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Located just outside Wokingham on the Forest Road, The Warren is a real country pub. Its deep leather seating, spacious interiors and teak furniture give it a relaxed atmosphere, while the stone fired ovens and log burning hearth lend it warmth. The garden has a great south facing sun trap where one can eat, drink and get away from the pressures of the day. When it was first opened in the 1850s, The Warren, surrounded by lush farmlands, was the centre of village life of a thriving community. Even today, it combines the values of traditional pub hospitality with modern service and attracts a regular clientele.

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 a garden, optional al fresco eating out space, 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 Warren 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, garlic pizzette with caramelised onion and rocket, a box baked camembert with stiratta romagna and homemade tomato jam, and Mediterranean mezze of hummus, roasted vegetables, fregola, tzatziki, feta, spinach and ricotta pâté with warm flatbreads. Amongst the starters is freshly made soup, lamb koftas with mint yoghurt, kohlrabi, cumin and carrot salad, and gambas, garlic, rocket and aioli with rustic bread. Look, too, for scallops of the day.

The salads - sorry that should read 'leaves' - offer crispy duck, mouli, carrots, hoisin, water cress and spring onion with plum sauce, and for the seafood fiends some prawn, avocado, pecans, mango, bacon with orange and pomegranate vinaigrette is received with enthusiasm. A fantastic addition to the menu is the honey glazed goats' cheese with chorizo, butter beans, radish, sugar snap peas and oregano.

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.

Pastas include bucatini with salmon, chilli, almonds, red pepper pesto, pecorino and rocket, or tagliatelle with slow cooked Bolognaise and parmesan. For the big event there is a roast rump of lamb with sauce soubise, asparagus, pancetta, button onions and baby potatoes. The blackened cod fillet with egg noodles, pak choi, mango and chilli salsa is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating, as is the spit chicken with lemon, garlic, thyme and chips. For hearty eaters there are rib-eye and fillet steaks, and calves liver with tray baked potatoes, red onion, bacon and sage panagrattato.

A wide range of supporting dishes include green salad, Belgian chips and mayo, 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 Warren stocks a wide range of beers, both well-loved ales and lagers, 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.

A well constructed Website enables you to keep in touch with menu changes or forthcoming events. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

It is not an easy task to maintain impeccable standards and uniformity of taste across a chain of over eight hundred outlets, yet that is just the distinction that The Gondola Group has achieved. Their restaurants, with the brand names of Zizzi, ASK and Pizza Express, serve authentic Italian food at reasonable prices, in a warm and friendly ambience. The chain continues to grow, with the group opening around twenty-five new outlets each year.

Another talent that the group has is converting listed buildings and in which to house their restaurants. This has helped the group maintain standards, but allows each location to keep its innate charm. Done up in light colours, with wooden floors and gleaming cutlery, Zizzi boasts of a bustling open kitchen which churns out freshly prepared, tasty fare.

Like all good Italian restaurants, the extensive carte offers four distinct sections of antipasti, salads, mains, including pasta, pizza and risottos, a meat and fish menu which changes seasonally and a vast and exciting dessert menu. The restaurant's special antipasti platter has mixed Italian meats with buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion focaccia bread. Garlic mozzarella pizza bread and caramelised balsamic onions too, set the tone for a hearty meal.

The calzones or folded pizzas are a treat and come with salads. The carne piccante calzone has marinated chicken, meatballs, Bolognese sauce, mushrooms, chillies, tomato and mozzarella while the clarissa version, has aubergine, and red pepper caponata, olives, goats' cheese, rocket, pine nuts, tomato and mozzarella. The pasta and risotto sections arouse plenty of interest, with the farfalle alla Genovese combined with marinated roasted artichoke hearts, Santos tomatoes, and pine nuts in a delicious creamy pesto sauce or the light risotto with tiger prawns, oak-roasted salmon, calamari, courgettes and baby spinach in a rich creamy base with lemon and chilli.

The pizzas are not far behind either, with funghi topped with field mushrooms, fresh tarragon, mozzarella and tomato while the popular Sophia has marinated chicken, pepperoni, over-roasted sausage, tomato, mozzarella, finished with green chilli and fresh rosemary.

The extensive wine list offers a range of red, white, sparkling and rose wines in addition to beer and spirits while the dessert menu is attractive too, with a range of tempting fare from the homemade tiramisu to the torta cioccolata with its thick hazelnut chocolate base served with vanilla mascarpone. A really hot and tasty cup of coffee, tea or chocolate rounds the meal off well.

The fact that the restaurant hires their employees very selectively is evident in the friendly, cheerful and capable manner with which the staff treat diners, lending each outlet the personalised feel of a family run restaurant.

More information can be found on their Website.

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.

Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.

