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Alresford is a warm and friendly market town oozing with local charisma and charm. Nestled within the town is the popular and renowned Caracoli, located in a Grade 2 listed building in Broad Street, in the centre of Alresford.

Developed by Gail and Chris Nichols, Caracoli is a coffee house and food store that offers a full range of specialist coffees and a wide variety of teas as well as smoothies and boutique wines from around the world, all complemented by artisan breads, homemade cakes, biscuits and savoury dishes.

At lunchtime expect to find dishes such as fresh potato gnocchi served with chanterelles, aged manchego and chives or wild boar, Armagnac and hazelnut terrine with toasted house brioche. If you can make it to brunch on a Sunday, the southern hemisphere touch is evident in oat pancakes, local crispy bacon and maple syrup, or a smoked trout eggs Benedict.

Caracoli turns itself into a casual tapas bar on a Friday evening serving dishes such as monkfish carpaccio with lemon olive oil, roasted apple stuffed with morcilla and quince jelly or smoked duck breast with homemade toast and parsnip and apple remoulade.

The Hampshire countryside is marked by scenic cricket pitches, the chirping of birds and plenty of lush greenery and The Yew Tree benefits from a location such as this - but there's more to look forward to - good food, great local beers and lots of fun.

The food is classic British with an occasional twist and the menu could open with starters of breaded Japanese torpedo prawns with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, and Parma ham and mozzarella parcels dressed with pesto and fig balsamic vinegar. For mains choose between a confit of duck breast on honey herbed cous cous and a rich raisin jus, and roasted belly of pork with Oriental noodles and a plum sauce. At dessert time a summer fruit meringue with clotted cream and rhubarb, ginger and apple crumble could hardly be more English.

You could count on Triple FFF for some house beer while 20 brewers take turns to feature in the guest ale section.

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.