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Around 1927, The Arkle Manor was surrounded by lush farmland and was the centre of village life for a thriving community. Renamed after the famous Gold Cup winner in the seventies, it had been restored to its former glory incorporating the values of traditional pub hospitality together with modern design. Today the manor offers a friendly, relaxed, warm atmosphere and genuine hospitality.

Their well stocked bar has different beers on tap ranging from perfectly chilled continental lagers, to delicious European speciality beers, as well as some of the finest cask ales that the region has to offer. The range of New and Old World wines suit different occasions and styles, ranging from traditional clarets to Pinot Grigio, with many available by the glass.

The choices are simple but up-to-the-minute, with lots of comfort appeal; homely things like pizza, steaks and pasta as well as contemporary, global touches to keep things lively, all served by friendly and cheerful staff. To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, antipasti of Italian meats,  dolcelatte, marinated vegetables and warm stone-baked flatbreads, or Mediterranean mezze of hummus, roasted vegetables, fregola, tzatziki, feta, spinach and ricotta pâté with flatbreads.

Amongst the appetisers there is freshly made soup; smoked salmon, pomegranate molasses, fennel and micro herb salad, or gambas with rocket, garlic aioli and rustic bread. Look, too, for scallops in the specials section. The salads offer chargrilled chicken, courgette, fennel, apple, asparagus, hazelnut and balsamic dressing, and for the seafood fiends some prawn, avocado, mango, bacon, orange and pomegranate vinaigrette receive a rapturous welcome.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; expect to find a classic margherita of pomodoro, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and basil, the rustica with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, goats' cheese and cherry tomatoes, or the piccante with pepperoni, chorizo, tomato and jalapeños. Pastas include linguini with tiger prawns, crab, chorizo, chilli, tomato and white wine, or tagliatelle with slow cooked Bolognaise and parmesan.

For the big event there is always a spit chicken with lemon, garlic, thyme and frites. Salmon with crab and chorizo fishcakes, roasted sweet corn and cherry tomato salsa is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating. Battered haddock, frites, tartare sauce and minted mushy peas is worth trying too. For hearty eaters there are rib eye and fillet steaks or roast rump of lamb with sauce soubise, asparagus, pancetta, button onions and baby potatoes.

A wide range of supporting dishes includes rosemary frites and mayo, and cabbage, leeks and peas. For desserts choose between an apple, blackcurrant crumble and vanilla custard and, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, and there is also a selection of cheeses to set the buffs alight.

More information, including full menus, is available on their Website. 

Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

La Barbe may have been around for a long time now but its bright and fresh look perfectly disguises the memorable twenty-nine years that have passed by. They pride themselves in their claim to be the only 'truly French' restaurant in Reigate and are keen to see diners enjoy a delightful Gallic experience.

The décor is charming with red terracotta style flooring in striking contrast with the pastel shaded walls filled with quirky sketches. The convivial atmosphere provides the background for well spaced tables with full napery is beautifully set for a relaxed meal, balanced with warm and friendly service.

Head Chef Laurent Pacaud presents a new menu every season and the artistically influenced dishes are a feast to the eyes and taste buds. La Barbe's longevity may also be attributed to the fact that they are sensitive enough to cater for the discerning diner who is now more health conscious and well versed with haute cuisine. A fusion enthusiast might be disheartened but their fancy-free style of cooking, which displays loyalty to France, is infinitely appealing.

The menu is presented in French with translations thoughtfully provided, so you could start with snails cooked in garlic butter, or fresh tuna tartar complemented by a tomato salsa. This could be followed by chicken supreme filled with an aniseed stuffing and dill sauce with fresh pasta, or maybe sirloin steak with wild mushroom sauce, shredded potato and oyster mushroom pancake.

In the circumstances it might be considered impolite to ignore the wonderful range of French cheeses, but should you wish to indulge a sweet tooth, apricot and almond tart accompanied by a Muscat wine sorbet or lavender infused crème brûlée could well fit the bill. The wine list offers a venerable range of French wines, with a few from the New World thrown in for good measure.

A very large and exotic feather in La Barbe's cap is its outdoor events arm, where the same culinary presentation and standards that prevail in the restaurant can be deployed and for your special occasion at home or different venue. Owner Serge Tassi and his team are certainly not resting on past laurels but are staying true to what they do best - enchanting customers with classic French cuisine.

For more details, new menus and more than a little Gallic frisson, click on their Website.

Strada describes itself as 'a group of stylish, contemporary Italian restaurants, serving good quality, simple and freshly prepared dishes'. The statement sums up what this group of around seventy restaurants offers to people looking for good Italian food. The first outlet opened in Battersea in 1999 and their clientele has been increasing steadily ever since.

