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The Beefeater Grill range of restaurants, owned by the well established firm of Whitbread has transformed over time into what is now predominantly a cooking platform for chargrill. The restaurants are warm, modern and stylish, with low lighting and contemporary artwork. A comfortable, cosy, mainly booth layout offers guests their own space with no feeling of being hurried at any point. Staff are friendly and helpful if need be - what a difference that can make to a good evening out.

Be it the wide open spaces of Argentina, the intimate setting of a French restaurant, or a busy grill in London's West End, there's no denying the popularity of chargrill. As the production of quality beef, chicken, fish and lamb has grown, prices have come down by comparison, and the simple and traditional art of minimally cooking dishes by chargrill, sealing in the flavours and tastes by intense heat has caught the public imagination.

All the steaks at Beefeater Grill are matured for a minimum of 28 days before being seasoned. Whether it be juicy rib eye, the classic sirloin, that emblem of the Sunday lunch, a tender fillet, or a delicious 7oz rump, all grilled to your own specification, you're never far away from perfection. Even beefburgers have shaken off their dubious image and the highly popular Beefeater burgers are made from 100% beef.

The popular sirloin with giant prawns offers a treat to those for whom an alliance between sea and pasture is a natural attraction, whilst a 16oz steak platter links rump, fillet, sirloin and rib eye into one mouth-watering dish served with chips, battered onion rings, grilled tomato, a flat mushroom and peppercorn and brandy sauce.

Many of us love rib meat, and the rack of ribs at a Beefeater Grill has a meaty rack smoky flavour; maple ribs of pork with a choice of three sauces, mojito, smoked caramel and apple glaze, or Bourbon and black BBQ. And if all else fails and you are totally baffled by the wealth of choices, ask to have a word with the Steakmaster who will help find what is right for you, together with the best cooking method. These guys leave nothing to chance.

On a menu that is a delight to read, let alone choose a meal from, expect to find smaller dishes such as traditional prawn cocktail, whitebait, chicken liver pâté and baked Camembert, or juicy lamb koftas served with yoghurt and mint dip. There's something about a good steak meal that always leaves a gap for a little temptation to sweeten up the scene and from amongst twelve options look for Belgian chocolate cheesecake, treacle sponge pudding or a caramel apple crumble pie.

Throughout the day a wide range of more general dishes are yours for the ordering, sandwiches, jackets, classic favourites like fish and chips, pasta, salads, and sharing dishes of nachos, potato shells and a Beefeater Grill combo. Next door to many of the restaurants are Premier Inns, so staying the night whatever the circumstances need not be a problem.

And what about wine? Endorsed by Matthew Jukes, wine writer in the Daily Mail and bon viveur in his own right, a wine list that marches with the menu completes an impressive and compelling invitation to enjoy whatever takes your fancy at the nearest Beefeater Grill.

Click on their Website for menu updates and special offers.

With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.

Your peri-peri chicken, when the chips are down so to speak, is a fresh A grade chicken that has never seen the inside of a freezer, but having made the supreme sacrifice is butterfly-cut, marinated for 24 hours in a secret brew called - you've guessed - peri-peri, and is then cooked to your choice over an open flame.

There are, of course, many variations on this broad theme, numerous plays on words such as Nando's experi-perience, peri-peri good reasons why you should eat at a Nando's' and all one hopes is that for their sake chicken never goes out of fashion. New Nando's are opening all the time, peri-peri quickly in fact, the spicy bastes become hotter and more daring, and the full platter offers a whole chicken, large chips or spicy rice and Nando's salad or coleslaw.

Since chickens are vegetarian it seems logical you can order veggie or bean burgers and patties, and still feel the heat from the peppers. All in all, Nando's is hotly recommended for those occasions when you have a large following of permanently hungry children, or adults even, to keep happy - the only thing taken really seriously is the quality of those peri-peri good chickens.

Nando's is a place for bright people who love to laugh and love to eat, and is guaranteed to spice up your taste buds. Their fun approach to life means that when you visit Nando's you can fully relax without the airs and graces associated with more starchy dining out.

For the location of your nearest Nando's restaurant and a host of details about menus, parties and drinks, a click on their Website will reveal a Pandora's box of information.

First the sad news, the former Landlord went to jail when health inspectors allegedly found a piece of mouldy ham in his kitchen, and, as a result of ill health, he had to sell the Snooty Fox.

Now the good news, Clive Dixon, who also owns Tavern on the Green, has bought it and wrought some real improvements mainly to the culinary side without spoiling the slightly old fashioned, but comfortably so, look of the place.

Tracey MacLeod of The Independent enjoyed her lunch there: "The main courses were faultless. A generous span of impeccably moist skate-wing came roasted to a crisp, golden finish. Barnsley chop - a double lamb chop served on the bone - was an outstandingly full-flavoured piece of meat, pink inside and topped with a little crown of its own fat. We weren't so sure, though, about the "fat chips" they sounded great, but in practice, had a disappointing ratio of flabby interior to surface crunch.

There's no such thing as a bad hot chocolate fondant, and when Hoppy declared that the Snooty Fox version reminded her of our school chocolate pudding, I knew she could offer no higher praise. My lemon polenta cake was a warm and springy delight. "IT'S FROM SALLY CLARKE!" yelled a voice from the kitchen area as I tucked in. One of the chefs, apparently giddy with excitement at the end of his shift, had decided to make his presence felt."

Oriental Garden has proved wrong all those people who thought it difficult to discover good quality Chinese cuisine outside London or Birmingham. Walls decorated with traditional art and large street facing windows welcome customers to this bright and airy restaurant in Sheep Street.

Starters from the carte could include crispy seaweed, satay chicken, sesame prawn toast, barbecued spare ribs and tempting soups. From a vast array of mains, expect to find roast suckling pig (order two days in advance), barbequed meats, a great mix of fish and seafood, and surprises such as deep-fried frogs' legs with salt and chilli.

They are committed to building strong relationships within the community, and ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible. Oriental Garden offers an English language menu that includes familiar dishes as well as a specialist Chinese menu, with English translations, featuring traditional Chinese fare. A range of vegetarian options are also available.

Located in the centre of the little market town of Rothwell, the Thai Garden is a good example of the genre, with skillfully prepared dishes that also look good. The choice is fairly well confined within the traditional approach familiar to Britain. Fairly limited choice of wines and beers, but adequate. The strength lies in the kitchen. For the area it is probably slightly pricey but this is arguably justified by the quality.