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hand picked restaurants

There is no doubt about it the Thai culinary presence in this country does things in style. At Boston Spa, in deepest Yorkshire, Dean and Natalia Hannan have developed an old coaching house into a stylish and warmly welcoming restaurant, employing quality local ingredients within a fusion of food and cuisine from very different parts of the globe to create a unique dining experience.

Starters of Thai fishcakes are made with minced white fish, spicy red curry, beans a yard long (I'm green with envy already) and Kaffir lime leaves, served with a peanut and chilli dipping sauce, or perhaps a Jantra mixed platter for two.

Anyone who has reservations about untraceable ingredients when eating out can forget them here particularly where meat and vegetables are concerned. Both Dean and Natalie are scrupulous in their sourcing, with dishes like stir fried pork with green peppercorns and vegetables almost certainly of local origin.

Halibut, king prawns and seabass will have known no other waters than those round our islands, a thought to embrace when enjoying tiger prawns with yellow curry and vegetables. The delicate stir fried jasmine rice with crab meat is a real savoury dish, though I would need to be forcibly dragged away from the spicy mixed seafood salad with chillies, lemons and coriander.

A well chosen wine list, including some organic influences, takes due heed of the flavours inherent in Thai cuisine, rarely strays much beyond the £20/£30 mark, with some very credible bins well below that. Sadly I saw no English wines. We know the Romans made wine as far north as Yorkshire; let's hope global warming may help us to do it again.

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.

It's bright, it's vivacious and it epitomises Italy perfectly, bringing you a lovely and continental setting, right here in the UK. Chic and modern elements fuse seamlessly with traditional charm and classic brasserie feel, and what you get is an ambience that resonates with a vibrant and contemporary buzz. The food is simply some of the best you can have outside Italy, and the fresh and superb quality ingredients along with the Neapolitan wood stone oven, makes sure that every dish is turned out authentically.

The fritto misto with fried squid, king prawn, asparagus and roasted garlic mayonnaise is a great way to begin, and crispy duck with honey roasted apples and Valpolicella red wine sauce makes a delicious main course. Pasta options are plentiful with favourites such as spaghetti carbonara and tagliatelle alla Bolognese; dessert includes the refreshing baked vanilla cheesecake with citrus blueberries.

Predominantly Italian, the wine list at Piccolino offers a number of choices alongside spirits and liqueurs.