Though Strada has grown into a fair sized group, each outlet retains the feel of being a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The menu includes pastas, risottos, salads, and fish dishes, but they are best known for their quality pizzas.

They present authentic Italian dishes in contemporary surroundings and aim to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as Luganica sausages, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

A meal could kick off with zuppa vongole e fregola, a traditional clam soup with Sardinian fregola pasta grains, wine, chilli and parsley, served with bread, or the delicious sautéed king prawns with garlic, white wine, chilli, and lemon butter served with your choice of bread.

Move on to their creamy risotto verdure, freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, spring onions, zucchini, green beans, white wine and mint, finished with baby spinach leaves. Or you could opt for the healthier, tagliolini nero granchio, black cuttlefish ink pasta with crab, courgette, red and yellow peppers, spring onion, and a hint of chilli and parsley. A real treat for the taste buds comes in the form of the bistecca manzo, a 10oz rosemary-marinated char-grilled, rib-eye steak with fries and fresh rocket.

A range of pizzas, all spun by hand, is an integral feature of each restaurant. They include the rossa, with spicy southern Italian salami, roasted red peppers, chilli, caramelised onion, garlic, fresh oregano, tomato and mozzarella. Nor are vegetarians are overlooked, and can be found tucking into dishes such as fiorentina, made of spinach cooked with garlic, nutmeg and black pepper with mozzarella, parmesan, tomato and an egg.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is torroncino affogato, an iced nougat semi freddo with a shot of espresso to pour over, or a classic Italian tiramisu and, as you might expect coffee to round off the meal.

A wine list consisting of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the menu comes as no surprise and in addition, every table receives a complimentary bottle of purified water.

For further details including their latest news, menus and deals, and to find a Strada nearest to you, their Website certainly warrants a visit.

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.

Prezzo has been delighting diners for over eight years, and this Italian restaurant chain has since been able to expand throughout large parts of England and Scotland with some 141 outlets.

Interestingly, the company seeks to restore either impressive buildings or ones of local interest. The conversion of the Newbury library and other listed buildings, such as those in Salisbury, Romsey and Mayfair, are all welcome examples of 'new use'. Their trendy and sophisticated décor usually consists of tiled or wooden floors with delicate lights and colourful paintings, along with wooden furniture and sparkling cutlery, creating a setting that is suitable for a relaxed lunch, a family meal or an evening out with friends.

The restaurants are of particular appeal to those who like genuine Italian cuisine, and they use only the best seasonal products, many of which are imported directly from Italy. The menu includes pizza, pasta, risotto, grilled meats, fresh salads and frequently changing specials.

The freshly baked breads, like the garlic bread with mozzarella cheese, are perfect for sharing and give you adequate breathing space to order starters to follow. Crab cakes served with garlic mayonnaise or grilled goat's cheese with plum tomatoes and caramelised onions on foccacia bread with a balsamic glaze set the tone for a hearty meal. Best fun is to order an antipasto platter to share made up from seven well loved Italian nibbles.

Find pastas such as the unusual penne con salmone, with oak-roasted salmon, broccoli and fresh chillies in a red pesto and cream sauce, or firm favourites like spaghetti with meatballs, spaghetti Bolognese, and fusilli al pesto, asparagus spears with field mushrooms and roasted peppers in a basil pesto sauce.

Amongst the special pastas, the pollo mariano, seasoned chicken, pepperoni sausage, roasted peppers and fusilli in tomato sauce, is interesting and different. Italian menus would be incomplete without risotto, like tiger prawns with petits pois in a creamy saffron sauce.

Classic pizzas embrace, among a wide selection, the popular napoletana, topped with yellowfin tuna, tomato, white anchovies, capers, red onion, mozzarella and marinated olives, and the much loved quattro stagioni - pepperoni sausage, prosciutto ham, artichoke, field mushrooms, capers, marinated olives, mozzarella and tomato.

Specials could include the pollo Siciliana, char-grilled chicken breast, prosciutto ham and plum tomato slices, baked with their blend of cheese, only one example from the many tempting offerings that come out from the Prezzo kitchens.

You can accompany the food with a variety of tipples, though for many, Italian food requires Italian wines to be enjoyed to the full, ranging from house wine through Morellino di Scansano and Prosecco to liqueurs and beer, and there is espresso or fresh ground coffee to wind up an enjoyable meal, in company with a glass of grappa or sambuca.

This is Italian food at its attractive best, convincing and bringing together the traditional with the modern twist or two against a background of excellent value.

