In 1979, Porters English Restaurant was opened by The 7^th Earl of Bradford, for those times, a restaurateur extraordinaire; not every day does an English Earl, either then or now, expand his interests beyond the ancestral acres to set up shop within the highly competitive London restaurant market. Lord Bradford, who wears his title lightly, said at the launch, "Porters English Restaurant will give a lot of people good, simple, traditional English dishes in comfortable surroundings, at very reasonable prices!" If every politician kept their word as well as he has done the world might be a better place.

Porters does not set out to be a classy restaurant. Instead, in homely surroundings that smack of bistro turned brasserie, they serve food and drink that is easily recognisable as genuinely comfortable grub, relished by far more people than might be supposed if you paid too much attention to the culinary media.

So for starters keep an eye lifted for Norfolk dressed crab, the ever popular roast tomato and basil soup, creamy and with that tell-tale colour which proclaims the real thing, and chicken liver pâté with brandy and garlic, with homade red onion marmalade.

At the outset Porters was mainly about pies, and whilst the balance has shifted, they remain a staple dish. Little wonder then that steak, Guinness and mushroom pie stands still as Porters's perennial bestseller. No fancy recipe, you get what it says, and like all other main courses it is served with one of a number of traditional accompaniments, of which chips and baked potatoes are well up the list.

Loyalty is suitably expressed by Buckingham pie, venison for the Scots, beef for the English, leeks for the Welsh, and redcurrants or puff pastry, depending on your point of view but just as welcome, for the Irish. The wild boar and sage sausages are a real treat for the connoisseur of such delicacies, in the same ranking as the braised beef and herb faggots, with onion and ale gravy.

Grills at Porters are chargrilled over hot coals for full flavour retention, and include a 16oz Aberdeen Angus T-Bone steak, 28 day hung and cooked to your preference and served peppered, plain or with a Béarnaise sauce and caramelised onions. Puddings follow the same traditional course and include steamed syrup sponge, dark chocolate chip pudding, burnt Trinity cream with a tangy damson base, and wonderful homemade ice cream.

As with so many things English, afternoon tea is an event at Porters, complete with bottomless cups, traditional fruit scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam, and other more weighty confections such as summer pudding with whipped cream for those who missed out on lunch.

A practical, down to earth wine list offers excellent value interesting drinking from around the world, including England - of course. And if you like the food that much a copy of Porters English Cookery Bible can be yours for a modest sum.

Famed for much of its existence for being the liberal left's favourite haunt to catch up on goulash and political gossip, The Gay Hussar has seen the likes of Aneurin Bevan, Michael Foot and Tom Driberg, Labour's old guard, stopping by regularly along with a clutch of journalists, artists and socialites. Named after Hungarian light cavalry, the restaurant was established in 1953 by Victor Sassie and continues to hold fort in Greek Street as a bastion of traditional Hungarian cooking. While no longer the venue for political skulduggery, it still serves hearty portions of many old favourites though the menu has been given a lighter touch.

Guests can experience its unique atmosphere in a cosy interior embellished with signed caricatures of politicians, by cartoonist Martin Rowson, looking down from the walls and book shelves stacked with political first editions. Relax and unwind in comfortable banquette seating in a dark wood panelled setting, which makes no concessions to the vagaries of contemporary style, while considering ordering the restaurant's specialties - chilled wild cherry soup, pressed boar's head or veal goulash with small dumplings. 
 
Alternatively, dinner could begin with dishes such as fresh asparagus and bacon salad, marinated fillet of herring with soured cream or debreceni kolbász, smoked Hungarian sausage. Mains options include grilled sea bass with leek and potato cake, crispy roast duck with potatoes, red cabbage and apple sauce, pan fried pork fillet with diced potatoes, bacon and garlic and smoked breast of goose with sólet and red cabbage. Round off the satisfying meal with delightful desserts of walnut pancakes with chocolate sauce, poppy seed strudel with vanilla ice cream or dobos torta, layered gâteau with caramel top.