Many restaurants do an excellent breakfast, or shall we say petit dejeuner, at which such delights as scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted brioche, croque Madame, croissants and pain au chocolat make welcome appearances, and to their credit the English traditional gets top billing.

An array of small dishes takes in pulled pork pâté with French bread, and spicy beef and lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise. Salads and pasta feature largely, as do baguettes and croques. Quick dishes, ideal for lunch, include slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread.

Moving on to more serious stuff we find steaks, an 8oz bavette and thin cut rib eye, with a choice of béarnaise or peppercorn sauce. No French menu would be complete without the poulet jaune grille, pan-roasted breast of corn-fed chicken served on a warm taboulé of bulgar wheat and a medley of roasted vegetables with minted crème fraîche, or a steak frites before moving on to the crème brûlée, or the tart tatin. Almost invariably the coffee tastes like coffee should, something that sadly can all too often still not be said of our English restaurants, who depend too much upon technology and too little on the acquisition of a certain flair for this important conclusion to a meal.

By now we all know that the French, despite their distinctive habits when it comes to matters of satisfying the inner man, maintain a miraculous longevity of life. This is generally attributed to a number of causes, of which a measured consumption of decent wine is foremost. Café Rouge, you may be pleased to hear, encourages this with a well-chosen selection of French wines. Their prix fixe lunch and meals for children, both at a very reasonable figure, also offer excellent value.

Their Website will keep you updated on menu changes, news and other competitions and offers from the Café Society.

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.

The Bull at Barkham is a wonderful local pub near Wokingham with a warm and welcoming atmosphere and a very traditional environment that lends itself nicely for an evening of relaxation over a fine meal. This 18th century building, formerly an inn, is grade 2 listed and is full of character, and the current owners have transformed it into a haven of gastronomic delights without taking away much in terms of its original charm. Their passion for local produce has led to the creation of some delicious dishes that have won them quite a few awards also.

Starters from their modern British menu could feature succulent crayfish tails with marie rose sauce on a bed of crisp salad leaves which makes an impressive prelude, only to be followed impeccably by the homemade fish pie topped with mash potato and served with green beans and carrots. End with a hot Belgian waffle with caramel fudge ice cream and choose something from the list of excellent wines to complement the meal.

Miltons is situated in the grounds of Cantley House Hotel, where, in the informal and relaxed setting of a 17th century barn, enclosing a secluded and attractive courtyard, the restaurant offers a selection to please most palates, both with their food and wine.

Their menu of mainly Modern British food with influences from the continent and occasionally other more distant parts of the world changes regularly, but this is also supplemented by various specials, always including freshly delivered fish. Vegetarians are well looked after with many choices and the menu also includes several healthy options which are clearly marked.

They are particularly proud of their wine list, where, instead of the huge mark-ups common in other less enlightened establishments, they put a maximum £10 on the price of a bottle, thus making it a veritable pleasure to enjoy a better quality wine with your meal.

Lunch represents particularly good value, with a £12.50 for two courses fixed price menu, which could offer such delicious choices as leek and potato soup or chicken and wild mushroom risotto cooked in a white wine and coriander sauce finished with shaved parmesan to start followed by beef fillet strips gently pan fried in a paprika butter finished with cream and brandy served with a braised rice tower or cod fillet lightly grilled with a lemon butter served on a crispy frisée salad with cherry tomatoes.

Their a la carte might contain first courses such as plum tomato and mozzarella tower served warm with an olive and herb salsa finished with a balsamic reduction; chicken liver parfait served with cherry tomato salsa and warm brioche finished with tarragon dressing or pan fried kidneys cooked in a grain mustard sauce finished with a rice tower and shallots.

With main courses like strips of chicken pan-fried with chestnut mushrooms in a chive flavoured butter finished with bean sprouts and a light soya sauce and a rice tower; pork fillet layered with sweet potato set on a white port and cream sauce served with a shallot and leek compote or lamb fillet coated in a light garlic mousse with mint set on an onion and tomato rosti finished with a madeira sauce, as well as delicious pasta, fresh fish and vegetarian dishes.

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.

Blubeckers has an impressive chain of more than twenty restaurants spread across the South East and although the unifying factor in each is the superb food and drink they offer, each restaurant is distinct and stands out on its own, rather than a mindless factory assembly product. Consider for example the gorgeous buildings that they choose, every single one of them attractive, full of character and charm, creating a relaxing and casual atmosphere for drinkers and diners.

Tempting options for lunch include sandwiches served on thick white or malted brown bloomer, whereas light bites such as macaroni and cheese or handmade scotch egg are equally popular. The main menu brings you starters such as pork and apricot terrine followed by grilled lamb steak in mint and redcurrant sauce, served with rosemary roasted new potatoes. End with a plum tarte tatin and enjoy the wide range of wines, champagnes, beers and ales from their excellent bar.