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Formerly a Chinese restaurant the Blue Room now avows more European ideas though has certainly left room for a touch of Asian influence. This shows in a variety of ways and adds interest. With careful navigation through the menu there should be no difficulty in building an attractive meal from, say, the straightforward grills and more ambitious dishes such as the five-spice roast breast of duck with egg noodles, pak choi, spring onions, black-bean dressing, sweet chilli sauce and crisp won tons. Service is cheerful and effective and the wine list shares its favours between New and Old World with admirable clarity and equality.

In 1974 Mosborough Hall was transformed with great sympathy from a 750 year old manor house to a modern hotel and it has never looked back. The antiquity remains, the touch of history is everywhere to be seen.

The Darcy's restaurant provides the gracious setting for a menu that is firmly British, including such dishes as honey glazed lamb knuckle with red onion tart tartin, or escabeche of mullet and praline soufflé. Fresh homemade breads, chocolates and patisseries feature strongly, and the atmosphere is very much that of an English squirearchal home where every wish is attended to with an urbane promptness.

Cafe Guru demonstrates that Indian cuisine can be different, exciting and contemporary, amply demonstrated by their chic Westfield Terrace restaurant in Sheffield, where diners are discovering it's not just about the curry. In a remarkably cosmopolitan setting, the food is served by a friendly staff and it's easy to see why they have been gaining popularity so rapidly.

At the onset, it's the shami kababs with their combination of lamb mince and lentil paste that are alluring, coated in egg and fried, whilst a main course of chicken turka, flash fried scallions, chillies and root ginger finished with soy sauce, lemon and yoghurt is excellent.

Don't miss specialities such as the spiced fish briskly roasted accompanied with baby sorrel, scallion and lemon salad or the marinated chicken breast cooked in a bag with spinach and roast garlic puree. Should you feel the need to bolster your meal with a side dish, then the sautéed spicy potato lends ample support. The wine list complements the meal expertly.

If you're looking to catch a glimpse of Latin life and cuisine this side of the Atlantic, hop right in to any Las Iguanas outlet across the UK. Each eatery is designed differently and brings out diverse flavours and colours - from the stillness of the Argentinean Pampas to the energy of Rio at Carnival time - some outlets are bathed in colour while others are more sober. Don't be surprised if you come across a few life-sized Latinos too.

All the action is centred on the food, a fusion of native Latin American, Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and African influences. Their signature dish called xinxim, Brazilian lime chicken in a creamy crayfish and peanut sauce with rice, fine beans and sweet plantain happens to be football legend Pele's favourite.

The tapas menu served throughout the day offers braised chorizo in Rioja wine with country bread; peri-peri, crisp cassava coated chicken with Brazilian style hot garlic; crayfish marinated with fresh mango, and quesadilla, a chargrilled tortilla filled with portobello mushroom, melted brie dressed with homemade tomato, garlic and coriander salsa.

Argentinean steaks are simply seasoned, flame grilled and served with potato, salad or cassava fries. Traditional fajitas - hot sizzling platters with onions and bell peppers, served with homemade salsa, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole and warm tortillas can be enjoyed with chicken fillet strips, steak, mushrooms or artichoke and squash.

Latin rhythm in the background and an extensive choice of wine, cocktails, champagne, beer and caipirinha, made from their very own cachaca, Brazil's national drink produced in their own sugarcane plantations  complete the picture.

Desserts such as Ipanema mess, made of creamy mascarpone, natural yoghurt, raspberries, guava preserve and crushed meringue lend the meal a befitting end.

Built as a pub in 1850, Fat Cat came up for sale in 1981 and was purchased by a Sheffield Poly lecturer, and a solicitor. Rules for guidance were quite simple - no muzac, good range of properly kept draught beers, open fires, and a selection of wholesome and reasonably priced food. Fat Cat was the first pub in Sheffield to sell Marstons, Timothy Taylors and Theakstons, and after a time added its own brews from The Kelham Island Brewery, built at the back of the pub.

The food remains wholesome and reasonable prices, with sweet potato and red onion pie, steak pie and chicken casserole and rice plucked from the menu at random. Roly-poly is the favourite sweet. A buffet meal for £5.50 includes chilli, chicken drumsticks, potato wedges and an Indian selection.

Beware the Pale Rider, not a leather-clad psychopath, but an equally dangerous draught beer that weighs in at ABV 5.2%, and is oh-so-easy to drink. Some continental lagers and beers add zest to the possibilities, but none so much as Grande Pale, made with English hops and floor malted barley, and a rating of ABV 6.6%. Just take a taxi.