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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.

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.

Alongside the River Severn in the historically important Ironbridge Gorge, the Valley Hotel makes a convenient watering hole after you retreat footsore and culturally overdosed from the world-renowned wonders of the cradle of Britain's Industrial Revolution.

The cuisine is not easy to define, beyond saying that it is broad to the point of being eclectic, without any over-fussiness. The á la carte menu offers a range of dishes with English and Continental influences, with a good selection of vegetarian dishes; honest, wholesome food is the order of the day and the support for the restaurant is not by any means confined to those who only seek the nearest refuge. The wine list is supportive with bins from the Old and New World.

An individually priced menu has been introduced to enhance the whole experience, incorporating the best of local ingredients, as in carpaccio of beef fillet, tomato, shallot salsa, fresh horseradish, parmesan shavings, and pea shoot salad, Chez Maw daily soup, or Oriental style duck cakes with Asian salad, pineapple chutney and hoi sin dressing. Not so local but just as appealing for those who like something honest and full bodied from the sea there is pan fried fillet of Cornish mackerel, pickled vegetables, cream cheese fritters and tomato dressing.

There is something tremendously reassuring about confident starters, removing any possible element of doubt about what comes next, leaving you free to anticipate with pleasure the rest of the meal, the company, the view over the Gorge, try to coincide your meal with an early summer sunset, and something exhilarating from the cellar.

Move on to a selection of main courses that would do credit to a menu in a stylish West End brasserie. Longmans 28 day hung sirloin of beef is served with red onion marmalade, dauphinoise potato, buttered beans and red wine jus.

Roast butter basted free range chicken breast, fillet of sea bass and braised shoulder of Welsh lamb are all regular attenders on the menu, which finishes on a note of triumph with sticky toffee and date pudding with vanilla pod ice cream and toffee sauce, or maybe an raspberry pannacotta with yoghurt sorbet, oat crumble and raspberry syrup.

Currently holding a 2 AA rosette award for high standard cuisine and service, this is most certainly one of the better restaurants in a part of Shropshire renowned for its outstanding scenery. The dining room, for instance, has the benefit of an adjoining bar and patio area, which overlooks award winning Parkland and the River Severn, in the centre of this World Heritage site.

For more information, and details about staying at the Valley Hotel, do visit their Website.

A touch of Le Francais in the culinary jungle of Shropshire is always to be welcomed. It is provided at Ironbridge by Johnny Coleau, a legendary figure in his time who has transformed The Grove Hotel complex into a credible watering hole for the residents of Telford and many thousands of tourists who descend upon the Gorge every year to bring themselves up to date with the Industrial Revolution so ably presented by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

Transformed it may be, but French it remains, from the candlelit basement with the check cloths to the bistro bar where such dishes as coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon mingle with the baguettes.

At weekends, however, a whiff of old England is to be detected, with traditional Sunday roasts of beef and lamb, and a casserole perhaps to keep the Francophiles in a state of serendipity. They extol the virtues of a lack of chips on Sunday, but quite gladly provide them for the rest of the week - and there's me thinking the chip was pretty universal by now.

Friendly staff do a good job looking after what is without doubt a busy place, with a good atmosphere well tuned to the locals, and for party occasions.

From a picturesque golf course and calming spa to excellent conference facilities and smart bedrooms, the Telford Hotel and Golf Resort has what it takes to be an AA four star hotel. Located on the edge of Telford in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ironbridge Gorge, the resort offers the perfect reason to leave the city and enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation.

Food is taken very seriously indeed, and a visit to Restaurant 1779 will prove that Telford's chefs have created a modern European menu that offers diners a great balance of simplicity and variety.

A meal there could begin with a bowl of French onion soup finished with port and Gouda cheese crouton or seared smoked salmon with pumpernickel bread, wasabi and balsamic dips before advancing to chicken stuffed with wild mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes rissole potatoes, fine beans and thyme jus or fettuccine carbonara with creamy smoked bacon, mushroom and garlic sauce.

The Club bar serves a range of drinks alongside tempting salads and light meals.

The Golden Ball dates back to 1728 and is the oldest licensed premises in the Ironbridge Gorge. It started operations some fifty years before the world famous Iron Bridge opened in 1781; and although the bridge has served its purpose and is now a World Heritage Site, The Golden Ball is still going strong; welcoming people who wish to enjoy a meal or a drink, or stay a night or two in its bedrooms.

The restaurant is situated in the original brew house and has a wealth of character and charm. Their menu is updated daily and incorporates local and seasonal produce where possible. Large chalkboards in the dining room and bar display dishes such as homemade chicken liver pâté served with granary toast, and a hearty main course of wild duck and local pheasant breasts, oven-roasted and served with a mixed berry sauce, Parmentier roast potatoes and buttered green vegetables or Cornish sea bass fillets on a bed of creamy leeks.

The bar area offers real ales, draught and bottled cider and a range of imported continental beers.

For many years The Foresters Arms has been a steady English pub in an estate village when suddenly pow!! out of nearby Ironbridge came The King and Thai looking for a new location, and the rest is relatively recent history. It is proof of the regard in which they were held that customers from their old location have followed them up the hill to Broseley.

Much of their success is due to the quality of their ingredients, with a good number coming direct from Thailand, including the stunningly beautiful orchids on the tables as well as chillies, lemongrass and secret herbs and spices. The meats come from Shropshire, all carefully selected and accredited. Eggs are barn fresh and the vegetables are purchased locally. The nearby Birmingham Fish Markets supply the fish and seafood. In good Thai fashion the décor is restful and undemanding, no ornate busy stuff just a restful, candlelit interior that sets the scene for some serious palate pleasing.

A homely and welcoming place on the western flank of Telford where it begins to be swallowed up by Shropshire countryside, The Pheasant was taken over by Sue and Richard Fletcher in 2007 and after the traditional refurbishment has become again the popular inn it used to be. In particular the food, which could be described as serious brasserie, is a delight with hardly a dish that did not have instant appeal.

A starter of warm locally made black pudding with dry cured crispy bacon and field mushrooms on olive oil toast was superb, and the grilled crostinis of Wrekin White and Newport cheeses supremely tasty. Fishinabox supply the daily caught fresh fish and on our visit fillet of Musselburgh mackerel with a side dish of proper chips did the business, though the grilled Newlyn day boat Dover sole had a narrow escape.

Gammon steak was of a high standard, served with Ma Fletcher's Yorkshire sauce or honey glazed pineapple, a close run choice with warm chicken, Shropshire Blue and crispy bacon salad giving a new slant on Caesar (who had his town of Wroxeter just up the road).

Frankly, desserts were a bit of a struggle, but duty called and so did Richard's superb raspberry and white chocolate crème brûlée, with an entirely superfluous but hopelessly delicious Top House Farm ice cream on top. A short but perfectly adequate wine list from John Horton at Addison's completed the pleasure.