dishes, all British fare focusing on seasonality and loyalty to local suppliers. Starters range from cold sliced beef with green sauce, crayfish, prawn and crab cocktail and pressed ham hock terrine, to salads such as tripe and horseradish; herring, cucumber, new potato and dill, or seared wood pigeon, mushroom and tomato. Robust main courses of Grasmere Farm thick cut bacon comes with duck egg and chips, and a 16oz beef chop with roast vegetables and wild mushroom sauce, while a whole sea bass is accompanied by new potatoes and wholegrain mustard sauce.

Those keen on Sunday roasts will be happy to know that here they do them every day at lunchtime. The blackboard lists the available sausages with different varieties of mash and sauce, in addition to meat pudding of the day.

To finish there is Trinity burnt cream, fruit crumble with custard, and chocolate tart with ice cream. The wine list, which includes a Suffolk sparkler, is well thought out and achieves a primary Chop House aim - to provide quality at sensible prices.

If you thought Cambridge was only a favourite with scholars and academics think again, because this chop champion aspires to give everyone a reason to visit Cambridge. A quick click on their Website will tell you why.

We hear a great deal about recycling these days - du Vin recycles attractive but sometimes un-loved buildings to restore real gems in the best tradition of British understated style.

Complement that with all that is best in the French bistro ethos, bars that reach out to please, and you have a setting that provides an inspirational background for people to meet, do business, get married, provide a base for golf or fishing, somewhere you can call your own for a private celebration, a spa or - most engagingly - a wine school that breaks the mould.

In historic Cambridge, du Vin has taken on a beautiful old building in Trumpington Street and transformed it into a distinctive luxury boutique hotel, engaging its quirky architectural features in a manner that is wholly convincing. Inside the 41 bedrooms and boutique suites, some with private terraces, are fitted out with luxurious Egyptian linen and monsoon showers.

du Vin are renowned for their bistro style restaurants, and this one has more than a touch of La Français, making the right setting for a cuisine that looks to Europe for inspiration with a modern edge, as well as being serviced by the first du Vin open style kitchen.

Down in the labyrinthine cellars, vaulted ceilings look down on a splendid bar with, amongst other commendable attributes, a noble array of single malts and armagnacs. Add to this a specialist wine tasting room and private dining room, and the library overlooking the bijoux terrace where a mildly scholastic style reminds its occupants that they are sitting near the centre of one of the finest universities in the world.

In the snazzy bistro a choice of around ten starters could include devilled chicken livers, half a dozen Colchester oysters, or smoked duck breast with beetroot and pecan salad. Amongst the main courses expect to find that fast fading from the scene but delightful gastronomic extravagance, venison haunch with pickled red cabbage and artichoke puree and gilt head bream with sautéed potatoes and sauce vierge. Only in Cambridge? Well, perhaps in that other place beginning with 'O' where they used to make cars?

In amongst the classics there's braised ox cheeks with marrow bone dumplings and hot and sour cabbage, or crepes filled with mussels, cockles and crab.

Whilst one might argue that the whole point of being in a du Vin is to snuggle up to the wine list, this list is designed to match with the food and can only be described as superb. With a team of sommeliers, there is no room for anything but the best. Service is telepathic in the best possible sense.

Click on their Website for full information and rates. Hotel du Vin, with fourteen options throughout Britain, awaits your call.

The 17th century Anchor Inn is an established award winning riverside inn full of charm and character. Concentrating on fine, locally fresh yet unpretentious food and serving quality local beer as well as a superb wine list, the Anchor is an example of what is good about the independent modern British gastropub.

Should you fancy a longer stay they have four guest bedrooms, described by Paddy Burt in her Daily Telegraph column as'...a little bit of heaven anchored in Fenland'. Those living in the Fens will know exactly what she means.

Sensibly, a word that often comes to mind when looking at the Anchor Inn, they have one à la carte menu for dinner every day except on Sunday during December, when it is replaced by a special celebratory version. At other times an excellent lunch, two courses for £12.95, three for £16.95 is on offer.