The lunch menu offers great value and costs £19 for two courses and £22 for three courses. It features starters of fish terrine with beetroot sauce and cucumber salad, goose and pork pâté, mixed Hungarian salami and fish dumplings in creamy dill and mushroom sauce. For the main course, there's choice of chicken in a creamy paprika sauce and galuska, veal wiener schnitzel with sauté potatoes and pepper salad or medallions of pork fillet with bacon, onions and paprika.

Vegetarians can look forward to such dishes as fried mushrooms with tartare sauce vegetarian goulash, stuffed peppers, spinach pancakes, sweet pepper salad and galuska, thimble egg dumplings.
 
The Gay Hussar's convenient location in the heart of Theatreland makes it a natural stop for a pre theatre dinner. It offers theatregoers a 20 per cent discount on its à la carte menu if tables are vacated by 7.30 p.m. An extensive selection of fine Hungarian red and white wines, including Badacsonyi Riesling and Villányi Cabernet Sauvignon, Tokaji dessert wine, liqueurs, sparkling wine and champagne complements the meal perfectly.
 
Two private rooms, known to have held many a secret meeting, are available for meetings or private dining. You can even book the whole venue, spread over three floors, for exclusive use for groups of up to 120 people. The Gay Hussar is open from 12.15 pm. Monday to Saturday. Click on their Website for further information.

Located on the riverside in the centre of the lively cathedral town of Ely, offering quality eating and drinking in perfect surroundings, The Boathouse is steeped in history. King Canute and Hereward the Wake would have been familiar with the Great Ouse upon whose banks it stands, and in 1944 the Boat Race crews launched from the building when the Race was staged outside London during the war years.

Nowadays The Boathouse is a leading hotspot of Ely, a town renowned for one of the most outstanding cathedrals in Britain, with a brilliant programme of events taking place in and around this ancient place of worship throughout the year.

There is a main menu, in which you can be sure the locally caught eels, a great Fenland delicacy, will feature. Sure enough, amongst the starters is smoked eel and carrot salad, a baked duck parcel with sweet and sour cucumber; mushrooms on toast with chives and poached egg, or chicken liver pâté with red onion jam.

Main courses follow much the same pattern with roasted cod fillet, potato dumplings, spinach, fried mushrooms and green herb sauce. Denham Estate lamb cutlets are served with balsamic roasted red onions, tomatoes, new potatoes and port sauce, whilst sirloin steak comes with hand cut chips and a choice of sauce from the board.

Amongst the desserts there are some very tempting indulgences, like black cherry and kirsch crème brûlée, chocolate and hazelnut parfait, or the ubiquitous hot sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

At lunchtime a more limited menu is on offer with four starters and mains, which could include warm honey and thyme goats' cheese; sausages and mash made on site, and rhubarb and pear crumble. There can be few pleasanter places in Ely in which to enjoy a leisurely lunch than the sunlit quayside area outside The Boathouse.

A wine list drawn mainly from The Languedoc fields eight bottles at £20 or below, and several by the glass or carafe. The Boathouse is a valuable addition to the area and on present form looks set to thrive, in order to find out more a visit to their Website is definitely recommended.

If you haven't discovered this part of London's riverside area yet, you really have missed out. Butler's Wharf has grown over the years and the formerly derelict warehouses have been converted into luxury flats, boutique shops and designer restaurants and bars.

Located in the shadow of Tower Bridge, Browns occupies the area's premier site with a stunning restaurant overlooking the Thames and the magnificent architecture of riverside London. Al fresco dining is always popular in the warmer months as the area's workers and residents enjoy the capital's impressive external decks. The whole area is thriving during the weekend as families and friends enjoy the relaxing feel to Shad Thames and the wonderful food and drink that Browns offers.

Browns is a classic English restaurant with a menu that evolves rather than changes. It offers a genuine value for money experience for guests and can also cater for large parties with a more expansive budget.

A plate of appetisers to share comes in vegetarian, seafood or Italian meat antipasti form, or there are thin and crisp flatbreads topped with such delights as garlic, rocket and Parmesan, and spicy beef and mushroom. Starters cleverly re-invent some of the classic brasserie dishes; expect to find crab and avocado salad, ham hock terrine, pan-seared scallops and a fine selection of freshly made soups depending on the day.

