In upmarket Mayfair, Cocochan offers contemporary pan Asian cuisine and glamorous cocktails, accompanied by a funky lounge bar and terrace. Bond Street Tube Station is just 4 minutes' walk away from Cocochan.

Cocochan restaurant offers a wide range of dishes from China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and India in a stylish, contemporary setting. You could begin the meal with starters of chicken and water chestnut gyoza, crispy aromatic duck rolls, Vietnamese seared beef salad with nyoc cham or crab cakes with jalapeno mayo and Thai salad. Follow with mains of chargrilled lamb cutlets with moromi miso, pickled acar salad, oven baked miso black cod with edamame, stir fried tiger prawns with sambal or crispy noodles with chicken.

Delicacies on the Cocochan menu include lobster specialities, tempura, sushi and sashimi. To finish, consider salted caramel mousse, pistachio crème brûlée or chocolate fondant. Separate bar and set menus are also available. The wine list at Cocochan London offers a selection of whites and reds from all around the world.

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

The Fish and Grill in Putney follows its namesake in Croydon with chef owner Malcolm John continuing to do what he does best. Freshly prepared seafood with a choice of grilled steaks is served in a laid back cozy ambience with dark wood furniture and leather upholstery, perfect for an enjoyable evening with family and friends. Al fresco dining on the terrace can accommodate up to 30 guests. The Fish and Grill is a 7-minute walk from Putney Rail Station.

Diners are greeted by a fresh fish bar showcasing a wide ranging selection sourced from the South Coast and Cornwall. Rare-bred meats and the free-range poultry offer delicious alternatives for lunch or dinner. The meal could open with starters of salt cod fritters served with crushed pea aioli, Dorset crab with mayonnaise, whitebait with aioli or Carlingford oysters. The potted fish selection offers smoked mackerel with toast and breakfast radish, curried shrimps with gem lettuce and Cornish gurnard with citrus, toast and Waldorf salad.

Alternatives to fish and seafood starters include a Natoora Italian charcuterie board and English asparagus with soft boiled duck egg and hollandaise as well as salads beetroot with goat?s curd, pickled walnut and wild mushrooms and endive with honey and grain mustard.

After the appetizing beginning to the meal you could follow up with mains of grilled Cornish lobster, pan roast skate with capers and samphire, whole grilled crab with garlic chilli and ginger butter, beer battered haddock with pea purée and pea ravioli with mint butter and aged parmesan. The grilled selection includes a succulent Aberdeen Angus fillet steak on the bone, veal chop with lemon and marjoram, Southdown lamb cutlets and Chateaubriand for two with roasted bone marrow, all served with triple cooked chips and béarnaise or pepper sauce.

If you feel like going with the set menu then you could dine on starters of squid tempura with tartar sauce, leek and potato soup with smoked fish or salad of watercress, with endives, brae-burn apple, beetroot and grain mustard. For mains try aged rump steak with dripping chips, whole grilled Cornish plaice with clams and monks beard or house burger made with hand diced Angus beef, blue cheese or cheddar and bacon or jerk seasoning.

A children's menu offers the little ones dishes such as grilled maize fed chicken with mash potato and cooking juices, fish fingers with tartar sauce and green beans or broccoli and tomato, basil and mozzarella fettuccine.

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

Housed within a beautiful neo-Georgian building, Prezzo Welwyn Garden City offers cosy Italian dining in the heart of the city. Located in a tree-lined boulevard and surrounded by shops, Prezzo is just a short walk from the Welwyn Garden City Rail Station.

The attractive interior with large picture windows allows natural light to stream in and provides a relaxed setting for a delicious Italian meal.

Prezzo restaurants satisfy the needs of those who like genuine Italian cuisine, as they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic pizza bread with caramelised balsamic onions and melted mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goats' cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on focaccia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal.

