Set in a charming 17th-century building, The Ferry Inn offers delicious British cuisine made using fine local produce. From the pleasant riverside garden, guests can enjoy views onto the splendid Kentish countryside.

Led by Head Chef Dominic Wright, formerly of the Savoy in London, The Ferry Inn menu compiles locally sourced fish, meat and vegetables, as well as seasonal game. Whet the appetite with starters of oak-smoked Scottish salmon and Mackley Farm free range eggs on toasted brioche, and follow with main courses like roast rump of Romney Marsh lamb with bubble and squeak.

Tempting desserts of chocolate fudge cake or orange Grand Marnier cheesecake offer an indulgent close. A variety of real ales and fine wines are served from the bar at The Ferry restaurant, and a creative specials menu is offered.

A charming setting, The Ferry Inn is perched between the pretty towns of Tenterden and Appledore.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

The first Fat Cat Café Bar opened in Bangor, North Wales in 1992 and since then the group has been steadily expanding to meet the demands of the increasingly discerning customer. They run eleven café bars in London, the Midlands, Wales and the North West, and are known to maintain high standards in food and service.

In order to remain at the forefront of café bar culture, a number of their sites have been refurbished during the past year. All outlets offer just the right environment to relax - with comfortable leather sofas and private booths. Large projection screens show live sporting events and wi-fi is available free of charge.

Food is served all day, seven days a week and menus change monthly with each outlet playing host to events and offers like ladies nights and set menus. Music policy depends on the time of day, ranging from classic background to uplifting dance at weekend nights.

The breakfast menu offers, among other choices, the typical English Fat Cat breakfast. The all day menu is extensive and has good choices, and is best known for burgers that include a spicy lamb, Cajun chicken or potato, roasted garlic and mixed bean burger.

Amongst the starters, expect to find sweet and sticky ribs, crispy whitebait and Stilton and spring onion potato cakes. If you like to keep it simple, the rustic Fat Cat Caesar salad is a good option. Mains could offer beer battered fish and chips, and favourites like bangers and mash, grilled sea bass fillet or pork T-bone steak.

There are popular desserts like sticky toffee pudding and warm apple and cinnamon sundae for those wanting to give their meal a sweet end.

A large selection of wines, spirits, bottled products, cocktails and spirits makes up their drinks menu. The list also mentions liqueurs and non-alcoholic beverages.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Chimichanga Hornchurch is a popular neighbourhood restaurant serving a wide range of authentic Mexican dishes just a 9-minute walk from Hornchurch Tube Station in East London. Just off the busy High Street, the restaurant boasts plenty of outside seating for al fresco dining and is just a short walk from the Queen?s Theatre in the heart of the town.

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.

Close to the historic towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick and Royal Leamington Spa, The Queen & Castle offers a delicious modern British cuisine menu with Mediterranean influences in the heart of Warwickshire. Nestled on Castle Green, directly opposite Kenilworth Castle, it's the perfect place for unwinding after a day of sightseeing. The pub also boasts a beautiful, secluded garden that is ideal for al fresco dining in warm weather, with an outdoor play area for the kids and ample onsite parking, making it a wonderfully family-friendly venue for a weekend meal.

The Queen & Castle's traditional brick and tiled roof exterior gives way to a bright and airy interior with wood floors, beamed ceilings and comfortable leather chairs. The light coloured walls and ceilings offer a stunning contemporary take on traditional Tudor decor and witty touches, such as the antler coat-hooks above the hearth complete the stylish setting. The same attention to detail is discernible in the friendly and attentive staff and the excellent service ensures a pleasant experience.

The seasonally changing à la carte uses the finest market fresh ingredients and delivers a range of sharing platters and starters such as winter bruschetta of asparagus, gorgonzola, prosciutto, balsamic on stirata Romana bread and red onion and gorgonzola tart with roasted apple and mustard seed dressing to whet the appetite.

Follow with a flavourful stone baked pizza topped with luganega sausage, chorizo, pepperoni, spit roasted chicken and crushed chillies or roasted Mediterranean vegetables, goat's cheese, cherry tomatoes and rocket. There's also choice of wonderful pasta dishes, no dull uninspiring spaghetti Bolognese here, instead there's lasagne with slow roasted pork, red peppers and roast garlic or linguini with tiger prawns, crab and chorizo in a spicy tomato sauce.

