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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.

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.

Pass through the gates of Crewe Hall and you'll understand why it's considered to be one of themost stately in the area; a hornbeam tree lined avenue leads guests to the wonderful Jacobean manor house. Features such as a bell tower, an underground maze of tunnels, hand painted wallpapers, and claw feet on the baths make the hotel a thrilling place for a visit. Past guests include King George V, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth II.

The beautiful Ranulph Restaurant in its comfortable interior offers a 2 AA Rosette menu of British cuisine. Begin your meal with confit duck leg terrine, orange compote and juniper berries and move on to a main course of halibut marinated with rosemary and garlic, goats' cheese and olive mash, with provençal sauce before signing off with hot chocolate fondant.

The Ranulph Restaurant is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday evenings and for Sunday lunch. As there are only ten tables, you may well need to reserve yours in advance.

Cheshire Cheese Fusion Pub in Crewe Road offers a selection of Indian cuisine and some English options. The executive chef, who hails from Kerala in south India, leaves his stamp with many of the dishes on the menu bearing the trademark southern flavours of coconut, spices and curry leaves. The comfortable and friendly family oriented establishment also has a kids menu and a play area.

Typical south Indian cuisine has a wide repertoire of pan fried dishes that are garnished with onions, curry leaves, mustard seeds and red or green chillies. Some of these on the menu include crispy fried chicken cubes, masala fried prawns, stir fried tuna chunks, crispy fried battered cauliflower and beef coconut fry. Main course options, the mild coconut milk based Kerala chicken stew and the spicy Malabar omelette curry, add a touch of originality to the menu. Enjoy these dishes with naan breads or lemon rice. English options include fish and chips, Cheshire lamb hotpot and grilled gammon steak.

Choice of carrot halwa, grated carrot cooked in milk and garnished with cashew nuts and raisins, or gulab jamun, fried cream balls in syrup, will make for a traditional end to an Indian meal. Alternately, you could opt for chocolate fudge cake or vanilla baked cheesecake. A glass of white or red wine makes for good company.

Handy for those tired of motorway service stations, only 10 minutes from junctions 17 and 18 of M6, The Bear's Paw offers a restful alternative in the middle of a beautiful village, offering traditional hospitality, with flair.

Children have their own menu, the rest of us eat from an a la carte offering starter dishes such as a giant duck spring roll, a toothsome dish if ever there was one, a smoked haddock and spring onion fishcake with Hollandaise sauce, or half rack of pork ribs inflamed by a dash of Tennessee Bourbon and served with a side salad.

We ignore comfort food at our peril and the Bear's Paw takes no such risks, so expect to find homemade beef lasagne, a roast of the day or the ever reliable grilled gammon steak with pineapple and a fried egg, or your choice from a selection steaks and sauces.

A fillet of steak stuffed with Stilton or a trio of lamb chops on a bed of mashed potato, or a pork loin steak with a brandy, honey and sage jus all help towards the gaiety of nations, with lovers of fish likely to head for the supreme of salmon baked with citrus fruits and butter, served with new potatoes and a white wine and prawn sauce. Vegetarians are well cared for, try the vegetable fajita, complete with soft tortillas and a guacamole, grated cheese, salsa and sour cream mix. My money would be on the fillets of red mullet, cooked simply and served on a bed of crab mash.

A relatively short but attractive wine list is good value with house wine starting at £8.95 for a drinkable South African Cabernet.