Find pastas such as the unusual chicken ravioli, made pancetta bacon, petits pois and grana padano cheese in a cream sauce; amongst the special pastas, the polpette al forno with meatballs, field mushrooms, caramelised onions, red chillies and penne in a tomato and garlic sauce is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like chicken and red pesto with roasted peppers and grana padano cheese, while tiger prawns with oak roast salmon and petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce, is enticingly different.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular fiorentina, topped with spinach, free-range egg, grana padano cheese, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato, and the much loved quattro formaggi - gorgonzola, goat's cheese, grana padano, mozzarella, tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with Prezzo's own blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can wash down the food with a variety of tipples - ranging from house wine and Chardonnay to liqueurs and beer and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal.

More information can be found on their Website.

Prezzo has been delighting diners for over eight years, and this Italian restaurant chain has since been able to expand throughout large parts of England and Scotland with some 141 outlets.

Interestingly, the company seeks to restore either impressive buildings or ones of local interest. The conversion of the Newbury library and other listed buildings, such as those in Salisbury, Romsey and Mayfair, are all welcome examples of 'new use'. Their trendy and sophisticated décor usually consists of tiled or wooden floors with delicate lights and colourful paintings, along with wooden furniture and sparkling cutlery, creating a setting that is suitable for a relaxed lunch, a family meal or an evening out with friends.

The restaurants are of particular appeal to those who like genuine Italian cuisine, and they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic bread with mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goat's cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on foccacia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal. Best fun is to order an antipasto platter to share made up from seven well loved Italian nibbles.

Find pastas such as the unusual penne con salmone, with oak-roasted salmon, broccoli and fresh chillies in a red pesto and cream sauce, or firm favourites like spaghetti with meatballs, spaghetti Bolognese, and fusilli al pesto, asparagus spears with field mushrooms and roasted peppers in a basil pesto sauce.

Amongst the special pastas, the pollo mariano, seasoned chicken, pepperoni sausage, roasted peppers and fusilli in tomato sauce, is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like tiger prawns with petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular napoletana, topped with yellowfin tuna, tomato, white anchovies, capers, red onion, mozzarella and marinated olives, and the much loved quattro stagioni - pepperoni sausage, prosciutto ham, artichoke, field mushrooms, capers, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with their blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can accompany the food with a variety of tipples, though for many, Italian food requires Italian wines to be enjoyed to the full, ranging from house wine through Morellino di Scansano and Prosecco to liqueurs and beer, and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal, in company with a glass of grappa or sambuca.

This is Italian food at its attractive best, convincing and bringing together the traditional with the modern twist or two against a background of excellent value.

Prezzo is a lively group and opportunities to improve and update are never left on the table for long. Keep up to date with a quick click on their Website.

On High Street, Prezzo Eltham offers fine Italian cuisine is a bright, spacious setting. Housed in a converted London electricity showroom building, the beautifully designed interior retains much of its original charm with a stunning first floor dining area, which features stained glass windows and wooden furniture.

Surrounded by shops and bars, Prezzo is just a short walk from Eltham Railway Station.

The restaurants satisfy the needs of those who like genuine Italian cuisine, as they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic pizza bread with caramelised balsamic onions and melted mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goats' cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on focaccia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal.

Find pastas such as the unusual chicken ravioli, made pancetta bacon, petits pois and grana padano cheese in a cream sauce; amongst the special pastas, the polpette al forno with meatballs, field mushrooms, caramelised onions, red chillies and penne in a tomato and garlic sauce is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like chicken and red pesto with roasted peppers and grana padano cheese, while tiger prawns with oak roast salmon and petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce, is enticingly different.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular fiorentina, topped with spinach, free-range egg, grana padano cheese, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato, and the much loved quattro formaggi - gorgonzola, goat's cheese, grana padano, mozzarella, tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with Prezzo's own blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can wash down the food with a variety of tipples - ranging from house wine and Chardonnay to liqueurs and beer and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal.

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

Prezzo has been delighting diners for over eight years, and this Italian restaurant chain has since been able to expand throughout large parts of England and Scotland with some 141 outlets.

