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hand picked restaurants

The rise and rise of the Indian restaurant in the past few decades has not only given the poor old Chinese a run for their money but has added a major new cuisine to British eating habits which shows no signs of waning.

Little wonder when restaurants like Café Saffron, in the centre of historic Shrewsbury, produce a menu that is the Indian equivalent of a brasserie in that every dish you see appeals and your only problem is personal space. Chances are that you will meet your hosts, Abdul and Azad who, with over forty years of experience have brought their experience and charisma to the people of Shropshire.

For make no mistake, people travel serious distances to enjoy the outstanding food provided by a master chef who learned his skills alongside some of the best in India. Cafe Saffron is a one-off , with no other commitments in Shrewsbury than to produce the best in their 110 seater warmly decorated, fully air conditioned restaurant, where ample parking, attentive staff and an imaginative menu make this an essential entry for your little red book.

A choice of around 20 starters establishes two things, the quality of the food and the incredible value for money. Machli rang, onion bhaji and prawn on puri, or black peppercorn chicken make a great beginning before heading for a fine butter murghi with diced marinated chicken shallow fried in butter then added to a creamy coconut sauce. All principal dishes are annotated for heat, as in strength, assessments that are not to be taken lightly. Watch out for the naga murchi, chicken or lamb cooked with extremely hot chillies and unique to the northern regions of Bangladesh which rates 5, at the top of the scale, two above the challenging vindaloo.

More than a few regular Indian food eaters tend to be creatures of habit, which at Cafe Saffron means a good personal kick is needed to move into the lesser known dishes. Trouble is the old favourites are well trailed and familiarity can win. Expect to find rogan josh, classic madras, pathia, phall and the ever popular balti, with choices of chicken or lamb, tiger prawns, chicken or lamb tikka, and mixed vegetable. Amongst the lesser known seafood dishes salmon spice, Bengal pagush, and telaphia all await your pleasure.

Tandoori grills are invariably popular, served here with dips and fresh, crisp salad. The selection of vegetables, side dishes, rice, naan bread and other accompaniments is truly awesome and well in tune with the other dishes

Café Saffron is popular with parties, and the set menus for two add an even further dimension to the good-value factor in this attractive and well-run restaurant. In the unlikely event that one of your party was an abstainer, English dishes are available.

In addition to Indian lagers such as Cobra on draught there is a wine list of fairly slender proportions. However wine with Asian cuisine is still a fairly new proposition in more rural parts of the country and Saffron has sufficient choice to keep most customers happy.

Their special services loyalty card is worth looking into if you happen to be in the Armed Forces or Emergency Services, as well as NHS staff and school teachers.

Cafe Saffron is warmly recommended for its authenticity, friendliness and customer awareness. Their Website is as colourful as the range of spices they deploy and the humour that is never far from the interchange between diners and staff.

Recognition has come in 2010 with the Award of 'Curry Chef of the Year' in a competition held by Shropshire County Council.

Part of the Whitbread family, Table Table restaurants aim to bring great value tasty pub food to an ever increasing eating-out public who like well prepared and genuine food served by friendly staff in relaxing surroundings. If that sounds too much like a dream come true be assured that at Table Table they also walk the talk, and are pleased to have the chance to prove it.

Their well located restaurants are spread across a wide range of decors and styles, and all of them share a determination to provide comfort, warmth and relaxation. Their buffet menus for special occasions are remarkable value.

In keeping with modern trends they provide dishes to nibble or share as guests consider the spread of options on a menu that could be described as British with welcome incursions. So as you share long Italian flatbread, and dough balls and dips, or a sharing platter with an imaginative range of finger food starting with garlic and breaded mushrooms, it's time to think about the relative merits of aromatic duck parcels, a prawn cocktail, breaded Camembert or sticky chicken goujons to name but a few.

Many an innocent dish from the past has been hi-jacked in the best possible sense into becoming what is now called a 'pub classic'. Wiltshire cure ham with eggs is served with chunky chips and beef, mushroom and ale pie, or chicken and chips are all familiar with British tables, be they in the dining room or the kitchen. Now they have been added to by chicken fajitas, a sweet red pepper, crème fraiche and fennel tart, a leg of duck slowly cooked and served with a Bramley apple and cider sauce, or chilli con carne with basmati rice, sour cream and guacamole and nachos. So is the humble burger with six enticing toppings.

The point is they, and others, are all here at Table Table, well prepared with quality ingredients, and presented in a way that makes you hungry even if you thought you weren't.

Getting down to the more serious side of the table keep an eye open for the seafood pie, a delightful assembly of things fishy including crayfish, red snapper, prawns and clams. Many of their steaks are 28 days matured, including a 7oz fillet. All steaks are served with watercress, roasted cherry tomatoes, a flat mushroom and chunky chips. A choice from 4 sauces adds the final touch of enjoyment.

Pastas and salads embrace some well known and loved names, but for sheer enjoyment the hot smoked salmon salad takes some beating - flakes of hot smoked salmon mixed with a house salad and soy and ginger sauce. A real winner.

Snacks aplenty cover hot baguettes with the like of grilled pork loin and Bramley apple sauce, sandwiches filled with Cheddar cheese, or prawns and Marie Rose sauce, and jacket potatoes with such temptations as chilli con carne. Add a bowl of chips for only a little extra.

A well travelled wine list offers helpful advice for the uninitiated and there's an impressive choice of draught and bottled beers and lagers. All in all it would appear that Table Table are more than achieving their aims, providing the opportunity for people to eat out enjoyably, with excellent value for money. Long may they continue to do so.

For completely up to date information on menu changes and special offers do make a regular check on their lively Website.

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.

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 handsome Rowton Castle, about fifteen minutes out from the centre of Shrewsbury, is a perfect setting for a relaxed evening amidst truly baronial surroundings set in the lush Shropshire countryside. The Grade II listed building delights guests with original features that include wood panelling and a magnificent carved oak fireplace.

The AA rosette dining room, with 17th century carving, velvet armchairs and intimate lighting makes a suitably grand background for your meal, which might consist of a starter of confit of maize fed chicken leg set into a terrine wrapped in dry cured ham, followed by grilled peppered duck breast sliced and served with a fricassée of oyster mushrooms or pan-fried fillet of mackerel with a smoked bacon and courgette risotto. A dessert of rich velvet chocolate torte could make a suitably freshening finish, with its accompanying passion fruit sorbet and mango puree.

If you've always wanted to have an English castle wedding then Rowton Castle could be just the place for your dream day. The Georgian Dining Room and Cardeston Suite are available for private dining.