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Overlooking the expanse of Witney's beautiful Church Green, The Fleece is a fine Georgian building, originally the home of Clinch's brewery and reputedly a favourite watering-hole of Dylan Thomas when he lived in South Leigh. Taken over five years ago by the recent management, it has won many awards and also features in Alistair Sawday and in the 2008 Michelin Guide. It would be possible to enlarge upon all this indefinitely, but our purpose here is to tell you about The Fleece and how they put into practice their principles.

Located in such an attractive part of Oxfordshire, The Fleece pulls from both the locals and those passing through the town, who find the essential comfort and undemanding atmosphere of the place both reassuring and good value. For those who want to stay there are ten en-suite bed and breakfast rooms, made up of one family room with the rest doubles or twins. They offer good reliable comfort with not too many frills at prices that are competitive.

Breakfast is served from 8am - 11.30am. Like all the meals, dishes are freshly prepared and cooked to order. The lunch and à la carte menu is served from noon to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 10pm, Monday to Sunday. An all day menu is served from noon - 6.30pm every day.

Head Chef is Tom Hope who was interested in the culinary world from a very young age. He had stints at great pubs like The Red Lion at Claverdon and The Cross at Kenilworth. It was while working in Old Mill in Berkhamsted, one of our sister pubs that he gained his knowledge about simple and beautifully presented seasonal food. He has put his heart and soul in the menu and makes the most of seasonal ingredients.

À la carte offers everything from deli board with starters, nibbles or sharing dishes all a possibility, taken from cheeses, veggie, favourites, charcuterie and fish. On their menu, you will find the very best quality fresh ingredients - fantastic sausages; free range chicken; simple, pan-fried Welsh sea bass; seafood; 28 day dry-aged Aberdeenshire bavette steak - sourced from producers who take pride in their products and an ethical stance in their production.

The Fleece always makes the most of seasonal ingredients - this ensures they avoid air-freighting and keeps us in touch with the cycle of the year - while combining the best of great British cooking and influences from around the world that are now part of our culture.

The Fleece also has a private dining room for up to 30 guests, making it an excellent choice of place to party and entertain at or to meet with colleagues.

The highly praised wine list, endorsed by the Michelin Guide, is short and has a choice of interesting wines for every type of occasion. Those who like their pint will be encouraged to find Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen on draught. The whole focus is on genuine and unfussy food, great service in a relaxed yet fun atmosphere delivered by an award winning, well-trained team.

To find out further details and the latest seasonal menus visit their Website Have you looked up The Fishes, at North Hinksey near Oxford? It is the sister pub to The Fleece, if you are considering one you should try both!

Located in the bustling market town of Witney, renowned for beer, bread and blankets, The Blue Boar lives up to the town's reputation and is a sought-after venue for some hearty Mediterranean food and local real ales. You could also unwind at the bar or the cafe overlooking the courtyard, and Blue Boar's cosy bedrooms are well-equipped with modern amenities and the famous blankets! The restaurant's interior is done up in warm colours with an open plan kitchen that allows diners to watch the chefs in action.

Kick start the day with a champagne or traditional breakfast alongside a steaming hot cup of cappuccino or hot chocolate. The main menu offers sharer plates such as antipasto misto, Greek mezze, bruschette platter and fish platter, and an exciting range of starters, light dishes, ciabatta sandwiches and pasta. Succulent 21-day aged beef steaks feature on the Josper grill menu alongside slow cooked shoulder of lamb, duck breast and pork rib-eye. Desserts include a warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and lemon crème brûlée with lavender shortbread.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.

Many restaurants do an excellent breakfast, or shall we say petit dejeuner, at which such delights as scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted brioche, croque Madame, croissants and pain au chocolat make welcome appearances, and to their credit the English traditional gets top billing.

An array of small dishes takes in pulled pork pâté with French bread, and spicy beef and lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise. Salads and pasta feature largely, as do baguettes and croques. Quick dishes, ideal for lunch, include slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread.

Moving on to more serious stuff we find steaks, an 8oz bavette and thin cut rib eye, with a choice of béarnaise or peppercorn sauce. No French menu would be complete without the poulet jaune grille, pan-roasted breast of corn-fed chicken served on a warm taboulé of bulgar wheat and a medley of roasted vegetables with minted crème fraîche, or a steak frites before moving on to the crème brûlée, or the tart tatin. Almost invariably the coffee tastes like coffee should, something that sadly can all too often still not be said of our English restaurants, who depend too much upon technology and too little on the acquisition of a certain flair for this important conclusion to a meal.

By now we all know that the French, despite their distinctive habits when it comes to matters of satisfying the inner man, maintain a miraculous longevity of life. This is generally attributed to a number of causes, of which a measured consumption of decent wine is foremost. Café Rouge, you may be pleased to hear, encourages this with a well-chosen selection of French wines. Their prix fixe lunch and meals for children, both at a very reasonable figure, also offer excellent value.

Their Website will keep you updated on menu changes, news and other competitions and offers from the Café Society.

The Witney Four Pillars is a smart, contemporary hotel barely ten miles from the famous city of Oxford and reflects the charming architecture of the nearby Cotswolds. Guests who visit the historic market town of Witney can shop for the famous blankets, walk along the banks of the River Windrush and return to a contemporary brassiere for a wholesome meal.

Start with tiger prawns in a feuillete of puff pastry and bound in a cream and garlic sauce and woodpigeon with toasted pine kernels, mixed leaves and fresh raspberry vinaigrette. Among mains baked courgette filled with wild mushrooms, spinach and ricotta cheese served with puy lentils and herb mash and poached fillet of monkfish wrapped in seaweed and larded with pimentos set on a prawn risotto and finished with smoked paprika oil could do the trick. A summer berry pudding with cassis and clotted cream should end the roceedings on a sweet note.

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.