Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Winteringham Fields is a 16th century manor house set in a quiet rural village in North Lincolnshire. It was one of only five restaurants in Britain in 2006 to meet the Good Food Guide criteria of being 'highly individual and displaying impressive artistry'. It is in good company: the others were Gordon Ramsay in London, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, Great Milton, Oxford, and The Fat Duck in Bray, Berks. It is also one of the most individual and secret places you could wish to stumble across, with an ambience and cuisine to rival Europe's finest. It has won many accolades including Best Chef and Restaurateur's Restaurant of the Year.

It is owned by Colin and Bex McGurran. Colin is a trained chef, having studied catering at Bournemouth College and worked at the Two Michelin Starred Domaines Haute de Loire restaurant in France.

"The food will evolve under our chef's expert guidance and we will continue to use the finest local produce from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, including vegetables from our own gardens. We will also upgrade the bedrooms, to make a night at Winteringham Fields a truly unforgettable experience," explained Mr McGurran.

The wine list has been given a complete overhaul by award-winning North Yorkshire wine merchants Bon Coeur Fine Wines. Simon Kershaw of Bon Coeur commented: "We have created a bespoke, personal and competitively-priced list which will complement the restaurant's excellent food."

A typical menu could include dishes such as confit pork cheeks with chicory chutney, quail's egg and Soubise sauce, or East Coast John Dory with lettuce velouté, Iberico ham and cress salad to start.

Followed by mains like: paper-fried bream with puy lentils, langoustine crepés and artichoke barigoule; rolled saddle of Lincolnshire lamb with sauce paloise, confit vegetables, lamb hotpot, garlic purée and lamb jus for two; Label Anglais chicken cannelloni with ragoût of asparagus and liver, feves and crispy chicken wings, or fillet of Scottish beef with caramelised butternut squash, smoked pommes puree and cigar of ox cheeks.

The desserts are justifiably renowned, what an impossible task to choose between: blackberry frangipane with pineapple and basil sorbet; classical vanilla crème brûlée with red fruit and brandy snaps; dark chocolate coolant with parsnip ice cream, or praline and chocolate feuilletine with vanilla ice cream.

However, the restaurant is very always adaptable, and if you have had a favourite dish when you have eaten there before, then give the chef a little warning and he will make it for you specially. This demonstrates a real understanding of hospitality.

Details about Winteringham Fields's private dining room, bedrooms, menu and wine list can be viewed on their Website.

Housed within the buzzing Meridian Leisure Park, Bella Italia offers a delicious range of Italian dishes in a warm setting. An ideal place to unwind before or after a movie at the nearby Vue Cinema, Bella Italia is also close to the Hollywood Bowl and the David Lloyd Health Club.

The comfortable interior featuring dark wooden tables, a separate bar area and plenty of photographs on the walls creates a relaxed, informal atmosphere, making it just the place for a delicious meal with family and friends.

It is always worth remembering that eating Italian is a great opportunity to work away through something rather more liberating than the conventional 3 course English meal. Little and often seems to be the motto but move on to the antipasti and it's immediately obvious this is no easy task, confronted with well over a dozen dishes, not one of which you really have the heart to turn down. The selezione classica assembles a few of the favourite starters; oven baked lemon and rosemary chicken wings, spiced meatballs, calamari, mini garlic butter-filled calzoni and lightly battered courgettes served with flamed pepper and lemon herb dips.

A speck e rucola pizza, added to a traditional margherita brings together two traditions with Italian speck ham providing the second, but it is within the pasta and risotto dishes that you can adapt almost any main ingredient, as well enjoy some of Italy's most traditional treats. Who can deny a well-formed spaghetti Bolognese or penne Marco Polo? And not for nothing is a nicely prepared spaghetti carbonara the preferred dish of many.

From a selection of five choices amongst the secondi many will head unerringly for controfiletto ai ferri, an 8oz rump steak char-grilled to preference and served with garlic butter, roast field mushrooms and rocket, or the fritto misto, lightly battered prawns, cod fillet, calamari and courgette with fries and a herb lemon and caper dip.

