Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Desire is a restaurant serving Indian and Bangladeshi food, located in the famed Kingsbury Square in Aylesbury. A stylish and trendy place, they have a wide range of dishes on offer, along with a notable list of vegetarian options. Muted red and beige walls are offset by attractive black and white table settings, and the friendly and warm service makes dining there a pleasure, whether alone or with friends.

While the ubiquitous spicy and fried onion bhaji is there, a number of offbeat and unusual dishes dot the starter menu with king prawn puree, tender morsels cooked in a hot, sweet and sour sauce and wrapped in fried bread topping the list. Among the main courses, there are a number of chicken, lamb and tandoori dishes that are particularly appealing, while balti and seafood remain some of their long-standing specialities. The well stocked bar has a number of wines, beers and spirits to choose from.

For 500 years Rossini has stood in the heart of the village High Street, yet even today it feels as exciting and original as it was before, and continues its purpose of providing the people of Wendover with good food and drink. Enjoy an aperitif at the bar area before moving in to The Stable perhaps, with its reclaimed oak floors and stock bricks, for a cosier dining experience.

The menu has its roots buried in classical English, European and Mediterranean cuisine prepared using fresh local ingredients, complemented by a selection of daily specials. Ham hock and quail egg terrine with homemade piccalilli, and prawn, avocado and tomato rilette make for some interesting starters. Mains cover all bases from tournedos of beef Rossini and roast saddle of venison to oven baked fillet of sea bass and char-grilled honey glazed baby poussin. After that, consider trying an apple and pear tarte tatin or white chocolate crème brûlée for dessert.

Hartwell House is a magnificent 18th century country house situated some 45 minutes by car from London Heathrow and only one hour by road or rail from central London. Formerly the home of the exiled King of France, Louis VIII, it has been the home to many eminent guests and is now one of the top country house hotels. Standing in 90 acres of parkland with a lake spanned by a stone bridge, a ruined church and many 18th century follies and garden buildings, Hartwell House is the perfect venue to enjoy a superb lunch or dinner with friends, or linger overnight to fully enjoy this wonderful house.

The 3 AA Rosette restaurant situated in the John Soane dining room continues the theme of regal dining, producing mainly English dishes of the highest quality using both local, British and international ingredients, cooked simply yet retaining clear flavours. The à la carte dinner menu may include duck liver parfait with rhubarb crumble and corn leaf salad, pan fried fillet of wild seabass with crushed potatoes flavoured with herbs, globe artichokes and fennel froth, and lemon pavlova with wild strawberries and rose syrup.

No self-respecting French monarch would be without his wine cellar, even in exile, and the owners of Hartwell House have seen to it that this area has not been neglected either, with some 400 wines tucked away in a perfect temperature.

Located on the outskirts of Aylesbury town centre, The Broad Leys Bar and Restaurant offers you an air conditioned haven from the hustle and bustle of busy town life or hectic office days. Dating back over 300 years the building has been renovated to a high standard to provide a contemporary space, which still retaining its historic atmosphere.

The food is enterprising and above normal pub standards, whilst they source their meat, and many other ingredients, locally, mains might include rump of lamb with minted new potatoes, spring vegetables and shallot jus or fillet of sea bass with ginger, chilli, lemongrass and fennel noodles, wok fried vegetables, whilst on Sunday they offer roasts right up to 7.30 pm.

Situated in the peaceful hamlet of Ford in Buckinghamshire, close to Thame, Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, is the Dinton Hermit, a stylish restaurant, traditional village pub with a comfortable bar and thirteen contemporary and newly refurbished hotel bedrooms. The restaurant and bar menus have a range of a quality dishes available, with ingredients sourced locally wherever possible. The relaxing ambience creates an ideal spot for visitors to enjoy a relaxing meal during their stay in the pleasant country side of Buckinghamshire.

Starters feature soup, haddock fishcake and ham hock terrine with a goat's cheese crostini and crayfish with tomato and mango salad on the more adventurous side. Mains include wild mushroom risotto, salmon fillet and braised shoulder of lamb. The house special is the Dinton Hermit burger which appears at the table with green salad and chips.

Imaginative touches in the wine list include un-oaked chardonnay from Argentina and a pinot grigio from Hungary among the whites.

The lively La Tasca chain caters for parties, children's events and family gatherings in addition to anytime dining. These restaurants capture well the warm and vibrant spirit of Spain, and are best known for their tapas and traditional paellas.

Their star player is tapas, which can be had solo or in tandem with a meal. The calamares andaluza, deep-fried squid rings, served with roasted garlic mayonnaise and lemon, is great for sharing, while the chorizo frito al vino, spicy Spanish sausage flavoured with paprika, garlic and herbs, sautéed in red wine, offers a real treat. Chicken lovers order alitas de pollo, marinated chicken wings, or have skewers of chicken breast and pepper, marinated in paprika.

Valenciana is an interesting paella that combines seafood with chicken, and if you have a taste for trivia, you may be surprised to learn that 'la paella' actually refers to the utensil in which the dish is cooked.

Other than liqueurs and beer, there are wines from Spanish vineyards and sparkling cava. All of these, especially the dry rosé wines combine well with tapas. And you would be really getting into the spirit of things if you rounded off with the crema Catalana, traditional Spanish-style vanilla custard, topped with caramelised sugar.

La Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurants and Bars today have over sixty outlets across the UK, so it is odds on there is a branch fairly close to your home.

The Green Dragon in Haddenham is a well known pub, the building itself having been around from the eighteenth century when it was a manorial court. Today, after a recent refurbishment, it is a bright and airy space where you can relax and enjoy a good meal with friends and family. BBC's well known reality show, 'The Restaurant' has used their premises as a location, extending their fame beyond their culinary skills.

Lunchtime favourites include battered fish and twice cooked chips or lighter options such as honey roast ham and grain mustard sandwich. For dinner, the menu turns towards interesting starters along the lines of warm pork and black pudding terrine, sauerkraut, piccalilli dressing followed by main course of grilled plaice with new potatoes, green beans and brown shrimp butter, ending with the pineapple cheesecake with liquorice ice cream. Fine wines make up their compact list with a good choice of real ales in support.

Under new ownership (2006) the Pheasant is embarking upon a new phase in its life, with Aaron Sheriff as the new Head Chef. His policy is to use the best of the local ingredients which, when you stop to think about it, is far and away the best, never mind most acceptable way of doing things.

So what is Aaron up to? First of all a sensible ten starters which could include soup of the day, a reasonable option now that chefs have learned the art of making really good soup, even if some isolated pockets of packet-pushers still exist in places; smoked duck and black pudding salad with a red wine syrup, a very good smoked salmon and prawn platter with capers, sauce and brown bread, or that old faithful, Thai fish cakes.

Twelve or so main courses call upon pheasant breast with sage and onion stuffing, slow roasted half shoulder of lamb, the pie of the week with all the trimmings, and mushroom carbonara with baked ciabatta bread. For my money it would have to be fillet of pork on a bed of bubble and squeak with a cider and mustard sauce.

It is inns like these that keep us all going. Minimum fuss, good quality cooking, good local ales, often a short but perfectly adequate wine list, all at affordable prices. Magic!