Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

There is a real movement afoot to ensure that the food we eat is of decent quality, even if this does mean a slight lift in the price, though that is far from being inevitably the case.

It evidences itself in the supermarkets that can be trusted, in farm shops where quality can be controlled from source to sale at the table, and in a general realisation that we are indeed what we eat. And drink.

The Real Eating Company has a mission in life to ensure that whatever they offer is the most wholesome and genuine. Not only is the place one big deli, you can also eat there, and most people who do wish that it could go on forever. There is no reason why it should not.

From an impressive list of menus that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and kids we have selected the dinner version. Expect to see soup made from mussels, rabbit and tomatoes, yes, all in the same pot, or a duck confit with blood orange, roast hazelnut and chicory salad. In amongst the mains there is a creamy fish pie with green beans, or feel tempted by the braised oxtail and kidney pudding, with baby turnips potato and shallots. The fish of the day has its own blackboard to mirror the market.

Pudding of spotted dick with golden syrup custard sounds like the best of both worlds, or prune and Armagnac ice cream with chocolate sauce just go to prove that healthy eating can still be naughty. For the cheese buffs there is Beenleigh blue and Lincolnshire poacher, spiced fruit compote, oatcakes, all supported by a glass of 10 year old Somerset apple brandy, all for less than £8.

The list of extra dishes reads like a litany of culinary righteousness, with curly kale, spiced red cabbage and spring onion mash only slightly tainted by homemade fat chips.

One would like to think there is a certainty about the proliferation of places like this - I believe it is quite strongly on the cards.

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.

If you like Chinese food but prefer to dine at restaurants that use only natural ingredients and flavours head to China Inn in Portland Road, regarded as the first specialist monosodium glutamate free Chinese restaurant in the area.

The small family-run establishment serves traditional and contemporary cuisine and you might be surprised at how different the food tastes when created using natural flavouring. On offer are dumplings, a range of starters, homemade sauces, and fruit specials such as fillet beef in fresh mango.

Begin your meal with platters of butterfly king prawns, satay chicken, crispy seaweed, spare ribs or a bowl of spicy tom yum soup. Main courses could include drunken fish, meat stir-fried Malaysian or Szechuan style, in plum sauce, with pineapples, mixed vegetables or tofu to name a few; sizzling dishes, and Chinese and Thai curries, all accompanied by noodles and rice of your choice add an element of excitement.

Banana fritters with maple syrup help bring the meal at China Inn to a sweet end.

The Meadow is situated in Hove, adjacent to the famous Clock Gardens; it is somewhere that you can enjoy a relaxed friendly atmosphere, with British Cuisine at the forefront of the menu, influenced by French and Italian cooking techniques. It was recently awarded two AA rosettes and now has an on site farm shop selling local and homemade produce.

Seasonal produce is sourced directly from small farms and local suppliers and all dishes are produced on the premises as well as homemade breads and pastries. Commendably the menu features some of the finest rare breed meats such as the Longhorn cow and the Middle White pig, as well as fish sourced from the local coastline.

Chokdee offers authentic Thai food in an informal cafe style, as you choose your meal and pay at the counter they make no service charge. However, despite this informal method of service, you will still enjoy quality Thai dishes from their comprehensive menu, all offered in relaxed surroundings. Home delivery is available in the evening, and naturally there is a takeaway service.

In a town where eating out has been honed to a fine art, and our illustrious proprietor, no less, commenced a career in catering that has covered one helluva lot of ground, it is more than refreshing to find a restaurant which whilst it describes itself as European is in fact Italian through and through.

The welcome is invariably exuberant, via a front door that commands much the same sort of description, and sets a standard of liveliness which seems to infiltrate everything they do, including the cooking. It is only a matter of time before you become aware of the renowned Giuseppe, the dancing waiter who takes time off from his primary duties every so often to entertain and amuse. Now how many restaurants offer you that sort of sideline?

Then there's the distinctive décor that includes a glass conservatory with a fine display of Italian black and white photographs, every bit as compelling as their more colourful counterparts elsewhere.

A menu that is thoroughly Italian is a happy joining of old respected dishes with many a flourish towards the perpetual desire of many chefs to experiment and refine. The result is that people from a very wide area make the journey to Hove to enjoy such dishes as homemade ravioli filled lamb in red chicory and bacon sauce or monkfish cooked with capers, olives, anchovies, garlic and parsley. Grilled swordfish is a dish on its own, or comes in spada alla form.

Stripped of their titles so many Italian dishes are at times indistinguishable from English counterparts but wouldn't you rather eat bianchetti fritti than deep fried whitebait? And when it comes to pizzas does vecchia taormina not sound more inviting than tomato sauce, mozzarella, prawns, pesto sauce and courgettes, never mind that you might have difficulty with the pronunciation.

Amongst the dazzling list of desserts look for the cassata Siciliana, Sicilian style ice cream cake with candied fruits, or that sturdy standby, banoffee pie. Sicilian house wines offer enjoyable drinking at very reasonable prices, whilst all the usual suspects such as valpolicella, chianti and other classic Italian quality wines are available at prices that are frankly, breathtakingly reasonable.

Leonardo is the best sort of Italian restaurant. Oh, yes, and brush up on your dancing before your next visit - the dancing waiter enjoys company on the floor.