Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Beefeater Grill range of restaurants, owned by the well established firm of Whitbread has transformed over time into what is now predominantly a cooking platform for chargrill. The restaurants are warm, modern and stylish, with low lighting and contemporary artwork. A comfortable, cosy, mainly booth layout offers guests their own space with no feeling of being hurried at any point. Staff are friendly and helpful if need be - what a difference that can make to a good evening out.

Be it the wide open spaces of Argentina, the intimate setting of a French restaurant, or a busy grill in London's West End, there's no denying the popularity of chargrill. As the production of quality beef, chicken, fish and lamb has grown, prices have come down by comparison, and the simple and traditional art of minimally cooking dishes by chargrill, sealing in the flavours and tastes by intense heat has caught the public imagination.

All the steaks at Beefeater Grill are matured for a minimum of 28 days before being seasoned. Whether it be juicy rib eye, the classic sirloin, that emblem of the Sunday lunch, a tender fillet, or a delicious 7oz rump, all grilled to your own specification, you're never far away from perfection. Even beefburgers have shaken off their dubious image and the highly popular Beefeater burgers are made from 100% beef.

The popular sirloin with giant prawns offers a treat to those for whom an alliance between sea and pasture is a natural attraction, whilst a 16oz steak platter links rump, fillet, sirloin and rib eye into one mouth-watering dish served with chips, battered onion rings, grilled tomato, a flat mushroom and peppercorn and brandy sauce.

Many of us love rib meat, and the rack of ribs at a Beefeater Grill has a meaty rack smoky flavour; maple ribs of pork with a choice of three sauces, mojito, smoked caramel and apple glaze, or Bourbon and black BBQ. And if all else fails and you are totally baffled by the wealth of choices, ask to have a word with the Steakmaster who will help find what is right for you, together with the best cooking method. These guys leave nothing to chance.

On a menu that is a delight to read, let alone choose a meal from, expect to find smaller dishes such as traditional prawn cocktail, whitebait, chicken liver pâté and baked Camembert, or juicy lamb koftas served with yoghurt and mint dip. There's something about a good steak meal that always leaves a gap for a little temptation to sweeten up the scene and from amongst twelve options look for Belgian chocolate cheesecake, treacle sponge pudding or a caramel apple crumble pie.

Throughout the day a wide range of more general dishes are yours for the ordering, sandwiches, jackets, classic favourites like fish and chips, pasta, salads, and sharing dishes of nachos, potato shells and a Beefeater Grill combo. Next door to many of the restaurants are Premier Inns, so staying the night whatever the circumstances need not be a problem.

And what about wine? Endorsed by Matthew Jukes, wine writer in the Daily Mail and bon viveur in his own right, a wine list that marches with the menu completes an impressive and compelling invitation to enjoy whatever takes your fancy at the nearest Beefeater Grill.

Click on their Website for menu updates and special offers.

Brewer's Fayre restaurants offer a warm welcome to those who want a reliably tasty meal in pleasant surroundings, with plenty of choice, minimal fuss and friendly service. With a reputation going back 25 years they should have a fair chance of doing that, but don't take our word for it. Give them a try and see if you agree that this is how good quality pub food should be served.

Whether it's snacks, grills, pub classics, fish, Sunday roasts or side dishes they think their way through the options, talk to their guests, and then come up with the goods. Not everybody wants a full meal so they've considered the needs of those who want to keep the gap filled and the children contented, perhaps on a journey or a day out.

Hot filled baguettes are always popular be it sausage and red onion or a classic chicken club sandwich. Jacket potatoes are good on their own but filled with mature cheddar cheese and beans they take on a new dimension.

More paced occasions demand a wide menu, perhaps with starters of breaded butterfly prawns, chicken goujons or breaded camembert bites. Grills are there for the hungry and whole rack of meaty BBQ pork ribs served with extra sauce, chips and coleslaw can be very welcome. The days of the mixed grill are back - or did they ever go away - a 4oz rump steak, two pork sausages, and a gammon steak topped with a fried egg served with all the trimmings will remind you if they did.

