Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Beefeater Grill range of restaurants, owned by the well established firm of Whitbread has transformed over time into what is now predominantly a cooking platform for chargrill. The restaurants are warm, modern and stylish, with low lighting and contemporary artwork. A comfortable, cosy, mainly booth layout offers guests their own space with no feeling of being hurried at any point. Staff are friendly and helpful if need be - what a difference that can make to a good evening out.

Be it the wide open spaces of Argentina, the intimate setting of a French restaurant, or a busy grill in London's West End, there's no denying the popularity of chargrill. As the production of quality beef, chicken, fish and lamb has grown, prices have come down by comparison, and the simple and traditional art of minimally cooking dishes by chargrill, sealing in the flavours and tastes by intense heat has caught the public imagination.

All the steaks at Beefeater Grill are matured for a minimum of 28 days before being seasoned. Whether it be juicy rib eye, the classic sirloin, that emblem of the Sunday lunch, a tender fillet, or a delicious 7oz rump, all grilled to your own specification, you're never far away from perfection. Even beefburgers have shaken off their dubious image and the highly popular Beefeater burgers are made from 100% beef.

The popular sirloin with giant prawns offers a treat to those for whom an alliance between sea and pasture is a natural attraction, whilst a 16oz steak platter links rump, fillet, sirloin and rib eye into one mouth-watering dish served with chips, battered onion rings, grilled tomato, a flat mushroom and peppercorn and brandy sauce.

Many of us love rib meat, and the rack of ribs at a Beefeater Grill has a meaty rack smoky flavour; maple ribs of pork with a choice of three sauces, mojito, smoked caramel and apple glaze, or Bourbon and black BBQ. And if all else fails and you are totally baffled by the wealth of choices, ask to have a word with the Steakmaster who will help find what is right for you, together with the best cooking method. These guys leave nothing to chance.

On a menu that is a delight to read, let alone choose a meal from, expect to find smaller dishes such as traditional prawn cocktail, whitebait, chicken liver pâté and baked Camembert, or juicy lamb koftas served with yoghurt and mint dip. There's something about a good steak meal that always leaves a gap for a little temptation to sweeten up the scene and from amongst twelve options look for Belgian chocolate cheesecake, treacle sponge pudding or a caramel apple crumble pie.

Throughout the day a wide range of more general dishes are yours for the ordering, sandwiches, jackets, classic favourites like fish and chips, pasta, salads, and sharing dishes of nachos, potato shells and a Beefeater Grill combo. Next door to many of the restaurants are Premier Inns, so staying the night whatever the circumstances need not be a problem.

And what about wine? Endorsed by Matthew Jukes, wine writer in the Daily Mail and bon viveur in his own right, a wine list that marches with the menu completes an impressive and compelling invitation to enjoy whatever takes your fancy at the nearest Beefeater Grill.

Click on their Website for menu updates and special offers.

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.

Located in an 18th Century coach house on the High Street in Fareham, Villa Romana is situated in an attractive building of immense historic character, with oak beams and original brickwork, thus providing a delightful setting for a romantic evening.

In addition to the ground floor dining area, the restaurant also has a spacious upstairs gallery, overlooking the ground floor and bar. This creates an ideal space to accommodate anything from a large celebratory party, to wedding receptions and even hosting business meetings.

Offering a variety of dishes from a selection of menu options, the style of cookery is eclectic, though basically Italian in style, and extensive use is made of local produce with fresh fish being delivered daily.

Choices range from the expected such as fresh mushrooms cooked in a garlic cream sauce or mussels cooked with onion, garlic, tomato and white wine, to the more unusual homemade meat balls with aubergine, braised in a tomato and peas sauce or grilled sardines with a sprinkle of paprika, wine, garlic and hint of chilli, and that's just to begin with.

There a wide selection of different pasta dishes like ricotta cheese cannelloni baked in the oven with béchamel sauce and served with a traditional Bolognese sauce or potato gnocchi tossed with king prawns, peppers and pesto sauce, and risottos - either cooked with peppers, mushrooms, peas and onion or with asparagus and Italian sausage.

All their main courses are served with potatoes and vegetables of the day, and include chicken breast in a chilli, peas, black olives, garlic and tomato sauce; shoulder of lamb slowly roasted and served with a port sauce and salmon served with cherry tomatoes, basil and olive oil.

What will it cost; well, to state the obvious, it does rather depend on what you order, the fixed price lunch is sensibly priced, and, if you stick to the pasta dishes, it could be most reasonable, whereas the full a la carte will clearly set you back rather more, though overall it is still good value for what you are getting in terms of quality, service and atmosphere.

For those who wish a change from the largely splendid array of indigenous food available in this part of the world, Kam's Palace will come as something of an oasis in the desert. A Chinese pagoda in Hampshire is not an everyday occurrence and when this enshrines traditional Chinese food that hovers well above the average, it is a cause for rejoicing.

For some time I made the mistake of thinking that no group of restaurants in the region of 200 locations could hope to maintain the quality for which I was looking.

Then one day I decided to put my prejudices to the test, walked into Oxford Ask! and discovered that I could not have been more mistaken. Their claim to serve freshly prepared quality food in stylish and comfortable surroundings with friendly and efficient service proved to be absolutely spot on.

Since then I have also discovered that a degree of consistency seems to operate throughout their restaurants, and that certainly does take some achieving, implying a degree of management that is enviable. They are perfect places for an impromptu snack, a bit of culinary grazing, or the full works, and families are catered for particularly well.

Their trendy décor usually comprises tiled floors and black furniture with well set tables that sparkle with glass, silver and spotless linen. Ten starters include crostini and bruschetta, followed by a range of salads, pasta and al forno, oven baked pasta, some with chicken.

The pizzas are stone baked in the oven, creating a crisp, authentic and delicious flavour, and they all come topped with mozzarella and tomato. Calzone introduce a touch of opulence with a folded pizza baked in the oven and topped with garlic butter and melted grana padano, whilst inside expect to find chicken or a vegetarian mix.

Amongst the specials may I warmly, in every sense, recommend the polpette al forno, a popular Milanese dish of beef meatballs sautéed in garlic with fire roasted peppers, caramelised onions, chilli and pomodoro sauce, with penne pasta, topped with cheese and oven baked.

An enticing selection of desserts list banoffee pie and tiramisu amongst them, and the coffee tastes like coffee, which may sound banal, but I guess you know what I mean.

Thanks to a well selected wine list speculative drinking can offer handsome dividends, even with prices rarely crossing the £20 barrier.

Set in a Queen Anne house of great charm in the Georgian village of Wickham, the Old House offers gracious dining, with a weekly changing menu full of excitements and variety. Cornish cod, that rare fish now, comes with parma ham and smoked garlic mash, with a vanilla basil reduction just to complicate the flavours even more challengingly. Desserts are equally formidable and jolly good value. A bright wine list with house wine at £16.50.

Truffles Restaurant Francais in Fareham has been serving authentic fine French cuisine for the last 18 years. The restaurant is located in the older part of Fareham and is a listed building with bundles of character. Inside, the lovely French inspired decor, soothing warm colours and soft candlelight sets the mood with starched white table cloths, but relaxed service.

Background music from Edith Piaff and Django Rheindhart sets the tone for an enjoyable evening. The a la carte menu changes with the seasons but each day the Head Chef, Dallas Rossie, also offers market-inspired specials to add variety and surprise for their legion of regular customers.