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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.

The Plough has been one of Great Casterton's well known landmarks, and with the recent refurbishment, it has become a popular restaurant as well. While the exterior is like any other gastropub dotting the English landscape, inside, the décor is warm and friendly and the food is simply delicious. Low ceilings, open fires and wooden tables lend a rustic element to the interior although you could also sit outside in the enclosed beer garden if al fresco is more your scene and the weather permits of course.

Fresh, seasonal and locally sourced produce figures in the menu and amongst the starters, you could find terrine of local game served with red onion marmalade. Follow this up with a braised venison steak over celeriac mash, carrot puree and cranberry sauce and end with a delectable Grand Marnier soufflé with a strawberry and orange compote. The bar offers light snacks along with two real ales and a selection of good wines.

For some time I made the mistake of thinking that no group of restaurants in the region of 200 locations could hope to maintain the quality for which I was looking.

Then one day I decided to put my prejudices to the test, walked into Oxford Ask! and discovered that I could not have been more mistaken. Their claim to serve freshly prepared quality food in stylish and comfortable surroundings with friendly and efficient service proved to be absolutely spot on.

Since then I have also discovered that a degree of consistency seems to operate throughout their restaurants, and that certainly does take some achieving, implying a degree of management that is enviable. They are perfect places for an impromptu snack, a bit of culinary grazing, or the full works, and families are catered for particularly well.

Their trendy décor usually comprises tiled floors and black furniture with well set tables that sparkle with glass, silver and spotless linen. Ten starters include crostini and bruschetta, followed by a range of salads, pasta and al forno, oven baked pasta, some with chicken.

The pizzas are stone baked in the oven, creating a crisp, authentic and delicious flavour, and they all come topped with mozzarella and tomato. Calzone introduce a touch of opulence with a folded pizza baked in the oven and topped with garlic butter and melted grana padano, whilst inside expect to find chicken or a vegetarian mix.

Amongst the specials may I warmly, in every sense, recommend the polpette al forno, a popular Milanese dish of beef meatballs sautéed in garlic with fire roasted peppers, caramelised onions, chilli and pomodoro sauce, with penne pasta, topped with cheese and oven baked.

An enticing selection of desserts list banoffee pie and tiramisu amongst them, and the coffee tastes like coffee, which may sound banal, but I guess you know what I mean.

Thanks to a well selected wine list speculative drinking can offer handsome dividends, even with prices rarely crossing the £20 barrier.

In days of yore you eat at either The George, The Stamford or The Crown in Stamford. Nowadays one is spoilt for choice though the Stamford Hotel is now a shopping venue, The George has never faltered and The Crown, after some difficult years is back in the race.

The new proprietors have made sure the dining room has not been neglected and predominantly English-inspired food holds centre-stage. Starters may include a field mushroom filled with chutney and topped with grilled Rutland cheese, or a plate of freshly carved smoked salmon.

Main courses are well-tried and loved with the local lamb from Tallington safely grazed in a tasty shepherd's pie, in season the pot-roasted partridge, or wild rabbit with a three mustard sauce. Surprisingly there are no contributions from beneath the surface of nearby Rutland Water, but perhaps those will come later.

At the bar Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Adnams, together with a guest hand-pump ale make for traditional refreshment, backed up with a well-travelled wine list.

How times change! My earliest memories of the building occupied by Fratelli on St Mary's Hill are of an up-market antique dealer's, with the wonderful arched 12th century crypt housing a mixed bag of ageing bits and pieces. Now the crypt is the downstairs dining room and whatever might be said about the customers the food is anything but a mixed bag. A gourmet approach in the kitchen offers Italian food of considerable integrity, with all the great Italian classics and then some, on display.

Such has been the support that branches have opened at Kibworth Harcourt and Castor. Presentation and content are of a high standard. Sicilian house wines head an Italian list that mainly hovers round the £20 mark. It is perhaps a reflection of the times that premises of great antiquity (Castor is an old thatched 'gentleman's pub' of the 'thirties) adapt so easily to a different purpose, where eating is the main preoccupation.

Alex and Cinzia Rambaldi have been successful in combining the goodness of a traditional village pub with a high quality Italian restaurant, run with passion and Sicilian flair.

Situated in the heart of the picturesque village of Easton On The Hill, a mile and a half west of Stamford, The Blue Bell offers customers real ales, good food and wine, as well as an opportunity to relax, play pool and darts, watch TV, and enjoy live music.

An extensive á la carte menu could include dishes such as cured ham and caramelised pear with balsamic vinegar; roasted Mediterranean vegetables and goats' cheese with honey and walnuts; gnocchi, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil, and a king prawns and smoked salmon salad, that can all be had as starters or mains. Other choices encompass braised shank of lamb, fresh mint and rosemary, perfectly grilled rump steak, and pan-fried sea bass fillet.

Interesting events are regularly organised at The Blue Bell.

