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Backed by professional yet friendly staff, this charming pub-restaurant has a warm and inviting bar and a spacious dining room where you'll find plenty of regulars dropping in. A log fire in the handsome exposed brick inglenook, white leather chairs accompanied by sturdy wooden tables, well placed on the quarry-tiled floor, and the oak beamed ceiling with subdued lighting is the kind of interior you can expect at The Red Lion.

The atmosphere is one of joviality and when the sun is out, there are few things better than an al fresco meal; a deck area and the garden overlooking the woods, are set with comfortable chairs and benches, easily seating around forty diners at a go.

The kitchen's approach to cooking is mostly modern British, underpinned by a slight Mediterranean focus, with great emphasis placed on sourcing high quality seasonal ingredients. There's something for everyone and for all occasions and you could probably see traditional favourites such as pizzas, steaks and fish and chips interestingly juxtaposed with chef's daily specials.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, box baked Camembert with rustic bread, Greek mezze of taramasalata with humus, tzatziki, feta and flatbread, or a pizzette with garlic, rocket and Parmesan.

Amongst the starters, there is freshly made soup of the day, sake cured salmon with asparagus, Serrano ham, poached egg and hollandaise or red onion tarte with jersey blue cheese, watercress and roasted vine tomatoes. The salads - sorry, that should read 'leaves' - offer prawns with avocado and Asian greens and poached salmon with, broad beans, asparagus, peas and lemon dressing, both perfect for the seafood fiends.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; expect to find a classic Margherita of tomato, mozzarella and basil, another with pepperoni, chorizo and jalapeño. Pastas include the linguini with chorizo, king prawns, crab, chilli and roast butternut squash risotto.

For the big event, there is always a fish of the day on request. The fillet steak with asparagus and blistered cherry tomatoes is worth trying too. Rib-eye steak with rocket, fresh horseradish sauce and crispy onions is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating.

A wide range of supporting dishes includes frites with rosemary salt and aioli. For desserts resort to the classics - banoffee pie, vanilla pod cheesecake or sticky toffee pudding. Also there are some local cheeses on hand to set the buffs alight.

A sensible wine list that matches the cuisine to perfection trawls the world and comes up with some pretty interesting numbers - almost as interesting as the laconic descriptions, mostly one word but very accurate, even if 'regal, intense and youthful' does sound rather like a generous heiress of infinite promise. The Red Lion also stocks a wide range of cask ales alongside a selection of bottled ones.

Check regularly on their Website for menu changes and arrangements for special events and celebrations. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

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Here's an enterprising idea. Sally and Tony Cole decided it made no sense at all for the ten companies on a business park in Reading to each have its own café, and acquired the only empty unit, fortuitously in a waterfront setting surrounded by a 180 acre green and pleasant landscape, before converting it into a 65 seat restaurant/brasserie.

With minimalist style décor, two chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and a lot of chutzpah they were off. Having won the Reading Restaurant of the Year Award 2007-2008, shortlisted 5 years for National Restaurant of the Year and holder of the Top Table Golden Award, voted for by diners, and being recommended two years running by Michelin, you should not be disappointed.

Whilst there is significant customer support from the Business Park, the influx in the evenings brings a lively blend of light and shade, given trouble-free parking and easy access off the M4. With dishes like traditional Thai fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce, potted duo of fresh and smoked salmon with crème fraiche, pernod, lemon juice and chives, ox cheek spring roll with cauliflower puree and chilli jam, the evening is off to a good start.

Main courses pursue a happy path of inventiveness tinged with tradition and the red curry of seafood, an aromatic cream curry with scallops, salmon, pollock and prawns, venison Wellington accompanied by haggis, horseradish cream and red wine sauce, or a crispy potato scallop with curried puy lentils, tomato and spinach and riata are all dishes that please many. For an indulgent concession to modern food do take a tilt at the Wagyu beef burger.

The roasted monkfish comes to table wrapped in prosciutto with Yorkshire pudding, cider, chorizo and caper sauce. Isle of Wight lamb two ways, the roasted rump of lamb and wontons of braised shoulder of lamb stages an appearance with lemongrass and ginger. If you are a touch bored with traditionally prepared chicken try the corn fed free range Dorset chicken breast with massaman curried mousse filling, parsnip chips and creamed spinach.