Could anything be more appropriate than The Godfather, for 1 or 2 naturally, with nutty chocolate fudge brownies, vanilla and honeycomb ice cream with chocolate sauce, fresh cream and wafer curls, and rest assured the coffee will do justice to the meal.

With a wine list that makes few concessions to other countries - and why should it - good Italian food can receive an equally national baptism by wine. For further enlightenment, news about their on-line shop and special deals, a click on their lively Website will reveal all.

More information can be found on their Website.

Flamboyant and exciting, Bar de Nada is a friendly, locally run, bar/restaurant on the corner of Broad Street and Lower Parliament Street, at the north end of the hippest strip in Hockley, with a clientele that's both laid-back and hedonistic, and definitely a style that is all it own. It lays claim to being possibly the most genuine of Nottingham's bars.

People come there mainly for the excellent Spanish and World tapas but also to indulge in a uniquely different atmosphere where the lack of a dress code, affordable drinks and a range of some of the most amazing beers from across the world create the right kind of buzz. One of their popular offers is from 5 to 7 pm on weekdays for a special tapas menu where the price you pay is the time you arrive, and that allows for three tapas and bread. So if you arrive at 6.15, it costs you £6.15.

It's one of the best places to head for tapas, which are served Monday to Saturday till 9.30pm in an informal and spacious environment. The menu brings together an interesting mix of classic with some very eclectic world variety tapas elevating the experience to another level altogether, while also giving plenty of choice for vegetarians.

The range of classic tapas is such that even prolonged attendance at this buzzing restaurant should not dull the appetite for what has become an increasingly popular form of gastronomic grazing. Consider the traditional Spanish casserole of haricot beans in tomato sauce with chorizo, black pudding and ham, or prawns fried in olive oil with sliced red chillies, the delicate pickled white anchovies in dressing, or lamb's kidneys in sherry - a real dish for the connoisseur.

Tapas often tend to lose in the making, so it is refreshing to find the simpler dishes such as mature Manchego cheese served with tomato and olive oil, or Spanish mackerel pan-fried in garlic, the two strong flavours blending rather than competing with each other.

Amongst the world-style tapas expect to find pork dumplings in Chinese pastry, the celebrated tom yum soup with choices of chicken, mushroom or prawns, the Indonesian deng deng chicken, or chicken Caribbean jerk style with red bonnet and chillies.

Thirty beers from around the world, with the likes of Anchor Steam Beer and Erdinger on draught, are regularly enjoyed by a crowd of friendly, appreciative types who lap up the continental vibes and are about as troublesome as a day-old kitten. Spacious and inviting, the serving of tapas till 9.30 encourages the social imbibers but doesn't deter determined drinkers from joining in the fun.

More information including the full tapas menu is available on their Website.

This delightfully antique Northamptonshire pub changed hands a little while back, though there is little evidence of much change in the popular and well-tried menu that has put this pub back on the fashionable circuit in recent years. Because of the construction of the building it would not be possible for anybody so-minded to take out the inner walls, so three quite small and cosy rooms serve as mini dining rooms.

The bar is one of those that looks as though it has been there for ever, and they serve attractive and well-kept names, such as Shepherd Neame Spitfire or Nethergate.

For starters the white onion and red pepper soup with courgette beignet brings together a range of delicate flavours to make a vegetarian dish with a surprising amount of body. The ragout of seafood with cherry tomatoes and chives works well, particularly given the difficulty of bringing the various materials involved together, but for your average hungry man the chicken with wild mushroom and asparagus Ballotine, served with an apple and grape compote takes some matching.

The surrounding richly verdant Northamptonshire acres help support a diversity of wild and reared life, amongst which venison, roaming through what is left of the once-vast Rockingham Forest, make regular après appearances on the Queen's Head menu, usually served roasted with mash, glazed baby carrots and a juniper berry jus.