Fish and pasta dishes include prawn and chorizo linguine, served with tomato and chorizo sauce. A real value seafood platter will have smoked salmon, Browns crab mix, squid, kiln cured salmon with horseradish crème fraîche, large shell-on tiger prawn and marinated king scallops assembled together, whilst hungry chaps may well opt for the whole baked sea bream with lemon and ginger served with wilted spinach and new potatoes.

Browns's own steak, mushroom and Guinness pie is a real puller, with the rack of lamb not too far behind. Desserts include raspberry and chocolate brownie and cheese board with fresh bread, crackers, grapes and celery. The fact is that after years of experience in the field of what might be termed comfortable eating; Browns have it pretty well tied up.

On Sundays step into Browns for a relaxed Sunday brunch with newspapers, simple food and a well constructed Bloody Mary. And what a brunch it is! Smoked fishcake with poached egg and hollandaise, eggs Florentine, Royal or Benedict, the full English, or smoothies, it's all there.

Their afternoon tea is a real treat at any time, and two people can get into a friendly huddle over their Most Unusual version that introduces even more indulgence into the equation, including two large G & Ts. There is a full wine, cocktail and Champagne list with the Champagnes being particularly notable for their sensible pricing.

Adjacent to the stunning design museum, Browns has become an ideal neighbourhood restaurant and bar to those fortunate to live in the area, but also a perfect destination to those visiting this magnificent addition to London's amenities. Browns's private dining room is the ideal venue for corporate entertaining especially for those who want to offer their guests something a little bit different and special.

More information, including details on their full menu and private rooms, can be viewed on their Website.

"Where everybody goes and quite rightly so" - The Guardian

The Encore in Stratford-upon-Avon is a splendid coming together of the conventional and the contemporary, an eclectic fusion of styles which has marvellous visual appeal and creates a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. Bright zebra prints grace some of the chairs, while deep brown leather on others shows how the old and the new can exist in harmony, while stone fired ovens and log burning fires alongside the open kitchen and floor plan produce the same results.

Located in an 18th century building, The Encore is also quite close to the world famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The pub downstairs has a friendly ambience and offers a good selection of excellent beers and real ales, while the restaurant upstairs provides an unusual mix of traditional British food with continental touches. Following a refurbishment, they have emerged as an excellent dining destination in the town, while their attention to detail and friendly service ensures a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

The simple but up-to-the-minute menu offers lots of comfort appeal, with homely choices like pizzas, steaks and pasta, with some more global dishes to keep things lively. To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, box baked Camembert with onion jam and bread, Greek mezze with taramasalata, red pepper hummus, tzatziki, feta and flatbreads, or a pizzette with garlic, rocket, sun-blushed tomatoes and Parmesan.

Amongst the starters, there is always freshly made soup of the day, sake cured salmon, pickled ginger and wasabi crème fraîche, and fennel with chilli crusted squid, pineapple and coriander salsa are also to be found.

The salads offer pang pang chicken, Asian greens, satay, cashew nuts and cucumber, while pastas range from linguini with chorizo, king prawns, crab, chilli and tomato to tagliatelle bolognaise with slow cooked beef, bacon and Chianti.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; look for a classic margherita of tomato, mozzarella, oregano and basil, or a Siciliana with Serrano ham, roast artichoke, olives and mozzarella. Those who love rotisserie fare will enjoy the different variations of chicken, with roast garlic, lemon and thyme and aioli. Persian spiced lamb chops are an interesting addition to this list and are served with tzatziki, tomato and red onion salad.

Proper main courses could include sea bass fillets, stuffed Romano pepper, caponata, pesto and baby new potatoes; Scottish salmon with Asian greens, chilli salsa and tempura sweet potato fritters; calves liver with sweet potato and beetroot gratin and watercress, or lemon sole with prawn and scallop butter. A wide range of supporting dishes includes tomato, rocket and mozzarella, and cabbage, leeks and peas. Desserts are some of the best you'll encounter with apple and frangipane gallette and Cognac ice cream, and there is also a selection of local cheeses to set the buffs alight.