A nice touch is provided by the pre-meal arrangements, enabling the menu to be considered over a glass of champagne or a glass of Barbadillo Manzanilla extra dry sherry, with a bowl of olives and roast cashews or sea salt and Balsamic crisps.

Dishes on offer could range from starters like chicken liver pâté with red onion marmalade and melba toast; grilled dates wrapped in bacon in a mild grain mustard cream sauce, or warm cranberry and brie filo parcel.

The same inspired approach persists into the choice of main courses, with pan-fried free range chicken breast on forestière potatoes and herb pesto. Ballotine of pheasant and Parma ham with chestnut stuffing, roasted new potatoes, winter greens and red wine jus carries with it a blend of flavours that brings the taste buds smartly to attention. Pan-fried sea bass is always popular, served here on chilli, herb and horseradish linguine with steamed pak choi.

From a list of five desserts the double chocolate brownie with Mandarin ice-cream stands supreme, or there's vanilla cheesecake with black cherry compote. For many, a well kept cheeseboard is an essential and here the selection of unusual British farmhouse cheeses does not disappoint.

This is a great spot for Sunday lunch when the menu might contain starters of seared king scallops on pea puree and baby fondant potatoes with crispy bacon and lemon dressing; mozzarella and tomato salad with fresh basil pesto, roast sirloin of Ouse Wash beef with full accompaniments, or fillet of sea trout on a bed of sautéed new potatoes, creamed leeks and broad beans with sauce vierge. Denham Estate venison steak also makes an appearance.

For dessert many folk would need a lot of persuasion not to opt for the raspberry and amaretti terrine with crème fraîche. With serving hours now extended to 2.30pm there is simply no excuse for not taking the family out for a real treat.

A well varied and comfortably priced wine list, with some 60 choices, well described and helpfully categorised; is in keeping with this well-run yet relaxed and friendly place. Due attention is paid to the needs of those who wish to confine their drinking to by-the-glass.

Menu variations follow the seasons and the markets, and a quick click on their attractive Website will keep you up to scratch.

Cambridge - rather surprisingly - is not particularly well served for the aspiring gastronome, so the addition of Graffiti at the Felix Hotel to the available options has been universally welcomed by the locals. The Observer commented, 'A cool, modern oasis. . . .a marvellous restaurant and all the comforts you can expect from a smart boutique hotel'.

Awarded 2 Rosettes by the AA, the menu covers a generous interpretation of modern British with hints of the Mediterranean. Overlooking the terrace and garden, the candlelit Graffiti is open to both residents and a wider public, and encourages a relaxed ambience against a smart background well lined with contemporary art. In winter an open fire adds to the feeling of luxurious living.

Bedrooms are luxurious, as one might expect, perhaps best described as possessing an opulent simplicity, many with walk in Rainshower showers and a bath. King size Hypnos beds combines with the finest Egyptian cotton bed linen and duvets to ensure the best possible night's sleep. All the modern IT 'smells and bells' are supplied including a laptop safe, and wireless internal hotspots in both bedrooms and public rooms. Four bedrooms are located in the Victorian part of the hotel, the remainder in an adjoining wing. Rooms for the disabled are also available.

A set price lunch menu at £13.95 for two courses, £17.95 for 3 represents some of the best value in town, with a café bar offering lighter dishes for lunch and dinner.

The modern menu is an inspired assembly of dishes, and a meal could commence with confit free range chicken and chestnut mushroom terrine. Raspberry jelly, hazelnuts and wild rocket is served with cured breast of Gressingham duck, while the bread selection accompanied by marinated artichoke hearts, tomato pesto and chilli oil that make a refreshing change, though closer examination reveals wasabi pea crusted loin of yellow fin tuna, confit cucumber and spring onion salad, soy and mirin dressing.

