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Located in an area well known for its furniture business, Chutney seeks to do exactly what its name means - bring a sweet and sour touch of India to this bustling market town. Their friendly service and beautifully presented dishes attract customers from High Wycombe and beyond while the kitchen succeeds in its aim to provide fine Indian cooking by using authentic ingredients.

Nibble on some spicy poppadums as you contemplate ordering a starter to share, which includes chicken and lamb tikka, seekh kebab, fried and battered onion rings and capsicum stuffed with minced meat. This could be followed by the spicy king prawn cooked in a clay oven with fresh garlic, onion and green pepper in a thick sauce or grilled vegetables with cashew nuts. The tandoori roopchanda of whole pomfret marinated with lime juice and cooked in the chef's own recipe is an amazing blend of spices and herbs.

Yet another example of how Indian restaurants are smartening up their act, this seventy two seater place - with its own parking area - has a smartly presented menu, and usefully uses a chilli symbol to indicate whether dishes are rated mild, medium or hot.

Elaichi is the Bengali name for cardamom seeds, an essential ingredient of authentic Bangladeshi cuisine. the menu ranges from the normally expected choices, like onion bhajee or lamb tikka to start, but then also offers the more unusual such as mussels Bengali style, with garlic, methi leaves, cream, butter and white wine or chicken momo with spring onion, coriander, chilli, turmeric and green pepper.

Mains are comprehensive, running from an excellent selection of vegetarian dishes through to a great variety of seafood, prawn palak, for instance, with spinach, mild ground spices with a touch of fresh ginger and garlic. Even the wine list is a little more enterprising than normal, wandering as far afield as New Zealand and Chile, with house wine at £9.95, but a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is only £1 a bottle more.

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.

The Wycombe Spice, in High Wycombe, offers fine, authentic Indian food to diners, both regulars and visitors alike. The restaurant offers a standard menu as well as buffet style dining while remaining faithful to traditional recipes and methods of Indian cooking. Welcoming interiors, replete with stylish leather seating and dim lighting provide an upmarket feel are allied to an emphasis on service, making the restaurant an instant hit with its patrons.

The extensive menu includes a range of tempting starters including onion bhajjis, samosas - with a choice of meat or vegetable fillings - and spicy king prawn butterfly. This could be followed by chicken rezala cooked with green pepper, onions and yoghurt or mugal special fish curry cooked using Bengal fish with onions and green peppers. The restaurant also offers a range of balti and biryani dishes as well as the chef's specials such as swadi kukri - a dish of chicken breast in a spicy blend of green herbs, tamarind and roasted ground spices.

Takeaways are also available for office-goers or those who want to savour dishes in the comfort of their office or homes.