Salmon and prawn fishcakes are served with buttered new potatoes, tartare sauce and a lightly dressed salad. A combination of sea and land comes with a rump steak, whole grilled chicken breast and breaded breaded butterfly prawns, served with chips and a side salad or garden peas.

The rise of eating out in pubs has brought into our daily lives a whole legion of what might be termed 'pub classics'. Many of them have their roots in what used to be called 'good home cooking' and include such dishes as sausage, egg and chips, beef and ale pie, chicken and mushroom pie and for the very daring a beef lasagne. Well, all of them and many more are on the menu at Brewer's Fayre, supplemented by such new regulars as vegetable Goan chicken curry, pork chop, chilli con carne and grilled chicken and bacon salad.

It has often been said that chicken tikka masala is now the most popular dish in Britain. Some may not really want to believe that, much as they love curry, but travel, population movement and other factors have widened our scope and they are probably pretty keen on fish and chips in Timbuktu.

What is certain is that the great British Sunday roast is exclusive to these islands, though copied maybe elsewhere or in ex-pat outposts. No surprise therefore that it's on the Brewer's Fayre menu. A trade of three roasts with an opportunity to trade up to a mega roast for a modest sum. With it come two Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh seasonal vegetables and that important element - gravy.

A fine list of immensely tempting desserts may well bring the most ardent weight-watcher to their knees. A short but well thought out wine list offers all choices, except champagne, by the glass. Staying the night - check to see if there's a Premier Inn next door - chances are you'll be lucky.

A quick click on their Website is always worth while. The only thing that stays still permanently is the quality which is helped by a changing menu, and some very special offers.

Maggie's is a reversal of the usual opening pattern for such establishments, kicking off at 5 am, but closing smartly after lunch, at 3 pm. Early customers are the fishermen, off in pursuit of the café's major commodity, although a nifty line in crab sandwiches is always popular. The restaurant seats 50, is conveniently located above the fish market and is not unknown for providing early morning sustenance to those returning from lively nights out, or sad souls suffering from sleeplessness.

Jali restaurant at Hastings is a part of the Jali group of restaurants that have become synonymous with fine Indian dining. Each restaurant is elegant in its theme and creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Jali was first started in Hastings, on the sea front of the historic fishing centre and awarded an AA Rosette for culinary excellence. Encouraged by its success, two other branches opened in Crewe and in May 2007 in Blackpool. The owners plan to expand to other parts in the UK. Decorated in warm shades of red and ornately carved furniture, the atmosphere is one of indulgent dining.

The restaurant itself is popular and so is their takeaway. Jali has an internationally experienced team both those dealing with guests and others working behind the scenes and caters to parties, large groups and corporate events. They also noticed that a lot of their guests dined at Jali when celebrating a special occasion or a memorable event, and are happy to go the extra mile to makes these moments even more special when informed in advance. The special touches can include balloons, cakes, champagne, roses and other little thoughtful touches that mean so much, particularly when they are not expected.

Like most other restaurants that specialise in Indian cuisine, Jali too offers the usual array of tandoori, Punjabi and coastal cuisine with curries, rice, rotis and starters that are well loved because of their familiarity. Jali brings in a creative twist to these familiar tastes with dishes like chicken marinated in gin and fried with herbs and lifafa, an interesting starter made of potatoes and cheese, pan fried and served with tamarind coulis and a drizzle of green chutney.

Jali creates another winning combination of the familiar and the new with their pan fried bazaar or kiosk style of cooking. On the one hand they offer certain combinations like prawn and egg, mushroom and baby corn or chicken and lamb that form the base of the dish, and on the other, they offer a variety of sauces like green curry, kadai fry or rogan josh in which these are cooked. The guest is invited to choose a preferred combination of the two, thus creating the perfect dish according to one's taste and mood.

Jali is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry, and it appears that these restaurants play the role of decorative windows permitting a peek into the rich tradition of Indian cuisine.

It's not often that you can sit on the beach and eat your fish and chips but you can at The Mermaid. Regarded with profound affection by its many fans the menu varies little from the traditional, nor would the customers wish it to. Don't dress for dinner but be prepared for some of the best fish and chips you have ever eaten, and as for the spotted dick . . . .