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The Ferry opened on Sutton Road in 2005 after a refurbishment and is today a warm, cosy pub with deep leather seating and teak furnishings. Its subtle lighting and spacious layout give it a comfortable and unpretentious ambiance. Expect to find no one single cuisine, but a blend designed to provide something for everybody, no matter what their tastes may be. Service is cheerful, brisk and totally in keeping with the friendly nature of a good English public house.

Modern day pubs usually share a number of characteristics and 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 a garden, in this case a riverside one adjacent to the bridge at Cookham, and 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 Ferry 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.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates; garlic pizzette with caramelised onion and rocket, a box baked camembert with stiratta romagna and homemade tomato jam, Mediterranean mezze of hummus, roasted vegetables, feta, fregola, tzatziki, spinach and ricotta pâté with warm flatbreads. Amongst the starters is freshly made soup, gambas with garlic, rocket, aioli and rustic bread, and, spiced crab, avocado, prawns, ginger and pink grapefruit. Look, too, for scallops of the day. The salads - sorry, that should read 'leaves' - offer crispy duck, mouli, carrots, spring onions, water cress, hoisin and plum sauce, and for the seafood fiends some prawn, avocado, pecans, bacon with orange, mango and pomegranate vinaigrette is received with enthusiasm.

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

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 and chips. The freshly battered haddock with minted mushy peas, chips and tartare sauce is worth trying too. For hearty eaters there are rib-eye and fillet steaks, and roast rump of lamb with sauce soubise, pancetta, asparagus, button onions and baby potatoes. 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 Ferry 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.

Their excellent Website will keep you up to date on any changes. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

There's more than a whiff of the Thai life at Cookham High Street, characterised by the infectious enthusiasm to share good food. Anong Thai is more that just a culinary tour of Thailand or the generic western slant to Thai food; it's all about some rigorous cooking and a blend of exotic herbs such as galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaf, holy basil and of course chillies!

The décor is warm and welcoming and the dark wood furnishings, elegant crockery, cutlery and glassware set the mood for a relaxed dining experience.

The menu is clearly laid out and those who'd like to start on a spicy note could try the hot and sour soup with mixed seafood, chilli, lime leaves and lemon grass, while spring onions, coriander and minced prawns wrapped around a piece of sugarcane, encrusted with breadcrumbs and deep fried may please more delicate palates.

Chef's specials feature the weeping tiger, marinated strips of steak char-grilled and served with a spicy homemade dipping sauce, and pad pong gare kung, king prawns stir-fried with a yellow curry powder and a hint of springs onions and egg. Two special recommendations are the lamb and black pepper stir fry served on a sizzling platter, and a char grilled aubergine salad with lemon and chilli dressing.

No Eastern meal would be complete without a warm and tingling curry, so tickle the palate on a delectable range of these wonderful dishes such as roast duck cooked in a red curry paste with coconut milk, pineapple and tomatoes and a Thai green curry with fresh basil, bamboo shoots, aubergines and coconut milk. Seafood buffs could consider the relative merits between a fillet of sea bass dipped in light batter, deep fried and served with a sweet relish, or squid, prawns and scallops stir-fried with aromatic herbs and spices.

Vegetables, which ought to be a joy, and encouraged, are so often a boring experience. Here there is a mixed vegetable dish stir fried with lemongrass, chilli, sweet basil and garlic, turning them into a worthy dish on their own account as well as an accompaniment. A bowl of noodles tossed with bean sprouts, peanuts, chicken, prawns, vegetables or bean curd, or the lightly spiced rice noodles prepared the Singaporean way may prove to be a welcome break from the customary jasmine or coconut rice.

The sight of a chef deftly tossing a sizzling wok with masterly élan may leave you mesmerized, the more so if you taste some of the stir fried dishes at Anong Thai where chicken, beef, prawns or squid are first seared before chilli, fine beans, onions and holy basil and sauces are introduced to spruce up the flavour.

Apple and banana fritters as well as pandan pancakes feature on the dessert menu while the wine list has been specially chosen for its compatibility with Thai food with the customary Singha and Chang beers. They also offer a take-away service. The full menu, and much more, can be viewed on their Website.

