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This once used to be the place where the district's nurses lived and the bedrooms are named after them. Now a charming little hotel, it continues to care for its guests with good food and warm hospitality. The restaurant with its bright and fresh feel is not only well-known for its cooking, thanks to the 'Best Breakfast in Britain' title from the AA, but also for its thoughtful service, adventurous wine list and accessibility to people with impaired mobility. Surely a nurse knows best!

The seasonally changing dinner menu displays a mix of house specialities and British classics supplemented by daily specials using local and organic ingredients whenever possible. So there could be pear and butternut squash soup, followed by fillet of Shetland salmon in cointreau and cream, and bananas flambées for dessert. Although the 100-bin wine list is predominantly French, with seventeen examples, there are fifteen other countries represented; unusually thirteen wines are offered by the glass.

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.

This is a pleasant little unspoiled pub, which has never forgotten its original purpose. That said, the food is not to be underestimated, especially in the evenings. There are frequent menu changes and much of the ingredients come from the locality. If you enjoy eating good food against a background of pleasant bucolic jollity, look no further. A pretty brief wine list but prices are good, from £12 upwards and most tastes can be satisfied.

Just the sort of place that somewhere like Lymington and its long association with the salty fraternity should have. Bistro in style it is well placed to serve the yachties and everything is angled towards their inclinations, including the passion for seafood, of which there is an abundance only too handy. Game also features strongly in season. Typical dishes are a halibut starter with a crab samosa, shellfish bisque and chocolate tart with Cointreau ice cream. Helpings are generous and prices reasonable with a two course set lunch offering great value from £8.95. An extensively travelled wine list favours robust drinking for less than £20 a bottle, and four house wines at £11.95. For people who regard spending money on anything other than their boats as a distinct lack of control, Egan's is the answer - style and value at a fair price.

A richly decorated restaurant, evoking thoughts of Tudor fantasies but fortunately stopping short at the food. Dishes in the Stanwell Bistro embrace local produce such as a tian of brown Solent crab and Isle of Wight seabass.