Main courses yield a veritable harvest of enticing choices, not least of which is the rump of Suffolk lamb with green garlic and parsley purée, broad beans, roast aubergine and thyme rösti. A pan fried fillet of hake arrives at the table with roasted bell pepper, confit baby fennel, sautéed ratte potatoes and Cabernet Sauvignon syrup.

Desserts of peach and raspberry curd tart, or bitter chocolate and spearmint torte with white chocolate and mint sorbet are but two of the temptations that await.

A more than usually attractive wine list includes an excellent range of by-the-glass options guaranteed to meet the great majority of aspirations. This is followed by an impressive collection of house wines, including the house champagne at a reasonable £38.50. Prices in general hover between the £30/£40 mark, and there are more expensive but still reasonably priced offerings to cope with that special occasion.

Private rooms and the terrace are also available for occasions when only something rather special will do.

Little more than a mile from the centre of Cambridge, regarded by many as the most civilised of our University cities, Hotel Felix is well-placed for access to main link roads, business parks and the M11 and offers free parking - a rarity in the city. For more information, including further details on staying at the Hotel Felix, do visit their Website.

Chimichanga Peterborough delivers authentic Mexican food in a spacious modern setting just a 4-minute walk from Peterborough Cathedral. Ideally located in the heart of the city, between the Queensgate and Rivergate Shopping Centres, Chimichanga is the perfect place to take a break and enjoy a delicious meal after a busy shopping trip.
 
Chimichanga's extensive à la carte caters to a variety of palates. A wide range of delicious appetisers includes crab cakes, Buffalo chicken wings and empanadas, a traditional crispy pastry filled with a choice of chicken or chorizo sausage with cheese and served with sour cream. Other choices include piri piri prawns, Cajun chicken with chilli sauce and jalapeno bullets, a dish of deep fried jalapeno peppers with cream cheese and chilli sauce. Appetisers to share include chicken nachos or taquitos, crispy flour tortilla tubes with a range of fillings including cheese and black beans, chicken, cheese and salsa and chorizo and cheese.

Light bites include a range of tortilla wraps including a classic fajita wrap with a choice of char grilled fajita steak or chicken served with peppers and onions in a tortilla with Jack cheese. Vegetarians are catered for with the delicious courgette and Portobello mushroom wraps which comes with chipotle chilli sauce and jack cheese. There?s also a number of tempting salad options such as blackened tuna salad with tuna steak coated in a special blend of Cajun spices, blacked on a hot skillet and served over a bed of mixed leaves with roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

For something more filling diners could opt for a tortilla burger, made from 100 per cent fully traceable prime Scottish beef wrapped in a flour tortilla with mayonnaise and served with changa chips.

The char grill section's succulent offerings include barbecue baby back ribs served with change chips and jalapeno coleslaw; sirloin mojo rojo, a centre cut sirloin steak marinated in chilli, garlic and coriander and served with beer battered onion rings and change chips, Santa Fe chicken with rice, black beans and guacamole or flame grilled piri piri chicken.

Sumptuous Mexican specialities naturally include chimichanga, a flour tortilla fried golden brown with Jack cheese and served with your choice of filling - either chunky beef chilli con carne, BBQ pulled pork or bean chilli - sautéed onions and peppers and garnished with sour cream, chives, guacamole and tortilla croutons, as well as a variety of burritos, enchiladas and tostadas. There are also chipotle meatballs, Mexican paella, chilli de la casa and south-western crab cakes. The grande quesadilla is a baked flour tortilla sandwich with your choice of filling and drizzled with sour cream and served with Mexican rice and chipotle chilli sauce.

The lunch menu offers a choice of two or three courses while a children's menu caters to the tastes of the little ones.
 
Round off the satisfying meal with scrumptious dessert of giant Mexican profiterole, chocolate fudge brownie or honeycomb smash cheesecake. Alternatively, end with a speciality coffee or liqueur. Chimichanga offers a variety of wines, beers, cocktails, margheritas, sangria and soft drinks to quench the thirst.

More information can be found on their Website.