Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.

A gracious house, next to the church as you might expect, the Georgian dining room offers a daily changing a la carte menu of dishes cooked freshly to order using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, like Grendon lamb, Packington pork, etc.

Richard Napper, the chef, likes to visit each table, when he gets the opportunity, and believes that good food deserves a quality wine, so, to encourage guests to be more adventurous, his wine list is good value for money and ranges from only £11 up to £70 a bottle. The crisp white table linen, silver cutlery, candles and classical background music provide an ideal atmosphere for a special evening.

The frenetically popular wine bar and restaurant - close to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre - is a real favourite with the theatre-going fraternity, and not only because it's handy. Service, even at peak times is commendable and cheerful, the food is reliable and tasty and the ambience is just what you would expect in a place which caters essentially for the audience rather than the cast.

A menu that thoroughly tempts is part of the secret of its success, with dishes like salmon fishcakes on a bed of spinach with sorrel sauce or wild mushroom risotto with fresh parmesan, and pork and chive sausages with mashed potatoes and onion gravy or lamb shank Kleftico for carnivores.

Located in busy Castle Street in Rugby, Masala Lounge Restaurant and Bar has been thrilling its clientele with an exotic variety of Indian flavours since 2005. Run by two families, the restaurant offers a fine dining experience at reasonable prices. The immaculate barley white walls, ivory seating and vanilla linen lend a calm, pleasant appeal to the décor, making it perfect for any occasion. The service is friendly, prompt and responsive, though you're never hurried to leave the table after a meal.

The menu offers a range of classic Indian dishes prepared using techniques that have been perfected over the years. Chicken au puree, paneer tikka, machli Bengal, lamb biriyani, tandoori king prawns and the tandoori combination are top of the charts. There is also a well thought out wine list and an extensive selection for vegetarians. If you fancy Indian cuisine, Masala Lounge is a good place to savour the best of both worlds - authentic Indian food and a vibrant, contemporary ambience.

Housed in the picturesque Barceló Billesley Manor Hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, the Stuart Restaurant offers delicious modern British cuisine in beautiful surroundings. Housed in a 16th century Elizabethan manor filled with history and tradition, the hotel is particularly famous for its links to Shakespeare, who was believed to have used the manor house’s library and to have married his wife in the church on the hotel grounds.

Catering to hotel guests, as well as locals and tourists, the restaurant serves fresh, quality food that has been procured from local markets wherever possible. The fare includes a scrumptious breakfast ranging from continental pastries to a traditional full English breakfast served with tea, coffee and other beverages. The lunch and dinner menu changes seasonally and could include starters such as goat’s cheese tartlet with caramelised onion, ham hock terrine or a tomato and mozzarella salad. Main courses range from British classics such as roast rump of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and rosemary sauce to more internationally-flavoured dishes like chicken supreme with chorizo and red wine sauce.

Tempting desserts of bread and butter pudding with vanilla sauce, white chocolate mousse and passion fruit, or lemon tart with raspberry sorbet round a meal of with style.