Salads of crispy duck with mooli, carrots, hoisin, spring onions and plum sauce or grilled goat's cheese crostini with roasted sweet potatoes, borlotti beans and blush tomato dressing provide a light main course. While more substantial mains include succulent grilled fare of fillet steak garni with watercress, confit tomato, grilled mushroom and hand-cut jenga chips or blade of beef, slow braised in red wine, with creamy parsley mash and horseradish crème fraiche. Classic burgers come with onion, gherkin, mustard mayo, cheese, relish, and chips with a host of extras including chorizo, bacon or flat mushroom. Alternatively, try one of chef?s daily specials on the blackboard. You could also enjoy Fabulous Fish Fridays with delicious fresh fish and shellfish specials with a whopping 50% discount on a bottle of white wine.

On Sundays, guests can enjoy a variety of beautifully prepared classic roasts with lashings of gravy and seasonal veggies. A prix fixe menu is available mid week until 7 pm while the bar menu includes a variety of small plates and main dishes.

The expertly selected wine list includes a variety of Mediterranean whites and reds, as well as examples from the rest of the world available by the glass and bottle, while the drinks menu offers a variety of aperitifs non-alcoholic drinks along with a range of excellent cask ales and bottled beers to quench the thirst.
 
Enjoyed eating at The Queen & Castle? Why not try its sister pubs; The Encore in Stratford-upon-Avon and The Saxon Mill in Warwick for a similar experience.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Miller and Carter Steakhouses showcase a passion for tender and flavoursome steaks as well as an eclectic selection of wines from around the world. Lovingly restored buildings, former coaching inns, historic barns, trendy shopping centres and boats play host to the steakhouses and the design concept follows a minimalist yet elegant route.

Steak features prominently on the Miller and Carter menu and a well-reared 28-day aged West Country beef is cooked to perfection. Choose from various cuts such as rib-eye, fillet, sirloin, rump, T-bone, Porterhouse or chateaubriand served with a choice of sauces like béarnaise, hickory maple barbecue, five mushroom chasseur and chimichurri among others.

There are plenty of chicken and fish dishes as well as burgers, freshly prepared salads, pasta and risotto. Miller and Carter's younger guests have a dedicated carte and there is a nibbles menu for light eaters too.

The Miller and Carter steak school is a great way to hone your grilling skills.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Plum in the middle of pretty Woburn village sits The Black Horse. Its eighteenth century terraced frontage belies a Tardis-like interior in which the cosy bar, lined with old leather-upholstered settles, leads on to a smart restaurant beyond. Through the carriage arch to the side, meanwhile, lies a secluded courtyard garden - 'a secret well worth discovering' as described by The Independent.

The Black Horse is a sister pub to The Swan at Salford. It is a tribute to the success of both pubs that Andrew Coath, the manager, was voted Licensee of the Year in 2007 by the British Institute of Innkeepers, out of 8,000 nominees!

It would be possible to enlarge upon all this indefinitely, but our purpose here is to tell you about The Black Horse and how they put into practice their strongly held principles. First the property, a genuine Georgian building in the middle of an estate town which draws heavily on visitors to Woburn Abbey nearby, home to the Russell family for nearly 400 years and one of the starting points for the surge in stately home interest some fifty years ago.

The pub is open all day from 11am for coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, drinks and dinner. Whether you pop in for a pint, a business lunch or a special dinner, you are guaranteed a friendly welcome. For dinner a deli board opens up a menu that explores the possibilities of mixed olives, black ham and fish leaving you to make up your own selection or, if the chatter's compelling leave it to the staff who will choose a board for you including the bread and chutney. This is the perfect start in trying some of the fantastic ingredients that they take such pride in sourcing, and a splendid way to chill out after a hard day before getting down to the main meal.

On their menu, you will find the very best quality fresh ingredients - fantastic sausages; free range chicken and eggs; Cornish lamb cutlets; 28 day dry-aged Aberdeenshire rump cap steaks - sourced from producers who take pride in their products and an ethical stance in their production.

The Black Horses menu always makes the most of seasonal ingredients, this ensures they avoid air-freighting and keeps us in touch with the cycle of the year, while combining the best of great British cooking and influences from around the world that are now part of our culture.

When the menu emerges can the wine list be far behind - in this case, no, thankfully since tucker like this deserves a sympathetic and timely response from the cellar which, whilst drawing quite heavily on France by no means neglects the exciting new outlets for quality wine. Greene King IPA, continental beers and lagers are well kept and endlessly popular.

