Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

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.

Konrad Liu is the chef and owner of Ascot Oriental, a lovely restaurant that lays great emphasis on making the experience of dining complete, with tasty food, good wine, warm service and beautiful surroundings. This has helped the haven to become one of the best dining destinations of its kind in Berkshire. The 100-year-old building in which Ascot Oriental is located went through an extensive refurbishment to turn into an appealing little place locals love to call their own.

Spend time over a pre-dinner drink in the garden patio and head to the main dining area to enjoy an exciting oriental meal. The focus is on cooking fresh ingredients in a hot pan with an infusion of spices that make dishes such as seared teriyaki marinated tuna fillet with crushed peppercorns burst with flavour. Look out for barbecued pork ribs, fried fillet of lemon sole in pine kernel and orange sauce; and tofu with pork, prawns, shitake mushrooms and preserved cabbage.

The conservatory room is regularly used for private and business functions.

There's nothing quite like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee to rejuvenate your senses and Fego Caffe, with its pleasantly quaint continental ambience and comfortable atmosphere is an excellent place to visit with friends or colleagues. With their four locations spread across the UK, they are making their mark on the café scene and considering the delicious food they have on offer, it is hardly surprising they are becoming a welcome dining destination for many.

Coffee in all its forms is available and you are quite spoilt for choice, but do take a look at their breakfast menu with the delectable filled croissants, Panini baguettes, wraps, muffins and even a whole traditional English spread. Salads, pastas and burgers are adequate choices for other meals, while their desserts are simple but enticing, with a selection of cakes served with cream. For those who enjoy their tipple, there's a good selection of wines and spirits available to help ease along the meal.

The Macdonald Berystede Hotel and Spa is the closest 4-star meeting, events and leisure destination to the prestigious Royal Ascot. Consider returning to relax in the comfort of the luxurious hotel in Sunninghill, after spending an exciting yet tiring day at the races.

The modern British and international food at Hyperion Restaurant could qualify to be among the best choices to help you unwind. If you wish to dine outside, visit the lovely roof terrace that provides al fresco dining during the summer months. Light refreshments are served all day in the lounge, which is a nice little place to catch up with friends.

The elegant interior of the restaurant encourages visitors to feel right at home and take pleasure in the experience. Begin your gastronomic journey with cream of carrot soup, move on to halibut steak with vine tomatoes and truffle cream sauce before signing off with vanilla rice pudding.

The hotel has a large function suite that holds up to 300 persons for wedding celebrations.

Whilst the 42 Loch Fyne restaurants have a shared background there is a welcome degree of individuality encouraged throughout the group, which makes for customer interest. If you like wholesome, fresh and reliable seafood caught and reared under carefully controlled conditions, well presented in unfussy surroundings, and you enjoy being well looked after by pleasant staff, Loch Fyne is for you.

There is an increasing awareness of other food staples with an extended choice of meat dishes, but it is the original fare upon which their success was created that prevails. Loch Fyne kippers, a fine bouillabaisse, braden rost, kiln-roasted salmon fillet, and the toothsome oysters on ice, with a selection of accompaniments, all are to be found throughout the various restaurants, as well as Glen Fyne 21 day aged rib-eye steak and Scottish smoked venison. There is invariably a well-travelled wine list available which is sensible, both in content and prices.

Loch Fyne's greatest achievement has been to prove to a sceptical populace that chains or conglomerates can be made to work in the eating-out public's best interests.

The Winkfield is located between Windsor and Ascot and is a favourite of Berkshire residents for its traditional British cuisine and warm, friendly, pub like atmosphere. Located on Lovel Road in Winkfield, the building dates back to the 1880's and different elements in the decor such as wooden beams and low ceilings create the homely feeling of a village pub. The food however is far from that, with fresh and locally sourced produce coming together with consummate skill in the kitchen to create a range of delicious fare, dazzling in its simplicity and bursting with flavour.

Tasty meals could begin with seared scallops, grilled chorizo and blood orange salad and this might be followed by pan fried sea bass with Lyonnaise potatoes, white wine and parsley sauce. Finally, end with a marble chocolate and pistachio brownie with white chocolate sauce or maybe a trio of British cheeses might appeal. The Winkfield bar menu offers salads, baguettes, burgers and pies and the extensive wine list features favourites from across the world.

In amongst all the moneyed splendour of a very well heeled area is this 17th century, semi-thatched building with stone-flagged floors, glowing fires and low beams, redolent of a bucolic past. Even in the 1700s it was a well known landmark and it is said that Queen Victoria's Royal Carriage was sometimes seen outside, while John Brown was fortifying himself inside before his onward journey to Windsor Castle!

The cuisine is straight down the line, offered at affordable prices with cheerfulness and efficiency. Dishes such as homemade beef stew and dumplings, sausages and mash, and venison and mushroom pudding appear on tables in the bar while in the restaurant you could find open ravioli with Scottish smoked salmon and Muscat sauce and grilled chicken supreme wrapped in smoked bacon.

Choose from a selection of eighty different wines specially selected from across various wine producing regions of the world, not forgetting a wide range of spirits, liqueurs, whiskies, real ales and Guinness.

The Thatched Tavern is a great place for those relaxing long lunches, romantic nights out, corporate parties or just a cosy drink by the log fire.