Rack of English lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, onion marmalade and a rosemary pan gravy is a staunch favourite, closely pursued by the grilled rib eye steak, served with fondant potatoes and a brandy and peppercorn sauce. A fish course of smoked salmon fishcakes, with spinach, a soft poached egg and hollandaise sauce benefits from the judicious addition of a little ginger.

Every day a choice of attractive puddings is displayed on the blackboard. These could include the much-travelled sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream, a pistachio nut brulee with orange sorbet, or a fresh caramelised apple with toffee sauce and ice cream. Service is friendly and workmanlike.

Increasingly people are taking to wine when they eat out, which even if only for the gaiety of nations is an encouraging trend. There are two snags, those who overcharge for wine and those who serve house wine that is, frankly, disgusting. Happily they do neither at the Queen's Head, recognising perhaps that this is an area which can make or break the meal for many and deserves the same care and attention as everything else.

As you bowl along the A43 between Stamford and Corby, about three miles from Corby watch out for signs directing you down the short road that takes you into Bulwick.

Though they do not have a Website yet, you can reach them by E-Mail.

One of the hallmarks of quiet and unostentatious excellence when it comes to pubs, inns or eating houses, whichever fills your sails, is a kindly word or two from that widely travelled independent arbiter of good taste, Alastair Sawday. On the subject of The Almanack and its siblings he observed, 'the most innovative small pub group in the land'.

In a city not entirely reeling from the burden of visible history Almanack has made a wise choice, overlooking a sunny new public square and The Old Grammar School, yet only a two minute walk from John Lewis and the Showcase cinema, ensuring that good retail opportunities and decent entertainment are within easy reach.

With close connections to the people behind The Rose and Crown in Warwick, and a sister pub in Kenilworth, there is an encouraging background of goodwill, great food and friendly relaxed service.

Likeable Senior Head Chef Corin Earland joined Almanack from The Fishes near Oxford which, under his inspiration was named as Al Fresco Dining Pub of the Year, whilst winning for himself a prestigious Acorn Award, given to rising stars in the world of catering.

Ingredients are of the highest quality available and organic and free range products feature widely in the dishes. Deli boards range over five main headings, cheese, cold cuts, veggie, fish and favourites, making good snack or starter dishes. Amongst other starters or light mains expect to find herb pancakes, summer vegetables and ricotta stuffing with/without salmon, and the free-range duck with coconut, honey glazed cashews, coriander and spring onion salad.

Main courses explore traditional and much loved dishes with pan-fried Welsh sea bass, free range sausages, pan fried Cornish gurnard fillets and splendid Casterbridge rump steaks never far away. A roast of the day ensures that regulars can throw their own almanacks away - if it's Friday, for instance, look forward to free-range gammon - all served with hot vegetables.

In summer months expect to find some good spine-sticking desserts such as iced lemon meringue parfait or dark chocolate mousse with orange tuile.

For those in need at an early hour, breakfast is served from 8am-noon, either at the pub or carry-out. Nothing too elaborate but well up to the task of getting the show back on the road.

Children are of course welcome and have their own menu with Almanack taking a view that they are equally welcome to use the other menus, perhaps with smaller portions, in the interests of introducing children to more adventurous good eating.

A wine list of sensible proportions gives ample choice without causing the bafflement that often ensues when a more elaborate list is on the cards. There's plenty of room for private parties, and the menu changes in natural rhythm with the seasons.

Their Website will tell you more and keep you up to date with events at this splendid place dedicated to good eating in the heart of Leicester.

The Red Hot World Buffet at Sixfields Leisure Park in Northampton gives diners an opportunity to embark on a fascinating culinary journey to six of the world's most popular countries. Just like its name, the décor brings together design elements from across the world, resulting in an atmosphere that blends the traditional and the modern. Ambient lighting and projected artwork complete the picture.

