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The Red Lion at Stoke Green has been a public drinking house for over four hundred years and was formerly part of the estate belonging to the Howard-Vyse family of Stoke Place. For centuries, it has been integral to the culture of Stoke Green. It is one of those pubs that have surfaced on the mainstream of casual eating in the UK during the last decade and are taking an increasing share of the market.

Contemporary pubs like 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 a garden, an optional al fresco eating out space. 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 by implication the good management that goes with them, and is in a good location, there is little reason in today's economic climate why it should not flourish. The Red Lion at Stoke Green provides ample evidence that this is true.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, garlic pizzette with sun-blushed tomatoes, rocket and parmesan, a box baked Camembert with red onion jam and bread, and Greek mezze with taramasalata, red pepper hummus, tzatziki, feta and flatbreads.

Amongst the starters is freshly made soup, devilled mushrooms with chilli and mint on rustic toast, and Japanese fish cakes, pickled ginger, yuzu and spring onion dipping sauce with radish slaw. Look, too, for scallops of the day.

The salads - sorry that should read 'leaves' - offer crispy duck, mouli, carrots and spring onion with plum sauce, and for the seafood fiends some pastrami cured smoked salmon, Caesar, cos, parmesan, anchovies and croutons 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 tomato, mozzarella, oregano and basil, Siciliana with Serrano ham, roast artichoke, olives and mozzarella or rustica with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, goats? cheese, cherry tomatoes and rocket.

Pastas include bucatini carbonara with smoked haddock, pancetta and cream, or tagliatelle bolognaise, slow cooked beef, bacon and Chianti. Scottish salmon with noodles, Asian greens, coriander, pineapple and chilli salsa is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating and the spit honey gammon ham with creamed potato, parsley and truffle sauce is worth trying too. For hearty eaters there are rib-eye and fillet steaks, and lemon sole with prawn and watercress butter and baby potatoes. Other choices encompass Peroni beer battered haddock and lamb rack with spiced dukkah crust, char-grilled stuffed peppers and minted potatoes.

A wide range of supporting dishes include creamed potatoes, Belgian frites and mayo, 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.

The Red Lion 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.

For up to date information please refer to their Website. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

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.

The menu, based around a wood-burning oven, is contemporary with Mediterranean and Eastern influences, while the emphasis is on fresh ingredients, natural flavours and simplicity. This generates as informal atmosphere in stylish surroundings, and the warmth of this and from the wood-burning should ensure you enjoy a pleasant experience.

Discover the delights of authentic Oriental cuisine at the Kai's restaurant in Slough. Whether you decide to dine in the charming restaurant or collect delectable dishes to dine at home, you can be sure you will be choosing traditional cooking. The expert chefs at Kai's create meals to ensure that your gastronomic experience is unique and the cuisine is aimed at pleasing even the most discerning palate.

The menu offers classics including prawn toasts and succuluent ribs along with hard to find dishes such as dragon balls and soft shell crab. You can try yuk sun chicken or crispy duck or lamb, served with home made sauces. Main courses can be favourites such as sweeet and sour chicken and crispy chilli fillet of beef with lighter specialities of prawns with gin and lime sauce or grilled fish with wine sauce.

Another pub which has followed the now time-honoured process of transition from tired, run-down village boozer to rejuvenated, TLC'd gastropub. Leaving on one side the feelings of a small number of dispossessed old boys who have lost their refuge from reality one can only marvel at the drive and imagination with which such places are transformed, displaying in this case that there are really no limits to what you can do with a 16th century coaching inn if you put your mind to it.

The menu is strictly modern British with warm salad of duck accompanied by pickled baby beets and a hazelnut and raspberry dressing, roast cod and brioche bread and butter pudding as part of an extensive and appealing range of dishes. There seems little doubt that this is the way ahead in our egalitarian age - I wonder what will follow?

It's quite possible to convert the nostalgia for your homeland into a flourishing business and Francesco's shows how, with their four highly successful restaurants and one more due to open soon. Italian cuisine with its flavoursome sauces and freshly baked breads, the delicious pastas and pizzas are all featured at Francesco's and the Mediterranean feel is quite apparent in the atmosphere, which helps make it a very festive and friendly dining destination.

Starters of chicken wings with sweet chilli glaze or tiger prawns sautéed in garlic butter with white wine set the tone for the meal and could lead to a main course of fettucine carbonara, bacon, egg and cheese in a creamy parmesan sauce. Pizzas, calzones and other dishes such as lasagne are also extremely popular while desserts include the ever popular tiramisu. There's a separate menu for the little ones and the wine list features typically Italian wines with a few exceptions to provide contrast.