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hand picked restaurants

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.

For 30 years the Applegarth farm shop has been offering a great range of locally sourced products, grown both on the farm and bought in from local producers. Now they have expanded by opening a restaurant, which mirrors this, as everything is prepared from scratch in their kitchen and many of the products can also be bought from one of the deli counters. All dishes are of the highest quality and the meat used sourced from within a 15 mile radius of the farm.

It offers a daytime menu ranging from a traditional English breakfast to afternoon tea with home made scones, clotted cream and jam. At lunch the selection could include leek and bacon potato cakes with roasted spring veg, kiln roasted fishcakes with lemon mayo and a constantly changing specials board, while puddings might embrace passion fruit cheese cake, treacle tart or a delicious apple pie.

Those who remember the old Haslemere Hotel are in for an agreeable shock when next they visit this pleasant Surrey town, for the hotel has had major surgery, re-emerging from the operating theatre as the Inn on the Hill. Ah! I hear you say, another quiet hidey-hole turned into a place where you can't hear the barman's softly murmured tip for the 2.30 at Sandown. Well, maybe, but arguably the Inn on the Hill is more in keeping with the spirit of the age, whatever one may think about that.

Under the management team from the Tailor Made Pub Company, who already have The Percy Arms at Chilworth and The Sun Inn at Rake to their credit, an entirely new concept has manifested itself, with a luxurious restaurant serving international dishes in a contemporary environment against the background of a chic, modern bar area.

Amongst the changes deployed are slate floors, leather upholstery, a chill-out sofa area, wireless broadband and chunky oak furniture. Without doubt this new concept heralds a new dining experience for Haslemere. To start with they open at 7am, starting off the day with a variety of interesting breakfast options, and remain open until 11pm.

To those for whom the ritual of breakfast has progressed beyond the harassed, makeshift dash round the kitchen, with one eye on the clock and the other somewhere halfway between the shaving mirror and the coffee percolator, there is a choice between the Full English, a marathon affair that makes an Ulster fry look like a light snack, or a Daybreaker, a more reasoned approach to the same problem, Highland eggs, eggs Benedict, a trilogy omelette, a very conscience-free Continental, or for the really hard-pressed freshly baked croissants with a selection of fillings, all served with fresh fruit juice and a pot of tea or cup of coffee. Wow! Have a nice day.

Nor is lunch an affair for the faint-hearted, though I suppose with some restraint you could manage it. Starters list some ten choices, with finger munchies as a real option, a platter to share, with onion rings, potato skins, chicken goujons, chicken wings and garlic bread. After that there is an almost bewildering selection of sandwiches, salads, Tailor made ploughman's, where you start with a basic dish before moving on to build your own complete lunch from over 20 items - what did I say about restraint?

Then there are the now famous Tailor made burgers and steaks, not to mention the dozen or so main dishes that have to include at least some of everybody's favourites.

Let's assume that all the above has passed you by, the evening has come and at last you can relax - what does the Inn on the Hill hold for you? The answer is a very great deal, and the worst problem likely to be encountered is one of choice - again. Amongst the starters look out for the trio of fish, or the homemade ricotta and borlotti bean paté.

It would be almost an act of treason not to go for a Tailor made steak, especially as you can build you own variations, but if you did you eye might well stray to the seafood espetada, a maritime take on the traditional Portuguese dish using fresh fish chunks, prawns, squid, peppers and lemon, marinated with lemon and dill, with a lime aioli and garlic butter.

For puddings you may feel you have to avert the eyes as the credits roll for the Tailor made coupe of luxury ice cream, but if you do be warned that beyond is located the List of Indulgences, an exercise in temptation that will probably end up with you choosing the hot chocolate fudge cake with cream, or ice cream.

Eight luxury en-suite rooms with broadband and flat screen televisions are available for the overnight traveller, as well as a large garden for roaming in during the hotter months. So given the choice between a tip for the 2.30 at Sandown, or the new Inn on the Hill, where would you go? Quite right - they were nearly always loser's tips anyway.

This former 17th century stone barn has converted brilliantly into a pub of great distinction. In summer one can enjoy a pre-prandial glass or two in the shade of the flower-bestrewn pergola, on less clement days the ancient interior provides a more than adequate alternative.

Michael Hurst and his wife Annabel, having fled the London scene, are intent on making everything as home-based as possible. Thus home-made dishes from locally sourced materials predominate. Items such as roast monkfish with curried aubergine and grilled chcken Caesar salad, delight and refresh. A good wine list with a nice line in bin ends.

Five stars and 2 Rosettes by the AA just about sums up the standard at Lythe Hill Hotel and Spa; and yes, the setting is also uplifting, in twenty-two acres of calm Surrey countryside and an oak-panelled restaurant overlooking the lake and parklands beyond. Peace and tranquillity doesn't get much better than this.

The menu demonstrates British seasonality at its best, in dishes such as seared calf's liver with crispy pancetta, sage mashed potato and glazed carrots, and pigeon breast with wild mushrooms and micro greens. Local suppliers are also given a place of prominence. To finish, the flavours in a vanilla pannacotta with poached fruits work well together, while the sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice cream and chocolate fondant with almond milk are just pure indulgence.

Poachers Pocket has graced the market town of Haslemere for slightly more than a decade with its quietly elegant atmosphere and wonderful fresh seafood. Moving ahead with the times, they have emerged as one of the best dining spots in town, and they believe in using environmentally friendly and sustainable produce. Sunday lunch with its traditional roasts has become immensely popular with the local clientele and vegetarian options are also present.

Start with pan fried lamb kidneys and bacon, served with balsamic vinegar, and move on to a delicious main course of slow roasted belly of pork with spiced pears. Fish lovers will enjoy the sea bass with peppers, onions, garlic and white wine while the more meaty steak and kidney puddings hold favour with many. Sweet endings include a large profiterole with coconut ice cream and hot chocolate sauce and a brief wine list brings together favourites from across the world.

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.

In the immortal words of Martin Luther King, "I have a dream". But my dream is much more focused, perhaps self-centred, than his, and revolves round a takeover by Gurkha cuisine of the great majority of the Indian restaurants in the UK

It's not just the food. They are such thoroughly nice people, never over the top except when it comes to trenches on the field of battle, reserved but friendly in a dignified sort of way, and loyal to the end. Indeed it's hard to believe they are amongst the most feared soldiers in the world of conflict.

Nepalese cooking draws on a combination of two great cuisines, Chinese and Indian, with a simplistic approach that relies heavily upon skill in blending the ingredients.

Starters of momo introduce steamed lamb dumpling served with Nepalese chutney. From the clay oven look for pokhreli machha, trout marinated in a sesame, soya and chilli sauce, flavoured with chopped ginger, garlic and lemon grass, all in oyster sauce.

Rupa prawn demonstrates the wonderful simplicity of this cuisine, with king prawns cooked in coconut milk and selected herbs. Their answer to vindaloo comes in the form of piro khasi, a hot lamb curry in a thick spicy sauce. Aloo tama bodi, a delightful Nepalese vegetarian dish combines bamboo shoots, black-eyed beans and potatoes.

The list is long, yet never for one moment does it occur that it might be too long, so fresh and flavoursome are the dishes that come from a kitchen where histrionics are regarded as bad form.

I fear my dream may never come true, but meanwhile the likes of the Gurkha Durbar will just have to take the pressure.