Talking about the food; the Red Hot lunch menu offers over sixty dishes from Japan, China, Thailand, India, Mexico, and Italy, from live cooking stations. Diners spend time visiting the open kitchens, enjoying all they can eat for a fixed price. In the evening, over a hundred and ten dishes are available at any one time.

Choices range from Japanese udon noodles, Chinese jasmine rice with sweet and sour pork, and Thai fish cakes, to Indian seekh kebab, Italian homemade pizzas and pastas, and Mexican chilli con carne and fajita wraps.

The bar is open late into the evening, and is a great place to sip on cocktails, beers, spirits, and world wines.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Housed in a former grocery store, Zizzi Derby offers a varied menu of eclectic Italian dishes in spacious surroundings. The interior draws inspiration from the well-known Rolls Royce factory nearby, while the conservatory provides a delightful setting for a meal during summer months. Derby Cathedral is just a short walk away.

Zizzi is also close to popular landmarks such as the Derby Cathedral, Derby Gaol, and Pickford's House Museum.

The bustling open kitchen at Zizzi turns out freshly prepared, tasty fare. The extensive à la carte offers distinct sections of antipasti, salads, pizza and calzone, pasta, risottos and mains of seasonally changing meat and fish dishes with a variety of tempting desserts to finish.

Zizzi's special antipasti platter has mixed Italian meats with buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion focaccia bread. There's also choice of arancini, crispy risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and peas and served with a tomato chilli sauce as well as gnocchi gorgonzola, potato dumplings in a creamy gorgonzola and spinach sauce seasoned with nutmeg and black pepper, setting the tone for a hearty meal.

For a delicious pasta or risotto choose between penne vodka, king prawns, chilli, peas and Grana Padano in a creamy tomato and vodka sauce; ravioli di capra, goat's cheese and spinach ravioli served with tomato sauce and topped with pesto and pine nuts; zucca e pancetta, pumpkin, pancetta, spinach, sage and Grana Padano topped with mascarpone and rigatoni con pollo e funghi, chicken in a tomato, onion, rosemary and mushroom sauce. Gluten-free pasta is also available on request.

If you prefer a pizza, then you could try Zizzi's speciality pizza rustica, which couples extra thin and crispy bases with a range of toppings such as bufala, buffalo mozzarella with sunblush tomatoes, basil, rocket and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or mare e monti, one half topped with tiger prawn, courgette and mozzarella and the other with spicy sausage, tomato sauce and chilli, all finished off with a rocket and crème fraîche. The carne piccante calzone has marinated chicken, meatballs, Bolognese sauce, mushrooms, chillies, tomato and mozzarella while the clarissa version, has aubergine, and red pepper caponata, olives, goats' cheese, rocket, pine nuts, tomato and mozzarella. Zizzi's calzon'pizzas, half calzone and half pizza, add an interesting twist to the meal.

Sumptuous mains include agnello con peperonata, roasted lamb shank served with basil, roasted vegetables and a little pot of potatoes with tomato, red onion and Grana Padano; duck arrosto, slow roasted whole duck leg in a balsamic, olive and pancetta reduction served with Tuscan potatoes and green beans; and sea bass al vino, sea bass pan fried with wine, garlic and baby plum tomatoes and served with herby potatoes.

The scrumptious dessert list offers torta cioccolata with its thick hazelnut chocolate base topped with rich chocolate torte and served with vanilla mascarpone; homemade tiramisu; creamy vanilla pannacotta with fruit compote and torta Zizzi, an almond-based plum and fig tart topped with pistachios and icing sugar and served with gelato.

The wine list is dominated by a range of Italian wines from regions such as Veneto, Lazio, Sicily, Tuscany and Lombardy. Also on offer is an assortment of beers, and spirits as well as a range of soft and hot drinks.

More information can be found on their Website.

Housed within the striking mock-Tudor Ossington building, just a 3-minute walk from the Buttermarket Shopping Centre, Zizzi Newark offers tired shoppers a welcome respite with a variety of delicious Italian specialities. Boasting splendid views of Newark Castle and the River Trent, the restaurant is only a short walk from the historic Market Place and attractions such as The Palace Theatre and the Grade I-listed St. Mary Magdalene's Church.

The bustling open kitchen at Zizzi turns out freshly prepared, tasty fare. The extensive à la carte offers distinct sections of antipasti, salads, pizza and calzone, pasta, risottos and mains of seasonally changing meat and fish dishes with a variety of tempting desserts to finish.
 
Zizzi's special antipasti platter has mixed Italian meats with buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion focaccia bread. There's also choice of arancini, crispy risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and peas and served with a tomato chilli sauce as well as gnocchi gorgonzola, potato dumplings in a creamy gorgonzola and spinach sauce seasoned with nutmeg and black pepper, setting the tone for a hearty meal.

For a delicious pasta or risotto choose between penne vodka, king prawns, chilli, peas and Grana Padano in a creamy tomato and vodka sauce; ravioli di capra, goat's cheese and spinach ravioli served with tomato sauce and topped with pesto and pine nuts; zucca e pancetta, pumpkin, pancetta, spinach, sage and Grana Padano topped with mascarpone and rigatoni con pollo e funghi, chicken in a tomato, onion, rosemary and mushroom sauce. Gluten-free pasta is also available on request.

If you prefer a pizza, then you could try Zizzi's speciality pizza rustica, which couples extra thin and crispy bases with a range of toppings such as bufala, buffalo mozzarella with sunblush tomatoes, basil, rocket and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or mare e monti, one half topped with tiger prawn, courgette and mozzarella and the other with spicy sausage, tomato sauce and chilli, all finished off with a rocket and crème fraîche. The carne piccante calzone has marinated chicken, meatballs, Bolognese sauce, mushrooms, chillies, tomato and mozzarella while the clarissa version, has aubergine, and red pepper caponata, olives, goats' cheese, rocket, pine nuts, tomato and mozzarella. Zizzi's calzon'pizzas, half calzone and half pizza, add an interesting twist to the meal.

Sumptuous mains include agnello con peperonata, roasted lamb shank served with basil, roasted vegetables and a little pot of potatoes with tomato, red onion and Grana Padano; duck arrosto, slow roasted whole duck leg in a balsamic, olive and pancetta reduction served with Tuscan potatoes and green beans; and sea bass al vino, sea bass pan fried with wine, garlic and baby plum tomatoes and served with herby potatoes.

The scrumptious dessert list offers torta cioccolata with its thick hazelnut chocolate base topped with rich chocolate torte and served with vanilla mascarpone; homemade tiramisu; creamy vanilla pannacotta with fruit compote and torta Zizzi, an almond-based plum and fig tart topped with pistachios and icing sugar and served with gelato.

The wine list is dominated by a range of Italian wines from regions such as Veneto, Lazio, Sicily, Tuscany and Lombardy. Also on offer is an assortment of beers, and spirits as well as a range of soft and hot drinks.

More information can be found on their Website.

Strada describes itself as 'a group of stylish, contemporary Italian restaurants, serving good quality, simple and freshly prepared dishes'. The statement sums up what this group of around seventy restaurants offers to people looking for good Italian food. The first outlet opened in Battersea in 1999 and their clientele has been increasing steadily ever since.

Though Strada has grown into a fair sized group, each outlet retains the feel of being a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The menu includes pastas, risottos, salads, and fish dishes, but they are best known for their quality pizzas.

They present authentic Italian dishes in contemporary surroundings and aim to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as Luganica sausages, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

A meal could kick off with zuppa vongole e fregola, a traditional clam soup with Sardinian fregola pasta grains, wine, chilli and parsley, served with bread, or the delicious sautéed king prawns with garlic, white wine, chilli, and lemon butter served with your choice of bread.

Move on to their creamy risotto verdure, freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, spring onions, zucchini, green beans, white wine and mint, finished with baby spinach leaves. Or you could opt for the healthier, tagliolini nero granchio, black cuttlefish ink pasta with crab, courgette, red and yellow peppers, spring onion, and a hint of chilli and parsley. A real treat for the taste buds comes in the form of the bistecca manzo, a 10oz rosemary-marinated char-grilled, rib-eye steak with fries and fresh rocket.

A range of pizzas, all spun by hand, is an integral feature of each restaurant. They include the rossa, with spicy southern Italian salami, roasted red peppers, chilli, caramelised onion, garlic, fresh oregano, tomato and mozzarella. Nor are vegetarians are overlooked, and can be found tucking into dishes such as fiorentina, made of spinach cooked with garlic, nutmeg and black pepper with mozzarella, parmesan, tomato and an egg.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is torroncino affogato, an iced nougat semi freddo with a shot of espresso to pour over, or a classic Italian tiramisu and, as you might expect coffee to round off the meal.

A wine list consisting of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the menu comes as no surprise and in addition, every table receives a complimentary bottle of purified water.

For further details including their latest news, menus and deals, and to find a Strada nearest to you, their Website certainly warrants a visit.

Brewer's Fayre restaurants offer a warm welcome to those who want a reliably tasty meal in pleasant surroundings, with plenty of choice, minimal fuss and friendly service. With a reputation going back 25 years they should have a fair chance of doing that, but don't take our word for it. Give them a try and see if you agree that this is how good quality pub food should be served.

Whether it's snacks, grills, pub classics, fish, Sunday roasts or side dishes they think their way through the options, talk to their guests, and then come up with the goods. Not everybody wants a full meal so they've considered the needs of those who want to keep the gap filled and the children contented, perhaps on a journey or a day out.

Hot filled baguettes are always popular be it sausage and red onion or a classic chicken club sandwich. Jacket potatoes are good on their own but filled with mature cheddar cheese and beans they take on a new dimension.

More paced occasions demand a wide menu, perhaps with starters of breaded butterfly prawns, chicken goujons or breaded camembert bites. Grills are there for the hungry and whole rack of meaty BBQ pork ribs served with extra sauce, chips and coleslaw can be very welcome. The days of the mixed grill are back - or did they ever go away - a 4oz rump steak, two pork sausages, and a gammon steak topped with a fried egg served with all the trimmings will remind you if they did.

Salmon and prawn fishcakes are served with buttered new potatoes, tartare sauce and a lightly dressed salad. A combination of sea and land comes with a rump steak, whole grilled chicken breast and breaded breaded butterfly prawns, served with chips and a side salad or garden peas.

The rise of eating out in pubs has brought into our daily lives a whole legion of what might be termed 'pub classics'. Many of them have their roots in what used to be called 'good home cooking' and include such dishes as sausage, egg and chips, beef and ale pie, chicken and mushroom pie and for the very daring a beef lasagne. Well, all of them and many more are on the menu at Brewer's Fayre, supplemented by such new regulars as vegetable Goan chicken curry, pork chop, chilli con carne and grilled chicken and bacon salad.

It has often been said that chicken tikka masala is now the most popular dish in Britain. Some may not really want to believe that, much as they love curry, but travel, population movement and other factors have widened our scope and they are probably pretty keen on fish and chips in Timbuktu.

What is certain is that the great British Sunday roast is exclusive to these islands, though copied maybe elsewhere or in ex-pat outposts. No surprise therefore that it's on the Brewer's Fayre menu. A trade of three roasts with an opportunity to trade up to a mega roast for a modest sum. With it come two Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh seasonal vegetables and that important element - gravy.

A fine list of immensely tempting desserts may well bring the most ardent weight-watcher to their knees. A short but well thought out wine list offers all choices, except champagne, by the glass. Staying the night - check to see if there's a Premier Inn next door - chances are you'll be lucky.

A quick click on their Website is always worth while. The only thing that stays still permanently is the quality which is helped by a changing menu, and some very special offers.