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The Three Tuns is an increasingly well-regarded, four AA star rated inn with rooms, in the heart of the North Yorkshire Moors that can claim a close contact with the inspired designs of Rennie Mackintosh as well as an abundance of fine wood carving by the Mouseman from Kilburn. The result is a highly attractive interior before you even start considering the food and drink.

Which is of no mean order. Their website tells you that 'serving food that people want to eat is our philosophy', and this is no idle boast. A typical evening menu could consist of confit of duck with beetroot and apple chutney, pork fillet wrapped in bacon with a cider and ginger meat glaze, apple and red cabbage, and char-grilled amaretto peaches and clotted cream. Nor are the helpings of any of these sturdy dishes on the skimpy side - remember, this is Yorkshire where things are not done by halves.

The drinks list is a comprehensive collection of fine wines and traditional cask-conditioned ales, and on warm days you could enjoy a drink in the charming, colourful garden.

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.

When the McCoy brothers bought the Tontine in 1976 it was in a terrible tumbledown state, but despite that disadvantage they were soon awarded "Restaurant of the Year" courtesy of Egon Ronay, a huge accolade for a Northern restaurant in those days!

Since then it has gone from strength to strength, winning almost every award in the book, but, most importantly, sending generations of happy diners home, either from its more informal bistro and snug, or from the main restaurant.

They describe the restaurant as 'Slightly faded elegance is the thought here - bit like a bordello, in fact. Chandeliered, gilded and fenestrated with wooden louvres the room twinkles at night and is heated by candle.'

Dishes in the restaurant could include chicken liver terrine with tomato chutney and brioche bread or king scallops with caviar, beurre blanc and sweet onion purée to begin with. Followed by marinated corn fed chicken with buttered spinach, white bean and ham puree and mushroom jus or fillet steak with wild mushroom sauce.

Leave room though for puddings - chocolate marquise, sticky toffee pudding, crème brûlée or cheese.