To complement the food, there is a well chosen wine list that traverses across the old and New Worlds to bring fine wines and champagnes.

More information, including full menus, is available on their Website. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

The King William IV is a contemporary pub situated on High Road, Chigwell. The establishment is one of those that have surfaced on the mainstream of casual eating in the UK and are taking an increasing share of the market, evidenced by their growth in numbers and the popularity of what they have to offer. If this results in a 'type' there is certainly no harm in that.

Contemporary pubs such as these usually share a number of characteristics. An important feature is space, preferably a restaurant where you are comfortable, not over-awed, and not sharing elbow space with the next table, however sociable they may be. Good, too, to have an al fresco eating area, in this case a courtyard, and last, but by no means least, a roomy and well stocked bar where you can actually get served without undue delay. After all, drinking should be taken seriously.

If a pub offers all of these, and is in a good location, there is little reason in today's economic climate why it should not flourish. The King William IV provides ample evidence that this is true.

But of course there are other factors, not least of which is the food and drink. The term 'gastropub' covers a multitude of blessings and it is possible to see influences of brasserie, bistro, restaurant and even café at work within the great gastro umbrella. So expect to find no one single cuisine, but a blend designed to provide something for everybody, no matter what their treat may be.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, antipasti of Italian meats, dolcelatte, marinated vegetables with warm stone-baked flatbreads, or Mediterranean mezze of hummus, roasted vegetables, fregola, tzatziki, feta, spinach and ricotta pâté with flatbreads.

Amongst the starters, expect to find freshly made soup, smoked salmon with pomegranate molases, fennel and micro herb salad, or gambas with rocket, garlic aioli and rustic bread. Look, too, for scallops of the day. The salads offer chargrilled chicken, courgette, fennel, apple, asparagus, hazelnut and balsamic dressing, and for the seafood enthusiasts some prawn and avocado, mango, pecans, bacon, orange and pomegranate vinaigrette tends to please.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; look for a classic margherita of pomodoro, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, the rustica with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, goats' cheese and cherry tomatoes, or a piccante with pepperoni, chorizo, tomato and jalapeños.

The rotisserie dishes for hearty eaters are worth trying and choices include spit chicken with roast garlic, lemon, thyme and frites. For the big event there is always roast rump of lamb with sauce soubise, asparagus, pancetta, button onions and baby potatoes. The classic burger, which has risen from the confines of fast food chains, carves a niche for itself on the menu and comes with gherkin, mustard mayo, cheese, relish, bacon and frites.

A wide range of supporting dishes includes tomato and red onions, and cabbage, leeks and peas. Desserts are some of the best you'll encounter with apple, blackcurrant crumble and vanilla custard, and sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, and there is also a selection of cheeses to set the buffs alight.

The King William IV stocks a wide range of beers, both well loved draught ales and bottled from further afield. The wine list covers plenty of territory from traditional clarets to Pinot Grigio, and champagne by the glass or bottle is always available. Service is cheerful, brisk and totally in keeping with the friendly nature of a good English gastropub.

Keep in touch with their Website for changes in menu, and events. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

The Holly Bush Inn in the village of Salt, close by the River Trent, is seriously popular and seems to thrive, as many successful restaurateurs are aware of, on giving people what they like, not what you happen to think they ought to. Leave the education process to the subsidised elements of this world.

Furthermore, if you happen to be running the reputedly second oldest pub in the country, set in attractive country near a major conurbation, you are off to a head start anyway.

A visit on any weekday towards evening might reveal the true scope of their popularity with a friendly and diplomatic staff who manage the bar as well as the restaurant with admirable efficiency.

The menu could include starters of Staffordshire oatcakes stuffed with spiced black pudding and herby tomato sauce or pan fried calves liver in garlic butter with mixed leaf salad. Main courses number at least twelve on any day and top contenders for dish of the day could easily be the homemade steak and kidney pudding with a rich onion gravy, a traditional venison casserole cooked with home cured bacon, button mushrooms and red wine or the deep fried cod with mushy peas.