Interestingly, the company seeks to restore either impressive buildings or ones of local interest. The conversion of the Newbury library and other listed buildings, such as those in Salisbury, Romsey and Mayfair, are all welcome examples of 'new use'. Their trendy and sophisticated décor usually consists of tiled or wooden floors with delicate lights and colourful paintings, along with wooden furniture and sparkling cutlery, creating a setting that is suitable for a relaxed lunch, a family meal or an evening out with friends.

The restaurants are of particular appeal to those who like genuine Italian cuisine, and they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic bread with mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goat's cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on foccacia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal. Best fun is to order an antipasto platter to share made up from seven well loved Italian nibbles.

Find pastas such as the unusual penne con salmone, with oak-roasted salmon, broccoli and fresh chillies in a red pesto and cream sauce, or firm favourites like spaghetti with meatballs, spaghetti Bolognese, and fusilli al pesto, asparagus spears with field mushrooms and roasted peppers in a basil pesto sauce.

Amongst the special pastas, the pollo mariano, seasoned chicken, pepperoni sausage, roasted peppers and fusilli in tomato sauce, is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like tiger prawns with petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular napoletana, topped with yellowfin tuna, tomato, white anchovies, capers, red onion, mozzarella and marinated olives, and the much loved quattro stagioni - pepperoni sausage, prosciutto ham, artichoke, field mushrooms, capers, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with their blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can accompany the food with a variety of tipples, though for many, Italian food requires Italian wines to be enjoyed to the full, ranging from house wine through Morellino di Scansano and Prosecco to liqueurs and beer, and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal, in company with a glass of grappa or sambuca.

This is Italian food at its attractive best, convincing and bringing together the traditional with the modern twist or two against a background of excellent value.

Prezzo is a lively group and opportunities to improve and update are never left on the table for long. Keep up to date with a quick click on their Website.

Featuring the rustic flavoursome cuisine of southern Italy, particularly the Apulia region, the Gola Restaurant on Fulham Road is a cosy and welcoming eatery with a traditional, unpretentious décor and a menu to match.Using fresh seasonal produce, the kitchen produces hearty dishes such as lamb shank marinated in Chianti wine sauce, veal lasagna with pecorino cheese cream and homemade ravioli with artichoke and fresh mint. Antipasti include smoked duck Carpaccio with orange, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard or salad of goat's cheese, tomatoes, roasted peppers, zucchini and red onions. Desserts of nougat semifreddo topped with crushed praline hazelnuts and white chocolate mousse with chilli jam apply the finishing touch to a delicious meal.

A carefully selected wine list includes familiar Italian favourites such as Primitivo, Montepulciano and Pinot Grigio alongside less well-known names including Spinmarino and Barbaresco. There is also a fine selection of sparkling wines including Prosecco, Tattinger and Krug.

The Witchery has held legendary status in Edinburgh for what seems like forever. But in fact it was only in 1979 that James Thomson, the man who has given Scotland's capital city a major lead in establishing itself as the culinary hot spot in a country where good value in such matters had become unfashionable, set up the now internationally celebrated Witchery.

The effect has been electric, and even though new restaurants come and go in Edinburgh as they do everywhere, the staying factor somehow seems to be longer in Auld Reekie. Many would agree this is in no small part due to the standards of excellence set by the leaders. Perhaps this is the way it was following the establishment of the Edinburgh Café Royal in 1817?

Witchery started with a staff of just three. Now a team of over 200 work with James in his Collection of venues and his first year's turnover is achieved each day. As well as providing a memorable experience in eating, accommodation has been added with eight suites, all of which are as individual and stimulating as their names - Armoury, Old Rectory and Inner Sanctum amongst them. Wall to wall decadence joins with gothic décor to provide what is rightly described as 'an unforgettably magical experience'.

However, in the nature of things a wider audience is fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the delights of the table where the very best of Scotland's produce is invoked to bring pleasure to the discerning. Lunch and dinner is served daily from an à la carte menu, with incredible light meal value offered at lunchtime and theatre suppers for a modest £15.95 for two courses, there is also a three course lunch or dinner menu for £30.