While the à la carte menu is served 6.30 - 9.30 pm daily, a selection of great Sunday roasts is also served noon - 5 pm on Sunday.

Click on their Website for latest news, reservations, private room hire and nice comments from happy diners. Do have a look also at The Swan, Salford, the sister pub to The Black Horse, and not far away.

Set amidst the deep rural beauty of Rutland, this much fêted village pub continues to offer some of the best food and drink for miles around, with an excellent wine list, an array of draught and bottled beers and a timelessness that refreshes; now with the addition of six beautiful en-suite rooms located in the converted house across the road. Taken over by the present owners in 1999, there is now a regular flow of locals and longer distance customers who find the genuine article in this friendly place.

Created out of three cottages in 1890, The Olive Branch was at the heart of the community until its closure in 1997 and then re-opened in 1999 following a renovation, just in time for Christmas, and guests have often feel that here is a place that has it right. To prove the point there is a list of awards that would make the BAFTAs look like a car boot sale, nicely topped off with a Michelin Star in 2002, which it has held onto ever since; and to cap them all, Michelin made them their Pub of the Year 2008. With the credits well and truly rolled let's take a look at the day to day reality.

Apart from a dinner menu there are four others, the lunch, blackboard, evening set and Saturday afternoon for even less. All have their own time and setting. From the dinner menu expect to find starters, or small dishes some of which can be taken as large, that include Jerusalem artichoke risotto with artichoke crisps, and conchiglie pasta with wild mushrooms and truffle oil.

In a pub as close to Lincolnshire as this it would be strange not to find some of the famous sausages, and sure enough here are the Grasmere Farm variety served with mustard mash and onion gravy. Free range pork from Scalford Meadow, geese from Lings View Farm, and some of the best English asparagus from Abbey Park Farms all make regular and welcome dishes in season.

Puddings tend to be a riot of wickedness, with sticky toffee pudding, and quince and mascarpone tart with quince ripple ice cream. Cheese buffs will need restraining, with Cropwell Bishop Stilton, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester and Gevrik goats? cheese to name but three. That's before they even get to see the wine list and all its appendages, a veritable treasure vat of indulgence, helpfully offering guidance.

The traditional blackboard menu is called upon at lunchtime, with a two course lunch at £16.95, say, pan-fried red mullet with bouillabaisse, followed by game casserole with tarragon dumplings and mashed carrot, or blackcurrant treacle tart. You might do worse than line up a bottle of Trappistes Rochefort No 6 from the Abbeye de St Remy in Belgium to go with it - at 7.5%, the Monks are to be congratulated.

Truly this is a pub to remember. Find out more, if you are not already on your way, by referring to their attractive and welcoming Website, which contains menus and a full wine and ale list.

Awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Upstairs Restaurant & Bar leaves a big impression with its exciting French menu and a welcoming cocktail bar. Occupying the top floors of a renovated Victorian house, the interior is done up in soft colours with moody lighting and cosy seating.

The Upstairs menu is in tune with the seasons and changes every fortnight, and there is also a tasting menu to tempt your tastebuds. Dishes might include monkfish with globe artichoke and summer truffle, pork with quinoa, grapes and cod, served alongside black cabbage and smoked garlic.

Milk chocolate parfait with orange and white peach with raspberry and vanilla satisfy the sweet tooth. The Upstairs bar offers a concise selection of wines from around the world including organic and biodynamic varietals.

Located just above the popular Opus coffee shop, Upstairs in Brixton is a short drive from the Ritzy Cinema and Clapham Picture House.

More information can be found on their Website.

Tucked away on East Street, a short walk from the seafront and Brighton Pier, Terre à Terre brings together a medley of international textures and flavours to offer delicious vegetarian cuisine created with flair and playful exuberance. The brainchild of Amanda Powley and Philip Taylor, classically trained chefs who have cooked throughout the world, Terre à Terre's uncompromising quality has bagged it two AA Rosettes and Michelin Bib Gourmand awards.

An enjoyable evening in its comfortable, contemporary setting is full of pleasant surprises. While the umpteen benefits of a vegetarian diet have been loudly proclaimed for several years, Terre à Terre sets out to prove that it need not come at the expense of flavour or variety by indulging the palate with expertly blended ingredients to provide a culinary experience with a difference.

