Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

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.

Ideally located close to Lincoln Cathedral and the Castle, this Grade II listed building is believed to be the only hotel built on the site of Lincoln's Roman Forum, and so you can delight in the fact that you'll be spending time in a 150-year-old building, and sleeping in beamed lodge rooms that are around 250-years-old.

The privately-owned and run hotel offers modern facilities in a lovely traditional environment, and each thoughtfully equipped bedroom has its own character and is individually furnished.

The Knights restaurant takes its style from the surrounding ethos and is unashamedly medieval. Happily this does not apply to the menu, which is traditional and full of interesting choices from the surrounding countryside. Expect to see game dishes such as homemade soup with toasted parmesan croutons, excellent local seafood like seared collops of monkfish stacked on a cream and chive pool, and roasted venison served pink on a bed of wild mushrooms, in a juniper berry and port sauce.

For sheer indulgence sample the baked apple and sultana crumble with vanilla custard.

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.

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.

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.

The Handmade Burger Co specialises in gourmet, handmade burgers, it offers a bewildering array of beef, chicken, lamb and vegetarian options. The menu consists of a total of 40 adult burgers and 4 junior burgers, each handmade on the premises daily, using the freshest produce and tastiest ingredients, and topped off with one of their speciality relishes. The company especially takes pride in its beef burgers, which are made with traditionally reared, grass fed, 100% fully traceable prime beef.

And what gourmet beef burger is complete without a portion of fresh cut chips, one of the tastiest guilty pleasures on offer in the Midlands. Not for you? Well why don't you try one of their many other sides dishes, including the handmade coleslaw and the rather delicious flame grilled vegetables. No wonder that it suits a wide market, young or old, vegetarian or full blown meat eater, as they cover all the bases.