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Prezzo has been delighting diners for over eight years, and this Italian restaurant chain has since been able to expand throughout large parts of England and Scotland with some 141 outlets.

Interestingly, the company seeks to restore either impressive buildings or ones of local interest. The conversion of the Newbury library and other listed buildings, such as those in Salisbury, Romsey and Mayfair, are all welcome examples of 'new use'. Their trendy and sophisticated décor usually consists of tiled or wooden floors with delicate lights and colourful paintings, along with wooden furniture and sparkling cutlery, creating a setting that is suitable for a relaxed lunch, a family meal or an evening out with friends.

The restaurants are of particular appeal to those who like genuine Italian cuisine, and they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic bread with mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goat's cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on foccacia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal. Best fun is to order an antipasto platter to share made up from seven well loved Italian nibbles.

Find pastas such as the unusual penne con salmone, with oak-roasted salmon, broccoli and fresh chillies in a red pesto and cream sauce, or firm favourites like spaghetti with meatballs, spaghetti Bolognese, and fusilli al pesto, asparagus spears with field mushrooms and roasted peppers in a basil pesto sauce.

Amongst the special pastas, the pollo mariano, seasoned chicken, pepperoni sausage, roasted peppers and fusilli in tomato sauce, is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like tiger prawns with petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular napoletana, topped with yellowfin tuna, tomato, white anchovies, capers, red onion, mozzarella and marinated olives, and the much loved quattro stagioni - pepperoni sausage, prosciutto ham, artichoke, field mushrooms, capers, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with their blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can accompany the food with a variety of tipples, though for many, Italian food requires Italian wines to be enjoyed to the full, ranging from house wine through Morellino di Scansano and Prosecco to liqueurs and beer, and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal, in company with a glass of grappa or sambuca.

This is Italian food at its attractive best, convincing and bringing together the traditional with the modern twist or two against a background of excellent value.

Prezzo is a lively group and opportunities to improve and update are never left on the table for long. Keep up to date with a quick click on their Website.

With quality food, friendly staff, quick service and excellent value for money, Nando's is a great place to eat. Don't expect identikit, pre-fab restaurant interiors which are usually a staple of the larger chains; each restaurant is tailored to its local surroundings and customers, offering up a unique restaurant experience to go with the equally unique taste of legendary, Portuguese, Peri-Peri chicken.

Your peri-peri chicken, when the chips are down so to speak, is a fresh A grade chicken that has never seen the inside of a freezer, but having made the supreme sacrifice is butterfly-cut, marinated for 24 hours in a secret brew called - you've guessed - peri-peri, and is then cooked to your choice over an open flame.

There are, of course, many variations on this broad theme, numerous plays on words such as Nando's experi-perience, peri-peri good reasons why you should eat at a Nando's, and all one hopes is that for their sake chicken never goes out of fashion. New Nando's are opening all the time, peri-peri quickly in fact, the spicy bastes become hotter and more daring, and the full platter offers a whole chicken, large chips or spicy rice and Nando's salad or coleslaw.

Since chickens are vegetarian it seems logical you can order veggie or bean burgers and patties, and still feel the heat from the peppers. All in all, Nando's is hotly recommended for those occasions when you have a large following of permanently hungry children, or adults even, to keep happy - the only thing taken really seriously is the quality of those peri-peri good chickens.

Nando's is a place for bright people who love to laugh and love to eat, and is guaranteed to spice up your taste buds. Their fun approach to life means that when you visit Nando's you can fully relax without the airs and graces associated with more starchy dining out.

For the location of your nearest Nando's restaurant and a host of details about menus, parties and drinks, a click on their Website will reveal a Pandora's box of information.

It's not often that I use the word salubrious, for what I hope are fairly obvious reasons. But I must say that when circumstances take me to Edinburgh there are few places I would rather be, with the possible exception of the Arts Club, than The George which, as a result of quite recent upheavals, now has Tempus added to it. Since tempus means time all I can add is that Tempus is one of the best possible places to spend it. Salubrious in fact, with most of the trappings that go with formality but totally lacking in any demands upon its clientele other than modern casual.

Described as "one of George Street's coolest bar and restaurant adventures", it has a distinguished cast of management with Marc Robertson, formerly of the Oxford Pear Tree, leading in the kitchen.

The menu is branded, so we start with Tempus Begins, that includes Loch Fyne oysters, and melon with Parma ham, or Loch Fyne smoked salmon. Tempus Continues with such well presented delights as ground fillet beef burger, breast of duck, Buccleuch beef Wellington, a seafood platter (for two) and grilled calves liver.

I did think all this might be followed by Tempus Fugit, but no it's Tempus Finale with such glorious indiscretions as knickerbocker glory, chocolate muffin trifle served with shortbread, churned ice cream with shortbread fingers by Luca of Musselburgh, or the ubiquitous and ever welcome lemon tart.

For a country that gave us the amber nectar, Scotland knows what it's about when it comes to wine too. The cellar here - Tempus Bacchus perhaps? - will most certainly not disappoint.

Inherently Indian as well as belonging to one of UK's most popular chain of restaurants, the Ashoka at the Quay, is a relatively new eatery in the group. Set in quaint surroundings with a contemporary modern twist, the restaurant offers diners a relaxed atmosphere with attractive furniture and comfortable seating.

With the ambience encouraging you to let your guard down, the profusion of choices can at times be overwhelming, with the à la carte menu comprising of dishes like balochi tikka, the Chef?s special from Baluchistan with chicken fillet marinated in yoghurt and traditional spices, cooked in a tandoor; the dum pukht handi, a chicken or lamb dish cooked in a slow simmering pot and the traditional tandoori prawns. The menu has something for everyone including vegans together with an assortment of breads and small eats.

The restaurant also offers a take-away menu for those wanting to relish a quick bite on the go.

Situated amidst glorious scenery just off the town centre of Callander, the delightful Roman Camp Hotel ensures that the original character of this special country house remains intact. The kitchen's expertise is evident in the delicious modern cooking that is a celebration of local Scottish produce.

Start with ravioli of scallops with lobster and parmesan foam or roast quail with purple potatoes and smoked bacon sauce before moving on to Bresse pigeon with wild mushroom consommé and truffle gnocchi, or fillet of turbot with grain mustard risotto and shellfish reduction. To finish the meal an excellent dessert comes in the form of an assiette of Kent mango or orange mousse with milk chocolate sorbet.

The bright Yellow Parlour bedroom with a fireplace takes in lovely views of a parterre garden with plenty of place to stretch out.