The Garden House is located in one of the fine stone houses built for the wealthier citizens of Stamford in Georgian times, south of the river, part of a scene painted by Turner and described by Sir Walter Scott as "one of the finest sights 'twixt London and Edinburgh'.

Now tastefully adapted for wider use the Garden House offers comfortable accommodation, well supported by a dining room that is also open to passers-by as well as hotel guests. The conservatory and the main restaurant both had a makeover in 2008 and further changes included the appointment of a new Head Chef, Gareth Thorpe, formerly of The Old Bridge in Huntingdon, leading to a more modern style to the menu.

The wine list is chosen with great care and the hotel now offers several house whites and reds by the glass, along with a varied and large selection. Menus change once every three months, with food being sourced from local specialists.

One of the famous coaching inns on the road from London to Edinburgh, and a haven of all things sound and as near perfect as one is ever likely to get. Nowadays, leave Edinburgh by a comfortable 8.00 am and you can be in the hotel by 12.30, enjoying a preliminary libation to lunch. You can choose between the oak-panelled dining room, the more relaxed garden room or on good days al fresco in the courtyard. All in their own way are excellent. The menus are if anything fairly staid, with more variation in the Garden Room and the classic dishes in the dining room. Service is prompt and genuinely attentive.

In the main dining room the menu choices could include to begin with: salmon and spring onion fish cakes on a red pepper coulis served with herb leaves; chicken liver paté with an orange and redcurrant sauce - with toast; half lobster served cold with a thick mayonnaise; seared sea scallops on a jerusalem artichoke purée or smoked haddock and chive risotto topped with a soft poached egg.

With mains running from the traditional English sirloin of beef, roasted rare to medium, carved off the bone at your table, with Yorkshire pudding and hot horseradish sauce or rack of lamb cooked pink with a garlic and herb crust, served with a redcurrant and rosemary jus to the more inventive calf's liver with braised puy lentils and smoked bacon jus or breast of chicken stuffed with white pudding, wrapped in bacon on a wild mushroom tagliatelle. Desserts are from the trolley, and there is a good selection of cheeses as well.

John Hoskins's wine list is awesome and The George was shortlisted for the AA Wine Award in 2000. Amongst many other delights three old Ports are listed; a 1927 Fonseca, a 1912 Taylor and a 1904 Cockburn. As one would expect many wines can be bought by the glass and house wine starts at a very reasonable £15.95, but they have a good choice at under £20 a bottle; also, as they apply a cash mark-up system rather than a percentage one, it is an excellent place to drink quality wine with their delicious food.

Long since proclaimed the finest stone town in England, Stamford's magnificent Georgian and Medieval buildings remind us today of its nobility and history of times gone by. Jim's Yard is tucked away behind buildings fronting on to Ironmonger Street. The dining area has French doors which open on to a pretty walled garden that provides alfresco dining for a lazy lunch or supper.

The daily changing menus offer simple classic dishes, freshly prepared from local and seasonal ingredients. Specialities here include sautéed wild mushrooms on toast with fried duck egg, chicken liver and garlic pate with toasted brioche and homemade chutney, and seared fillet of seabream with mash, curly kale and shellfish sauce. Add a 9oz ribeye steak and chips to the list, a delightful dish with grilled field mushroom and green peppercorn sauce. Apple tart tatin with clotted cream ice cream and truffles from the à la carte also excite admiration.

In the days when the famous Collyweston slate 'log' was quarried from a depth of around 38 feet, the men employed to do the job would have been grateful for a drop of something refreshing when they emerged from the grim workings. It has to be said however that they would have some difficulty in equating those conditions with the smooth and newly refurbished (2006) inn that has emerged from the premises they knew.

More a restaurant with rooms than a pub The Slater is now terribly smart, though the features of the old pub have not entirely gone. I ate my meal on a sunny terrace that looked westwards to the Fineshade woods where the red kites circle, and north across the Welland valley.

Management aim to offer quality with value, and an emphasis on fresh, local and seasonal produce. Given those aims I did find myself wondering where the Rutland Water trout, the Rutland snails and the Belvoir cordials had got to, but it's early days.

Starters included few surprises amongst the seven very acceptable dishes, some of which could be taken as main courses, with a warm tartlet of roasted red peppers and goat's cheese especially catching my eye.

A fresh fish of the day is always on offer amongst the mains, but following an afternoon spent in heat-wave conditions in a Rutland quarry I was distracted by the thought of fresh haddock with beer batter, homemade mushy peas and chips which, though a standard menu choice, eaten in the warm evening sun with a pint of Slater's Ale by Everards of Leicester, proved to be absolutely the right choice.

I could have ordered duck breast, English sirloin steak, Thai fishcakes or rump of lamb, all of which looked from discreet observation to be capable of giving at least equal satisfaction.

A cup of excellent coffee rounded the meal off well, and then it was back on the road. Next time I shall take heed of the 'beds' bit and avail myself of the well heeled wine list, with some English entries, not to mention the range of desserts, even if it did not include Colston Bassett so far as I could see. Perhaps I chose the wrong day.