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The Old Plough is fortunate in its hosts, David and Claire Cox who go out of their way to welcome guests with the result that a contented blend of villagers and mainly travelled diners enjoy this friendly pub with restaurant to the maximum.

A skilfully added conservatory seats 48 and on good nights there's an enclosed patio for overflow. Chef Adam Palmer's aim is to maintain the English tradition in food, though he omitted to add that he's not above adding the odd twist here and there. A lamb shank may be a good value staple, but at the Old Plough it is presented as never before. Breast of duck comes with a toothsomely rich sauce that lifts the meat to new heights. Vegetables were a trifle bland.

Puddings are generous and well presented, with some original thought displayed on variety. The chocolate hazelnut roulade won acclamation at our table, as did the coffee that followed, mellow and friendly on the palate. The wine list needs to grow if it is to keep pace with the quality of the food.

The Old Plough is kitted out for family parties in the garden and bar meals. Events can be a slight hazard if you are looking for that romantic a deux. This is clearly a place where they are working hard to make it happen, creating a great atmosphere in the process. The day may not be far distant when they have to make workmanlike choices about the direction in which they intend to concentrate.

Set in a traditional country house smart but informal, serving a high quality choice of modern European dishes. Everything is prepared freshly using only the best ingredients all our sweets and bread are home made. Our extensive wine list and quality food would tempt any food lover.

The George Restaurant at the Whipper-In Hotel in the centre of Oakham features a well-presented range of dishes with the traditional glamour of candlelight and a silver service. Although there is certainly a modern air to the cuisine, it is at heart traditional. Originally a 17th century coaching inn, the hotel retains its period charm with many original features.
 
Guests can drop in for breakfast, lunch or dinner here and choose from a daily table d'hôte and à la carte menus replete with dishes that use the finest products available in the region. This could include leek and Stilton tartlet, calves liver and crispy bacon with bubble and squeak, braised lamb shank with a minted pea purée, oriental salmon with egg noodles, stir fried vegetables and soy sauce and roasted vegetable lasagne. A selection of vegetarian dishes and a children's menu are also available. An interesting wine list from around the world complements your meal perfectly.

The Old White Hart is the way a pub should be. Set in the picturesque village of Lyddington with its Bede House and ancient houses it is a favourite watering hole for many who not only appreciate a pub of distinction but also appreciate a game of boules.

Eating is done on two fronts, informally in the bar where a good fire keeps everyone warm during that time of the year, and in the dining room, a pleasantly more formal room where virtually the same food as in the bar is served with cheerful efficiency by country staff who go out of their way to make you feel welcome.

The food is pure English traditional, with ingredients often drawn from the surrounding countryside and prepared without pretence. An interesting wine list deserves attention and house wine at £12 a bottle is a credible alternative.

The Exeter Arms is a seventeenth century stone built inn set in the picturesque Welland valley in Rutland. The pub has its own microbrewery (Barrowden Brewing Co) and the beers it produces are available in their fire lit bar.

Of the fourteen Strettons in England, the one that is home to the Ram Jam is probably one of the best known, due in no small way to the old coaching inn that has occupied the site alongside the Roman road of Ermine Street since the mid-18th century. The 20th century saw the Ram Jam graduate from a rather elegant Roadhouse to a busy bistro and restaurant designed to deal with the travelling public who pass in ever-increasing numbers. Meals are tasty and as small or as large as you wish with traditional bistro dishes predominating.

Jeremy Lord, mine host of The Coach House, is not a man to do things by halves, particularly when he has the backing of his head chef, Pat O'Donovan, a man who has progressed from training at Loughborough, through London's Savoy and the Metropole at Birmingham.

So, some fairly hefty new building on to the back of the old Halfway Inn and hey presto! we have The Coach House, with its Ostler's Restaurant. Management of many old country inns that have been thus transformed are prone to telling anyone who will listen how comfortably the former regulars, in fact rendered manic by the changes, mingle with the new customers, many of whom may have travelled from afar. But here at South Luffenham it really does happen and there is a good friendly mix in the bar.

A seasonal menu prevails, with game as a strong option. Jeremy Lord is a keen sportsman and his not infrequent travels to Scotland, never mind the local estates, yield splendid additions to the Coach House larder. Trout comes from nearby Rutland Water, via Kingfisher at Brixham oddly enough, where it gets smoked. Michael Culpin, the Uppingham butcher produces much of the well-hung meat. Each course offers some eight choices. A meal of smoked Rutland trout with horseradish, a boned oven-roasted whole partridge with potatoes Parisienne, finishing with chocolate, brandy fruit and nut terrine bore ample evidence of the credentials of all concerned.

Even more good news, Jeremy Lord is a real connoisseur of wine, with a list, the upper echelons of which had me reaching for the file marked 'second mortgage', that is clearly his pride and joy. Worry not, there are some real bargains at the more approachable level. Service is relaxed with charm, there is good parking and should you succumb to one too many of those venerable bottles, the accommodation is very comfortable.

The Lake Isle Hotel, known to a discerning few for a number of years, has now undergone a major facelift that has greatly expanded its ability to look to wider horizons.

Located in the centre of the fashionable town of Uppingham (well, Rick Stein did go to school there) the two AA rosette restaurant is designed in such a way that it can be adapted for day or evening use, thus offering a cheerful lunch or a more reflective atmosphere for dinner. The cuisine is cosmopolitan and takes a Mediterranean influence quite seriously.

Amongst seven or so choices of starters expect to find baked figs stuffed with aged feta, with Serrano ham and lavender infused honey, and butterflied Cornish sardines on toast. Dinnertime main courses embrace pan-fried fillet of sea bass with crushed potatoes, crayfish tails, broad beans and a sorrel cream, and breast of Barbary duck with roasted peaches, fresh cherries and a brandy and thyme jus.

More than a hundred-and-sixty different wines from eleven countries and twenty champagnes support the menu.

Twelve ensuite bedrooms offer comfortable accommodation.

Dating back to at least 1643, the Sun Inn summons up what so many of us expect from a typical English pub, both inside and out, standing back from the road in this Rutland village that has miraculously avoided the rawness of the nearby Airbase. The cuisine is traditional English with a Mediterranean influence and does not set out to be anything other than well-prepared, money for value tasty food, served in a friendly and efficient fashion. The wine list is sufficiently comprehensive to cover most tastes and certainly compliments the food. For connoisseurs of fine ales there is a genuinely interesting choice of guest ale always available.