Prezzo is a lively group and opportunities to improve and update are never left on the table for long. Keep up to date with a quick click on their Website.

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.

Reigate's Village Brasserie is nothing like what it sounds, because although you might expect a traditional English or even French restaurant, what you do get is Indian cuisine in this friendly place. Expectations and reality are indeed two different things, you are bound to realise, as you settle into this recently refurbished place where the décor is typical but simple. The service is attentive and the staff members ensure that the entire dining experience is memorable.

Starters include samosas, bhaji or fried baby squid while you can opt for tandoori dishes such as lamb chop, chicken tikka or a mixed grill for mains. The balti dishes are equally good while some of their specialities include imlidar batak, tamarind infused duck, king prawn garlic masala along with regular favourites such as jalfrezi and pasanda too. Those with a fondness for biryani will appreciate the variety that they offer.

Restaurateurs Jon and Cynthia Coomb have recently opened their new venture, The Westerly, in the ancient Surrey market town of Reigate. Previously proprietors of the Michelin rated Stephan Langton near Dorking, Jon and Cynthia's declared aim is to serve good food away from a more formal fine dining setting. Indeed, as Jon himself says "The Westerly is smart yet informal. We use quality ingredients for dishes that are well executed with wine to match at an affordable price with no hidden extra costs."

The restaurant is situated on the west side of the town centre and its cream coloured double frontage reveals very little about what lies inside. Textile artist Claire Benn and the sought after decorative painter John Brinklow have combined their talents to transform what was an uninspiring space into a classic modern bistro. Light wooden floors, bronze paneling and taupe walls adorned with modern artwork are blended with dark red banquettes, leather chairs and atmospheric lighting to create an amiable setting where guests can relax and enjoy the fruits of the kitchen.

Owner Jon Coomb is also the head chef and he learnt his trade in the kitchens of Mirabelle, L'Odeon, The Chiswick and Snows on the Green before taking over the Stephan Langton in 2000. In 2004 the gastropub earned a Bib Gourmand from Michelin, which it retained throughout Jon's residency and it was also the highest rated pub in Surrey by the Good Food Guide.

Jon prepares excellent modern European cuisine and his menu will delight the adventurous eaters yet satisfy the more cautious diner as well. Some speciality dishes include: salt cod and potato ravioli, tomatoes, olives and capers; red wine risotto, snails, garlic and parsley; bollito misto of brisket, ox tongue, capon, cotechino, mustard fruits'; bourride of monkfish, red mullet, bream, prawns, mussels and clams, and to finish with sauternes custard, caramel and blood oranges and amalfi lemon sorbet with limoncello.

To accompany the food, the renowned Surrey wine merchants Les Caves de Pyrene has compiled a wonderful list of over 60 wines which are grouped by style and boast many gems including the refreshing seafood friendly Galician white Albariño, Abadia de San Campio, and the finely structured south western French red Cahors, Château du Cedre "Le Prestige". In addition to the usual 750ml bottles, thirteen are available by the glass and also in a pot Lyonnais of 375ml or 500ml.

Front of house is overseen by Cynthia who gained a degree in Catering and Hotel Management whilst in Switzerland and has worked as restaurant manager at the Langham Hilton and The Chiswick. At The Westerly she leads a small professional team that provides service that is both charming and competent ensuring that every guest is well catered for.

Every so often somebody has a really brilliant idea, and by my reckoning Jon and Paula Briscoe have pulled off a real flanker at their three "dining emporiums", their words mine, in Surrey. But the pearl of them all has to be The Jolly Farmer, at Buckland in Surrey.

In the process of opening up their third emporium it occurred to them that since food and eating have a certain affinity, it might just make sense to combine the two under one roof.

Ergo, The Jolly Farmer. Fortunately, both of them were more or less born into the business of food and hospitality in various manifestations, so two plus two made six pretty quickly.

The basis of the place is a restaurant and café/bar, open daily from 9.30 am until 11.00 pm, which is a pretty gruelling schedule by anybody's standards. On top of that the deli/farm shop opens at 9.30 am, just in time to pick up the returning school runs, and closes at 10 pm, just in time for last orders at the bar, or something like that.

In the pub you may be enjoying a wide range of dishes that are uncommonly tasty, but the even better news is that most likely it will be on sale on the deli, so look for home made sausages from Bridge Farm at Lingfield, Norbury Blue cheese from Dorking, or St Joan's Farm Dairy Ice cream from Leigh.

Each process feeds the other, food is very much in everybody's minds, some dishes make no pretence at being repeated in the deli but nevertheless improve the health and wealth of nations no end. I believe these people are on to something big.