Terre à Terre's à la carte is as detailed as it is novel. Using seasonal vegetarian, vegan and organic products, including a host of locally sourced ingredients, it serves up piquant starters of  arepas chilli candy; deep fried corn cakes rolled in spice dust and served with chilli jelly, avocado and lime mayonnaise. While the wittily titled Peas Please turns out to be a delectable pea mousse served with a salad of broad beans, saffron new potatoes, white leeks and little gem hearts. For a sampling of dishes across the menu, why not try the Terre à tapas selection.

The unique combination of flavours continues with a host of sumptuous main course options. Crispy fried potato rösti comes with a buttered spinach topping and accompanied by a soft poached egg and melting cheese. Other choices include delectably soft buttermilk-soaked halloumi dipped in chip shop batter and served with chunky chips, vodka-spiked preserved plum tomatoes, bright fresh pea mint hash and pickled quails egg with a lemony Yemeni relish. There's also choice of shiitake, sake and kombu raman broth finished with courgette noodles, Chinese chives and soy; and red onion, mustard seed and cumin crumpets with ginger root chilli jam.

Delicious desserts such as the Middle Eastern inspired honey glazed pistachio and olive oil cake with velvety chocolate sorbet and a hot honeyed cardamom espresso shot, or sugar spice dusted doughnut straws served with sticky dipping chocolate and Rain Vodka sozzled cherries will satisfy even the sweetest tooth.

The same careful consideration extends to the organic and biodynamic wine list which sparkles with a variety of superb whites and reds from around the world including a Vega Lucia Blanco from Spain, Horsmonden Dry from East Sussex, Syrah from Chile and a Pinot Noir from New Zealand. Organic beers and ciders, aperitifs, cocktails and fruit juice will also quench the thirst.

More information can be found on their Website.

Forbury's Restaurant is situated in the central square of a modern development opposite Forbury Garden in the centre of Reading; it has achieved many positive reviews since it opened along with a recommendation from Michelin since 2006, two AA Rosettes and inclusion in Harden's Recommended. The restaurant has been created by Xavier Le-Bellego whose name has become associated with fine food and dining.

Xavier has worked with the internationally famous Raymond Blanc, John Burton Race and Albert Roux before managing The Red House near Newbury where he received the coveted 'Gastro Pub of the Year' title for two consecutive years.

Forbury's offers unfussy renditions of modern French and British cuisines and some of the dishes that emerge from the kitchen could be terrine of foie gras, bouillabaisse of Cornish fish and shellfish, and ballotine of Loch Etive smoked trout. Xavier passionately believes that 'good fresh food does not have to be expensive' and this is reflected in the menu admirably.

The modern and stylish restaurant is fully air conditioned and in addition to the main dining area, there is a private dining room, which can seat up to sixteen, a bar area, and a seating area on the terrace outside where diners on fine days can enjoy the pleasant outlook over Forbury Garden. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner each day from Monday to Saturday and for special functions and celebrations on Sunday.

The highly regarded à la carte menu offers starters such as hand-dived Orkney scallops, pea purée and black pudding; roasted breast of local wood pigeon with pumpkin purée and sauté wild mushrooms, or roasted pumpkin velouté with poached duck egg and mushroom ragoût. Main courses could include rump of Lambourne lamb; Gloucester Old Spot pork belly with mash potatoes, prune and Madeira jus, or grilled fillet of Hertfordshire beef with hand-cut chips, sauce béarnaise and red wine jus.

Don't miss the enticing range of desserts that include strawberry soufflé; Amedei dark chocolate fondant and pistachio ice cream, or a Braeburn apple tarte tatin for two to share.

The market menu is good value for money and is available for lunch and dinner. Some of the options there are smoked salmon ballotine with crème fraîche, beetroot and fennel salad, followed by pork cutlet with hand cut chips, broccoli and tarragon sauce, finishing with treacle tart with hot sauce anglaise; there is a choice of four dishes in each course.

Whether it is good food or wine, the French are not too far from it and Forburys's wine list which features around 240 wines from across the world was mentioned in the AA Notable Wine List for 2008. Some of these wines are available by the glass and are a fantastic accompaniment to the meal or just on their own too.

During the evening they are able to offer secure underground parking, however, this must be booked in advance when you book your table. For more information on everything from private dining, the wine list and latest menus, do have a look at their comprehensive Website.