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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.

Prestwick's Main Street attracts a wide stratum of people, from businessmen looking out for a quick lunch to golfers and shopping enthusiasts, who can easily congregate at The Pinewood Restaurant for a deliciously prepared meal. The stained glass exterior leads to the charming décor inside where the ambience is warm and inviting and the service is discreet and yet attentive. Local produce and fresh ingredients combine with flair to create a distinctive cuisine that is promising in its very richness. Eat Scotland have recognised their quality with its Award for Formal Dining.

Many of those who visit are intrigued by the haggis pancakes with whisky and onion cream for starters. Follow this with a main course of their famed steak pie topped with puff pastry and you have a winner. There's also a highly recommended seafood mixed grill with lemon and the traditional fish and chips. Sweet endings include a strawberry pavlova with Chantilly cream, a simple and decadent way to bring the meal to a conclusion.

The community of Prestwick, which is really a conurbation slotted in between the steadily growing Prestwick Airport, and the old county town of Ayr, has long been crying out for a town restaurant that will satisfy the café society of all three - and Elliots does it brilliantly.

Three of us, the happy victims of kitchen gossip that made breakfast at home seem untenable, rolled in for brunch or lunch - it matters not - and were lucky to get a table in The Terrace, a recent addition to Elliots that dominates the long street of shops and houses that line the way to the nearby airport. Friendly and efficient service produced a meal of Scottish tapas, Cullen skink (the famous Scottish alternative to chowder), a mussel tart, full Scottish breakfast - and I do mean full - a bottle each of Lemage sauvignon and Moondarra shiraz, and copious amounts of black coffee, not necessarily in that order.

Around us tables occupied by people of all ages and background blended happily together. Elliots is lively in a way that is instantly appealing, unless you are looking for a sociability bypass. A dinner menu pays full heed to such dishes as best end of Ayrshire lamb, sesame crusted duck breast and oven baked chicken supreme stuffed with haggis, as well as a good range of steaks and sauces.

The Skyy Bar is available for private hire, including your cocktail barman for the evening, and you pay for the cost of the buffet only, with an excellent selection that includes blackened chicken with barbecue glaze, duck spring rolls, and assorted dim sum.

Open from 8.30am till 10.00pm daily Elliots caters for every restaurant mood and need. It has been going for nearly four years, is constantly expanding, offers spectacular value for money, and has changed the face of eating out in this attractive corner of Ayrshire.