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hand picked restaurants

When you enter a chain restaurant there is always a sense of déjà vu, yet with the twelve outlets of Giraffe, this may not really be true. Russel and Juliette Joffe and Andrew Jacobs' philosophy behind this group of restaurants is sustaining the driving force of healthy, happy eating, while retaining the difference each location brings. This includes minor variations in the menu too, and explains why the restaurant does not like to be called a chain, but prefers being referred to as a herd. The origin of its quaint name too, is interesting. The giraffe has the largest heart in the animal kingdom, and with its magnificent height is able to perceive things differently. These two features of being different and large hearted sum up the restaurant's proclamation of 'love, eat, live'.

Giraffe offers world food and adds an unusual twist to some familiar dishes. Their breakfast menu has stacked pancakes with bananas and blueberries, warm waffles, ranch styles tostadas and healthy veggie options. Some great starters are a mezze plate with warm naans that offer the best of many cuisines - grilled halloumi, hummus, tzatiki, ratatouille and falafel.  Japanese king fried prawns are a hit, while another bright spot on the menu, is the colourful sunshine antipasti bruschetta, a clever combination of artichokes, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers, red onion and rocket on pesto foccacia. If this long list of ingredients is intriguing, just wait until your palate takes over.

The house's special salad, cheekily called 'more thn love', is colourful and has crunchy appeal. The Thai chicken and vermicelli noodle version is an equally enticing starter. For mains, there are plenty of options like roasted corn and chilli bran burritos, tangy turkey enchiladas and the much loved sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans and broccoli served with organic brown basmati rice. One can also settle for a good old burger and wash it down with interesting smoothies. They also offer world wines and unusual cocktails with catchy names like Bombay flower and pomegranate caipirinha.

The dessert section comprises of not just fruit based healthy desserts, but brilliant stars like Swiss mountain chocolate cheesecake, banana waffle split and rocky road ice cream sundaes, which transport the diner to a state of bliss. The friendly staff, who are carefully hired for their sunny disposition, and children's activities help make these restaurants a very special, happy and healthy treat indeed.

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

Should you feel an American moment coming on, get straight into the mood at a TGI Friday's. First thought of in New York in 1965, introduced to Birmingham, UK in 1986, they now, like so many other American concepts, are to be found on a global basis and have 48 outlets in the UK alone. According to Newsweek and The Saturday Evening Post, the opening of the first Friday's restaurant heralded the dawn of the singles age.

In many ways, TGIs are more representative of the American approach to eating out than some of their imitators. Their food is fresh, the portions generous and the cocktail list exhaustive. They also tend to represent the all-American classlessness that can produce a meal at any time, for any social group, for any reason, under the same roof, without a problem.

So what's on offer? The quick answer is, it depends rather on where you are, as menus do vary from one restaurant to another, but the essential message stays the same - American grub, fella! Appetizers - no starters please - could include Jack Daniel's wings, chicken wings coated in Jack Daniel's sweet 'n' smoky glaze, or spinach and artichoke hearts coated in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, served with crisp corn tortillas.

For a group assault try the Times Square big share, more of Jack Daniel's wings, cheese and bacon skins to the very brim, with crispy breaded mozzarella dippers and served with a battery of accoutrements.

The steaks are awesome, topping out with a 12oz rib eye. A range of burgers, ribs, chicken, fish, sandwiches, fajitas, salads and pasta embraces virtually every known twist in the repertoire of American cuisine. Chocolate fudge fixation perhaps sums up best, but by no means exclusively, the TGI approach to desserts.

From a list of over 500 cocktails, all mixed with exuberant charm, let's take just one. You thought Long Island Iced Tea was something polite Americans sipped after some gentle sailing? Think again. Vodka, gin, rum and orange liqueur, topped up with Coke, spin and pour. The popular drink was in fact, invented by TGIF. As with all cocktails you can choose between regular or ultimate, no questions asked. Beer, wine and soft drinks cover enormous range and they also offer good coffee.

It is not important which outlet of TGIF you visit, for if you enjoy the American style of eating, just look out for red and white stripes and you are likely to be happy.

To locate a Friday's nearest to you and get the world famous Friday feeling on any day of the week click on their Website.

A luxurious setting and authentic superb Italian food come together magnificently in Cambio, a restaurant that has earned its fair share of honour over the past twenty years. Located in Guildford's town centre, it also extends into the beautiful castle ground gardens where guests can enjoy the wonderful views while enjoying pre-dinner drinks on the terrace. A sense of delicious comfort prevails in the light and airy dining room and the cuisine is undoubtedly some of the best.

Amongst the antipasti choices, there's a refreshingly different lobster salad with mango and apple served with lemon dressing or a sliced, seared tuna carpaccio with marinated artichokes. For main course, you could try the roasted rack of lamb with sweet potatoes, capers, olives and yoghurt sauce. An Italian nougat parfait with honey and lime will bring a smile to your face, and dessert wine, grappa and vintage port will surely add various levels of interest to your meal.

Situated in the scenic village of Chilworth, The Percy Arms is a lively and elegant country pub with quality food at its core. Following a takeover in 2010, this bastion of meat now wears a new look and the patio garden is the place to be on warm, summer days. Come weekends and you could experience a real South African braai or barbecue, and the Sunday Carvery offers a choice of five different roasts.

Steaks are undoubtedly the stars of the show, but the selection of vegetarian dishes, seafood, game roasts and South African specialities are memorable too. A quick study of the starters gives the picture with venison carpaccio served with shavings of parmesan cheese and sliced celery. For the ravenous among us there's a surf and turf platter of a tender 8oz rib-eye steak topped with fresh prawns and asparagus, smothered in a creamy garlic sauce. When thoughts of sweet indulgences cross your mind, spoonfuls of baked plum cheesecake or Dutch apple pie might seem to meet the moment.

UNFORTUNATELY THE PERCY ARMS SUFFERED EXTENSIVE FIRE DAMAGE LAST WEEK. WE ARE NOW CLOSED FOR MAJOR REPAIRS AND WILL UPDATE THE SITE REGULARLY WITH NEWS OF OUR RE-OPENING. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON