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hand picked restaurants

Multi cuisine restaurants offer a number of choices under one roof and contrary to popular notions too many cooks don't spoil the broth, particularly at Jimmy Spice's. This well known chain brings varied cuisines such as Indian, Thai, Chinese and Italian and at Epsom, they are located in the renowned Ebbisham Centre in Derby Square. The contemporary feel to the décor is capped by traditional elements such as wooden floorboards, while the ambience is warm and welcoming.

Whether you choose seekh kabab, fried wontons, or Thai fishcakes, the starters are bound to whet your appetite for more. Follow this with tandoori roti and chicken tikka masala; a prawn stir fry; penne pasta with Bolognese sauce or a red beef curry, and you won't go wrong! Opt for Indian desserts such as rasmalai and gulab jamun or well loved classics ranging from strawberry cheesecake and crème caramel.

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.

Right on the High Street in Ewell Village, Il Laghetto is situated in a grade II listed building, part of the Ewell Conservation Area. It is one of the oldest in the village, dating back to Roman times, and many original features have been conserved, like the fireplace from the 16th Century and lovely exposed beams.

Il Laghetto is very much a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant, and was opened in October 2006 by Antonio and Senhorinha. Their food is traditional Italian, but with an added modern touch, courtesy of their talented chef Donato Sepe, who brings the authentic taste of Italy to Il Laghetto. While there are the classic pasta and risotto dishes that you would expect, they also offer grilled meat and fish.

Il Laghetto has four main types of menus: a set lunch, from Tuesday to Saturday, fixed price dinner, Tuesday to Thursday, Sunday lunch and, of course, a full a la carte. The restaurant always aims to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as single vineyard extra virgin olive oil, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, all imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

Their wine list consists of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the food, and in addition, every table receives a complimentary shot of any liqueur.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is tiramisu - the famous Italian dessert, faithfully produced, with light sponge soaked in espresso and rum, layered with mascarpone cheese, eggs and dusted with cocoa powder, as well as crème caramel, crème brûlée, pannacotta, along with a range of Italian coffees.

As the customer reviews demonstrate, this is a much loved place, with a warmth of welcome that makes it a pleasure to visit, and food that rises above the mundane, supposedly Italian, offerings elsewhere.

Enzo Baldaschino may have had a success story to tell with his Naples restaurant, and this Ewell Village retreat has certainly been delighting visitors since Enzo took over in September 2008. Take a closer look inside and the wooden themed setting and well-chosen furnishings justify the addition of the term 'upmarket' to this gastropub style venture.

Seafood is given special treatment here; deep-fried squid with rocket and lemon, and fresh mussels cooked in olive oil and cherry tomato sauce while the custom-built, wood-fired pizza oven also garners attention. The menu choices run through pastas and risottos through to main courses such as sliced grilled fillet steak on a bed of rocket salad with parmiggiano and truffle oil, and veal Milanese.

All this interspersed with the excitement of opening another bottle of vino and finishing with a dessert of pannacotta with wild berry compote completes the experience at King William IV.

Slug and Lettuce has a chain of almost a hundred bars spread across the country sharing a common love of serving down to earth, undemanding food and drink.

The group prides itself on offering dishes prepared using quality ingredients, and you should be attended on by attentive staff in a safe, welcoming and cheerful environment. The Slugs have something for anyone - breakfast for a lively start to the day, lunch for busy people, family meals or even a relaxing glass of wine to bring a tiring day to an end - all in a variety of modern and stylish settings.

The menu features old time English favourites such as Gloucestershire Old Spot sausages in buttered mash or fish pie made with Dartmouth smokehouse haddock, in a Devon cream and leek sauce, although dishes look to Europe and further afield to Asia for inspiration. A good way to start the enjoyment is by sharing platters of Southern fried chicken breast pieces, crispy potato wedges, garlic ciabatta strips, half a rack of BBQ pork ribs, wasabi vegetables with onion rings or some Greek mezze

Hearty steak pies, Thai curry with sticky jasmine rice or butternut squash with goats' cheese lasagne are amongst the more popular main dishes. Sandwiches or wraps - warm tortilla with chicken and Parmesan or aromatic duck in plum sauce - provide for those who prefer something lighter. They also serve burgers as well as tempting salads like salmon, asparagus or tomato and mozzarella. For children they have good old British standby sausage and mash, or pepper pasta and ketchup among other choices, all of which never fail to delight, particularly as some of them seem to have come out of a certain celebrity chef's Book of Forbidden Dishes.

Desserts appear in the form of raspberry biscotti, hot chocolate pudding or a creamy strawberry cheesesake. The wine list is well compiled and substantial. There are not less than seven French, three from Italy and some from Spain, Chile, Australia as well as New Zealand. Slug and Lettuce can cater for events including birthday parties, fashion shows, hen nights, wedding parties or just an enjoyable night out with a few friends.

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.