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Friendly attentive service and a comfortable atmosphere characterise The Royal Bengal in Bridge Street. This is a typical neighbourhood restaurant that serves all the Indian cuisine regular favourites in addition to regional specialities. It also offers a takeaway menu.

The extensive menu offers a wide range of dishes including specialities from eastern and southern India. An array of kebabs and other dishes make for a good beginning to the meal. These may yield lamb tikka, shami kebab, mixed kebab, king prawn butterfly, chicken pepper and fried scampi. Chef's specials include Bengal curry with chicken, prawn and mushrooms, tandoori king prawn jalfrezi, chicken rezala with herbs, spices and scrambled egg, and garlic chicken tikka bhuna. The menu also features spicy lamb, chicken and fish curries from the south. Vegetarian dishes list aubergine cooked with coconut, sesame seeds, tamarind and spices; mushrooms simmered in creamy coconut milk and spices; and vegetable koftes in a mild sauce with cashewnuts. The Persian chicken biryani is flavoured with pineapple and sultanas while the house signature biryani is with chicken tikka, lamb tikka and nuts.

 A pleasant country setting and comfortable contemporary interiors make The Swan at Lamport the perfect venue for dinner with family and friends. Located on Harborough Road, the menu offers choices of modern British cuisine including traditional favourites.
 
The Swan offers a seasonal menu as well as daily blackboard specials. The à la carte includes starters of wild mushrooms with Oxfordshire blue cheese and peppered sauce, chicken and black pudding terrine with country vegetable piccalilli and pan fried mackerel with celeriac and caper remoulade. Follow with delicious mains of confit belly of pork with twice cooked pig cheek, black pudding rosti and spiced apple compote, spiced rump of lamb with Bombay potatoes, vegetable pakora and mango chutney or pancetta wrapped chicken stuffed with mozzarella and served with rosemary crushed potatoes and plum tomato pesto. Sunday lunch offers a hearty traditional roast with all the trimmings. A variety of open sandwiches with fillings of char grilled sirloin and Dorset crab is available at lunchtime.

Indulge the sweet tooth with lemon pannacotta, shortbread biscuits and English strawberry soup or Bakewell tart with raspberry ripple ice cream and marinated raspberries.

What was once a quaint village pub named The White Hart was converted to the Roade House Restaurant in 1983. The venue retains its old world charm and friendly atmosphere and with the acquisition of the adjoining building in 1997 provides lodging facilities as well. The interior is divided into a lounge, bar and dining area, each of which blends into the other seamlessly. The service is attentive and non-intrusive and the kitchen uses the freshest and best local produce.

Set the stage for a feast with homemade tagliatelle with hare sauce and pancetta and smoked haddock chowder with coarse grain mustard. Invite grilled fillet of red mullet and plaice with saffron mash and red pepper sauce and pan fried calves liver, pancetta, mash potato, onion confit and red wine butter to your table for the main course. For the grand finale order a selection of cheese and coffee.

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.

The Church Bar and Restaurant, Northampton, has a long history as the oldest secular building in the region. It came into being as St John's Hospital in eleven-hundred-forty and since then it has become a soldiers' burial ground, was confiscated during the Reformation, became part of Northampton's first railway station, and was re-consecrated as a Catholic Church before its present incarnation as a restaurant.

Start with a smoked and poached salmon tian with cherry tomato compote and a bitter leaf salad and peach, mozzarella, pea and mint salad dressed lightly with olive oil and lemon juice. For main course consider oven roasted pangasius fillet, a fish similar to cod, wrapped in pancetta, with spring onion and rocket risotto and British veal chop with new potatoes, a red onion, tomato and olive salad, and citrus, parsley and garlic gremolata. End with a sticky toffee pudding and banoffee vanilla cheesecake.

Our Seasons Restaurant offers a variety of dishes to suit all tastes; healthy menus, beautifully presented quality food and excellent value for money. A Hilton breakfast is a perfect way to start the day, relax and enjoy. Lunch is a carvery, set in comfortable and pleasant surroundings, ideal for business lunches. We offer A La Carte and TDH menus for dinner, which are guaranteed to complement any occasion.