Should that not tickle your fancy there is the House mixed grill, a journey down memory lane with generous helpings of gammon, pork chop, sirloin steak, liver, kidney and not least the hand-made local sausages. The steaks, again from Mr Perry of Eccleshall, are a revelation with a 20 oz T-bone on the menu. For cheeses, think in terms of Fowlers of Earlswood, the oldest cheese making family in England.

The real ales are a revelation, with about four variations monthly, and a wine list offers fair choice at prices that will not spoil your appetite. There are no frills when it comes to the supporting tackle, though you can eat in the bar, and the dining room does make some concessions in that direction.

This may not be Michelin star country, but it is a place for hearty eaters who appreciate sound cooking, as well as a celebration of what Staffordshire can produce in the way of honest local ingredients. Whilst it has an array of awards to support this, the real proof lies in the overflowing car park.

The Holly Bush Inn is very proud of the fact that they were awarded Best British Food 2003 at the prestigious Publican Pub Food Awards. Hosted by celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson the ceremony was held on the 13th November at the Queen Elizabeth Centre, Westminster where Holly Bush Landlord Geoff Holland accepted the award.

For masses of additional information, do visit their extremely comprehensive and interesting Website.

Located in Maiden Lane, Fire And Stone Covent Garden, this is the original and it remains the flagship restaurant of their extending portfolio bringing "deliciously different pizzas" into the heart of the West End. For regular Fire & Stone habitués many feel this is the place to be. Visitors to London weaving their way through one of its most attractive areas are delighted to find this 250 seater restaurant, spread over two floors, with a cool and contemporary interior that attracts without deflecting attention from the fine range of fresh and appealing food.

Some years ago I lunched at the Covent Garden Fire & Stone with a colleague and quickly realised that here was a restaurant that meant business. Their subsequent expansion suggests this was a deserved assessment. A simple but highly efficient service ensures that bookings can be made with ease wherever you are. They also specialise here with their party menus for groups both large and small.

Give yourself a break at lunchtime and take a close look at the lunch meal deal. Book in advance and choose any pizza, pasta or salad from the set menu, currently for £4.95. Choose from amongst such delights as the Marrakech with cumin spiced ground lamb, mozzarella, mint yoghurt sauce, green olives, raisins and sliced onion drizzle with chilli oil, or the Acapulco with slow cooked ground chilli beef, Fire & Stone's tomato sauce, jalapenos, mozzarella, sliced red onions, topped with sour cream and guacamole.

For a modest extra indulgence there's the Peking, with Chinese Hoi Sin sauce, shredded aromatic duck, mozzarella and spring onions topped with cucumber ribbons, or you can go green with barrel aged feta, sliced red and green peppers, cucumber, jumbo green olives, red onion, oregano, vine tomatoes and red wine vinaigrette. From which you will note that Fire & Stone spare neither imagination nor scope.

With not a spot of grappa in sight the way is free to indulge in other liquid excitements from cocktail jugs to a range of uplifting house spirits, and wines displaying a good spread of country and style. Sensibly, many of the wines can be bought by the glass.

On the main menu consider the myriad choice of flavours drawn from five continents preceded by starters that take in a range of dips, sharing boards, calamari, crispy wonton king prawns to name but a few. Their new thin bases still have the same great flavours, homemade sauces and chutneys that top the Original base, but are bigger and crisper. Salads of each and every sort abound. A range of toppings helps in adding individuality to your pizza or you may prefer to head for the pasta choices that include their renowned spicy sausage Rigatoni.

In these difficult times the number of special offers increases and Fire & Stone have that one taped too. Amongst them are the Pizza Passport, so that you collect a stamp each time you buy a pizza up to six, and the seventh pizza is free. The best way to keep abreast of these and other offers is to sign up for their Newsletter, or check up on their Website where offers like Friends Eat Free, 2 pizzas for £10, Kids Eat Free, and a Sunday Special are to be found. One of the reasons they are able to keep their prices so incredibly reasonable is their efficient booking system that enables them to make best use of space and facilities.

You want to eat; Fire & Stone want to help you do that as economically and enjoyably as possible.  It's really that simple. Buon appetito!