Here's an Indian restaurant that has encompassed all the culinary regions of India in its menu, and with fantastic results too. Spice Merchant is spread across the South East with four restaurants, each with a distinctive style and décor, although the quality of the food is the same as ever, top notch. The element of chic along with the friendly staff and the unusual items on the menu, make this a popular dining spot amongst locals and visitors.

The typical tikkas and curries make their presence felt, but it is the innovative and deeply regional dishes that really grab your attention. Maybe you could start with the nalli barra, lamb osso bucco in masala with a tinge of pineapple, and then move on to main course of rajwada gosht, a royal preparation of lamb cooked with whole spices. Other specialities include spiced lobster with saffron and the wine list is commendable, featuring a number of compatible choices.

The elegant purlieus of Cookham are not, at first thought the sort of place one might expect to associate with Indian cuisine. But then Malik's is not your run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant. Dishes show every evidence of care and precise preparation with old friends well to the fore, though plenty of culinary adventures for the more daring. The Sikandri lamb, which has spent the previous forty-eight hours marinating is a real eye-opener and ought to qualify for a signature dish, if they had such things. Service is professional and the supporting effects have been given close thought. House wine at £13.95.

Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

Set within a striking Tudor building, brimming with character and 14th century features, this delightful house sits on Cookham's picturesque High Street, in the heart of the village and just a stone's throw from the River Thames; offering some of the best restaurant food in the area it is a compelling destination for those looking for quality and style. Bel and the Dragon is a place for all seasons, with pleasant gardens for summer lounging and eating, and a large open log fire for the toasting of toes and other parts in the winter.

Part of a small group of professionally run restaurants Bel and the Dragon emphasize that they are a restaurant first and foremost, cooking with care and using only the best fresh ingredients. This is a claim which clearly connects with the aspirations of their customers, who support the restaurant with the strength of, dare we say, dragon's breath.

The increasing popularity of tapas has helped spread the agreeable habit of 'nibbles' with drinks before a meal. So savour a bowl of rustic breads served with roast garlic, olive and oils as you browse the menu.

A wide choice of starters, many also available as main courses, could include roasted figs stuffed with blue cheese wrapped in parma ham on herb salad with apple balsamic, a parfait of chicken livers served with toasted brioche, spiced pear chutney and endive salad, or a puff pastry shell filled with sautéed seafood, wild mushrooms and herb vin blanc sauce.

Both starters and main courses offer a daily blackboard selection, always worth keeping a close eye upon, with special treats that a changing market has made possible.

Amongst the regular mains expect to find Bel's posh roast half chicken, corn-fed, accompanied by bread sauce, sage and onion stuffing and roast jus, with chips, melt-in-the-mouth slow roasted lamb shoulder on herb mashed potato with redcurrant and mint jus, or chargrilled smoked haddock on spring onion potato cake and topped with sautéed spinach, poached egg and rarebit sauce.

For those who cannot go long without a good steak there is a choice between a chargrilled 10oz prime fillet or rib eye, with an option on either sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes or cheese glaze and peppercorn sauce.

All main courses are served with the Chef's choice of potatoes, and there are side orders of fresh market vegetables, salads and hand cut chips.

A good wine list should have about it an immediate attraction that grips your attention, and an initial glance here tells us that there is an excellent choice of house wines by the bottle or glass at prices that should bring a smile to your face. If it's celebration time there is a decent house champagne, also by the flute or bottle.

The main list contains contributions from the New World as well as more traditional sources, including a nifty and very affordable Puligny Montrachet from Domaine Jean Pascal. It is particularly good to see South African wines back in the market - some of their Pinotage makes really rewarding drinking.

Although proprietors Richard and Deena Manzano take fierce pride in a menu, which they describe as their own, they would be the first to admit that it certainly leans towards the Mediterranean. Start with a terrine of suckling pig, with Chorizo sausage wrapped with Serrano ham, with an onion and chilli ham. Follow with fillet of English lamb wrapped with puff pastry, with a light Madeira wine gravy. For pudding the bramble fruit pudding with sloe gin and Devonshire clotted cream should prove irresistible for many, even if it is moving further north. The wine list concentrates on European, with house wines at £11.95 and four bottles selling at £3 a glass.