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hand picked restaurants

Whilst the 42 Loch Fyne restaurants have a shared background there is a welcome degree of individuality encouraged throughout the group, which makes for customer interest. If you like wholesome, fresh and reliable seafood caught and reared under carefully controlled conditions, well presented in unfussy surroundings, and you enjoy being well looked after by pleasant staff, Loch Fyne is for you.

There is an increasing awareness of other food staples with an extended choice of meat dishes, but it is the original fare upon which their success was created that prevails. Loch Fyne kippers, a fine bouillabaisse, braden rost, kiln-roasted salmon fillet, and the toothsome oysters on ice, with a selection of accompaniments, all are to be found throughout the various restaurants, as well as Glen Fyne 21 day aged rib-eye steak and Scottish smoked venison. There is invariably a well-travelled wine list available which is sensible, both in content and prices.

Loch Fyne's greatest achievement has been to prove to a sceptical populace that chains or conglomerates can be made to work in the eating-out public's best interests.

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.

Close to the Grafton Centre with its cinema and interesting range of shops the Peking enjoys a good reputation in Cambridge and has been described as the best Chinese in the city. Whether or not this has anything to do with their prices is debatable, and some would argue that for the quality and extent of the food the prices are fair. The cuisine is primarily Sichuan. This comes from the western, and wetter, part of China unlike the Cantonese with which most of us are more familiar. Spices abound, plates are large and it is probably not a good idea to go there without an appetite. Good Chinese beer supplements a fairly perfunctory wine list.

Set inside the newly redeveloped Queensgate Hotel, Sweet Olives serves a Mediterranean menu with a lot of traditional dishes to choose from. The restaurant offers a sophisticated dining experience in a relaxed, laid-back and friendly ambience. The interior features warm lighting, dark wood tables with leather-backed chairs and modern art on the walls. The bill of fare caters for all people - with a selection of pasta, meats, and specialist Med dishes that will surprise you for choice and flavour. There is also an excellent choice of vegetarian and gluten free dishes.

Homemade crab cakes on a bed of leaves with tomato and chili sauce, grilled courgettes with finely sliced Italian dry cured ham and char grilled aubergines are perfect choices to begin your meal. Rib eye steak and pan fried duck breast are a few of the meat dishes. Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in apple tarte tartin, raspberry panna cotta and chocolate torte.

Do not expect to be metaphorically dragged from busy Newnham Street (at least it's one of the streets in the city upon which traffic is still allowed) by the sheer outer opulence of Sala Thong. Nor, when you've safely made it, expect to be bowled over by the ambience of the interior. The golden pavilion it is not. Do, however, allow for excellent food with warm and efficient service at prices that will certainly not break the bank. Clearly a significant section of the population agree with this and on most nights you will find a cheerful, happy crowd backing their hunch.