Here's an enterprising idea. Sally and Tony Cole decided it made no sense at all for the ten companies on a business park in Reading to each have its own café, and acquired the only empty unit, fortuitously in a waterfront setting surrounded by a 180 acre green and pleasant landscape, before converting it into a 65 seat restaurant/brasserie.

With minimalist style décor, two chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and a lot of chutzpah they were off. Having won the Reading Restaurant of the Year Award 2007-2008, shortlisted 5 years for National Restaurant of the Year and holder of the Top Table Golden Award, voted for by diners, and being recommended two years running by Michelin, you should not be disappointed.

Whilst there is significant customer support from the Business Park, the influx in the evenings brings a lively blend of light and shade, given trouble-free parking and easy access off the M4. With dishes like traditional Thai fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce, potted duo of fresh and smoked salmon with crème fraiche, pernod, lemon juice and chives, ox cheek spring roll with cauliflower puree and chilli jam, the evening is off to a good start.

Main courses pursue a happy path of inventiveness tinged with tradition and the red curry of seafood, an aromatic cream curry with scallops, salmon, pollock and prawns, venison Wellington accompanied by haggis, horseradish cream and red wine sauce, or a crispy potato scallop with curried puy lentils, tomato and spinach and riata are all dishes that please many. For an indulgent concession to modern food do take a tilt at the Wagyu beef burger.

The roasted monkfish comes to table wrapped in prosciutto with Yorkshire pudding, cider, chorizo and caper sauce. Isle of Wight lamb two ways, the roasted rump of lamb and wontons of braised shoulder of lamb stages an appearance with lemongrass and ginger. If you are a touch bored with traditionally prepared chicken try the corn fed free range Dorset chicken breast with massaman curried mousse filling, parsnip chips and creamed spinach.

A range of sweet temptations lies in wait to trap the weak and enthusiastic, with a classic lemon tart, sticky toffee pudding with pecan toffee sauce and Chantilly cream and a local cheese board that seems to have made a point of selecting the most outstanding of its kind, all stating the case for a menu that has not just had some puddings added on.

LSQ2's express lunch menu operates daily from 12 to 6 pm, offering exceptional value from a two option menu with dishes such as chicken liver parfait with toasted bread, and Hampshire pork sausages with mash and onion gravy. Hawkers Corner lists five attractive Asian dishes, of which nasi-goreng Indonesian style fried rice with mixed satay, fried egg and prawn crackers could be one.

A short, smart wine list presses the right buttons. From an Italian Chianti Reserva Villa Di Campobello 2006 to an Australian Howard Park Leston Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. Rich and opulent but brooding in its youth, the list follows in the footsteps of the LSQ2 interpretation of exciting food in great surroundings and company.

With the Madejski Stadium only a couple of good long kicks away and easy access, LSQ2 could easily become habitual. LSQ2 could easily become habitual. In any case you'll want to know more and one click will take you to their Website.

Dark woods with plenty of mirrors and a Bostonian feel with a buzzing atmosphere is what make PJ's Grill a theatre and media haven. Having done brisk business at Wellington Street since opening its doors in 1982, here's a place that is now thrilled to play host to the second generation of guests, and well as many new diners across all age brackets.

Modern European food is the star with that occasional Californian touch, so in the evening start by polishing off plates of tempura prawns with sweet chilli and baked goat's cheese with Portobello mushrooms. Those whose hearts flutter at the sight of grilled meats could enjoy a substantial 9oz Scotch sirloin steak, grilled lemon and herb chicken breast or scallops wrapped in chorizo. Chef's specials of braised lamb shank with chickpeas and mash, crispy pork belly with apple sauce or seafood soup with king prawns, mussels, squid and toasted garlic bread could also make your day. Finally it's not always difficult to make space for a sticky toffee pudding or flourless chocolate cake.

Theatreland denizens can take advantage of a set menu featuring deep fried brie with gooseberry sauce, penne pasta with aubergine, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives and Parmesan and grilled top rump steak with mushroom, tomato and skinny chips to celebrate the evening's success.

PJ's dinner jazz evenings from Wednesday to Saturday beguile the hours with a talented jazz duo continuing with the spirit of the evening long after the curtains have been drawn at the Theatre Royal.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.