The à la carte assembles a selection of about eleven starters, for any of which most of us would gladly make almost any sacrifice, not least the dressed Isle of Mull brown crab with samphire, cherry tomato confit, quail egg, lardons and cider dressing; a steak tartare or the platter of Scottish seafood on which is assembled some of Scotland's finest with a half or whole lobster to suit.

It's reassuring to order roast hot-smoked Loch Duart salmon with sweet potato, green beans and butter sauce, to find that it still had that same distinctive taste remembered from more rustic days when they would be cooked with some immediacy, and far less skill than that deployed here. Oysters and fish remains one of the favorites from the sea, or on your plate at Witchery where it comes with dishes such as Lindisfarne oysters, grown on the seashore of the Lindisfarne nature reserve and Traigheanna Bay oysters served on ice with lemon, Tabasco and shallot vinegar. It is indeed a dish fit for those who pass this way in search of the best and do not make their journey in vain.

A Witchery pudding selection is guaranteed to give pleasure; passion fruit and mascarpone trifle with pistachio biscotti is a combination made in heaven.

Talking of heaven leads on to the wine list which is selected by an enthusiastic team run by James Thomson himself. It embraces almost 500 wines, covering all the great wine producing areas, and has a special selection of seventeen available by the glass.

There are those who say that Witchery is a restaurant you should go to once in a lifetime. I can hardly agree. You should go there as often as you feel able to do so, for places like this are indeed rare, and life is for living - well.

More information can be found on their Website.

Located on the ground floor of the Abode Hotel in Chester, the MC Café Bar offers an informal dining experience, whether for a hearty breakfast or a relaxed dinner meal. With striking portraits of Ozzy Osbourne, Bob Geldof and Hugh Grant adorning the walls, and colourful contemporary styling, the Cafe Bar is a vibrant dining space that attracts a varied crowd.

Presided over by Michelin star winning chef, Michael Caines, the Cafe Bar adheres to his philosophy of serving food in a fast and fun way with emphasis on making use of good ingredients. Starters include organic Scottish smoked salmon with dill crème fraîche, crispy capers and potato blinis, and Oriental crab cakes. Main courses include a honey roasted ham comes with fried eggs and homemade chunky chips while more sociable diners can opt for a platter to share, such as the Asian option with crispy duck spring roll, belly pork with soy dressing, shrimp tempura, soy and honey glazed cod, bean sprout and sesame salad. Diners can also choose from a selection of salads, sandwiches, bagels, and paninis served until 5pm.

The drinks list is extensive a features a selection of house wines, cocktails, Fairtrade tea and coffee, and smoothies.

The distinctive Grade II Grosvenor makes a very good match for the historic town that it serves, with a rambling ground floor of tremendous character and a slightly old-fashioned, in the best sense, approach to such matters as personal service and care of their guests.

The Hotel is part of the Best Western group, almost always an indication of professional attention to detail. This is particularly the case in the restaurant which has a truly international flavour backed by well-starched table settings that include sparkling glassware.

Starters set the pace with an oriental duck salad on mixed leaves with an oriental dressing, salmon and crab fishcakes on roquette salad with a light Thai cream, any of which can be followed with a refresher course of lemon, blackcurrant or mango sorbet.

Pan-fried medallions of beef with a Stilton cheese rarebit on a potato rosti and drizzled with port wine and tomato concasse reduction open up the mains selection, with steamed lemon sole fillets stuffed with prawn mousse, set on crushed herb potatoes, with roasted cherry tomatoes and dill butter cream doing ample justice to the restaurant's approach to fish.

The treacle tart served with warm vanilla custard brings a touch of classicism to the desserts, along with the Normandy crêpes, filled with apples and cinnamon and laced with toffee sauce and ice cream.

With New World wines once again beating the French in blind tastings it is time to pay close attention to the wine list, especially one as well travelled as this version. A comparison between the Californian Hidden Falls Merlot and the French Beaujolais, Domaine Pavillon de Chavannes, as served in French Embassies throughout the world, should make for some interesting observation.