A range of sweet temptations lies in wait to trap the weak and enthusiastic, with a classic lemon tart, sticky toffee pudding with pecan toffee sauce and Chantilly cream and a local cheese board that seems to have made a point of selecting the most outstanding of its kind, all stating the case for a menu that has not just had some puddings added on.

LSQ2's express lunch menu operates daily from 12 to 6 pm, offering exceptional value from a two option menu with dishes such as chicken liver parfait with toasted bread, and Hampshire pork sausages with mash and onion gravy. Hawkers Corner lists five attractive Asian dishes, of which nasi-goreng Indonesian style fried rice with mixed satay, fried egg and prawn crackers could be one.

A short, smart wine list presses the right buttons. From an Italian Chianti Reserva Villa Di Campobello 2006 to an Australian Howard Park Leston Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. Rich and opulent but brooding in its youth, the list follows in the footsteps of the LSQ2 interpretation of exciting food in great surroundings and company.

With the Madejski Stadium only a couple of good long kicks away and easy access, LSQ2 could easily become habitual. LSQ2 could easily become habitual. In any case you'll want to know more and one click will take you to their Website.

We hear a great deal about recycling these days - du Vin recycles attractive but often un-loved buildings to restore real gems in the best tradition of British understated style.

Complement that with all that is best in the French bistro ethos, bars that reach out to please, and you have a setting that provides an inspirational background for people to meet, do business, get married, provide a base for golf or fishing, somewhere you can call your own for a private celebration, a spa or - most engagingly - a wine school that breaks the mould.

Think quintessential British style - elegant and unpretentious. Combine this with a great spirit, wit and an unquestionable devotion to wine, and you have captured the essence of Hotel du Vin.

In Henley-on-Thames, du Vin has taken on the façade of the former Brakspears Brewery, a handsome brick-built structure in the best style of such buildings, strategically placed in the heart of the historic town centre, yet only 50 yards from the riverside moorings. Within and around a unique luxury boutique hotel has been constructed. For instance the former fermentation room and old malt house have jointly provided the location for one of the three private dining rooms.

Forty three exquisite bedrooms and magnificent suites have been created in the old buildings encircling the old brewery yard, and this also houses the hallmark du Vin bistro.

Head Chef, Neil Falzon presides over the kitchen of this 2AA Rosette bistro servicing a menu of 'simple classics' supplemented by his own selections, depending overall on a European cuisine with a contemporary edge. Starters of soused herrings with beetroot carpaccio and celeriac rémoulade, poached duck egg with chorizo, tomato and chick peas, or Uist Lodge smoked salmon with Spanish caper berries set a firm tone before choosing from either the simple classic or main courses, or both.

The Hotel du Vin fish pie says all that is good about this wonderful dish, good for lunch or dinner, capable of many different forms. Moving to the main courses, from a choice of seven, in season the roast Yorkshire grouse, with fondant potato, crisp ham and orange jus, or a smoked haddock brandade with poached hen's egg and hollandaise is recommended.

Whilst one might argue that the whole point of being in a du Vin is to snuggle up to the wine list, this list is designed to march with the food and can only be described as superb. With a team of three sommeliers, headed here by Stephane Sanchez, there is no room for anything but the best. Service is telepathic in the best possible sense.

Click on their Website for full information and rates. Hotel du Vin, with fourteen options throughout Britain, awaits your call.

If familiarity is the sine qua non of a popular neighbourhood pub, The Red Lion admirably combines it with innovation to deliver a premium dining experience in the heart of Oxford. Boasting a high quality modern British cuisine menu with a Mediterranean touch, it is ideal for a quick meal for customers attending a show at the Burton Taylor Studio Theatre or the Oxford Playhouse, both of which are just a stone's throw away. If the weather?s fine, al fresco dining is an also an option in the pub's spacious courtyard.

A relaxed ambience is made even more inviting with a crackling log fire in winter, while large windows let the light flood in and numerous sofas and chairs actively encourage customers to unwind at leisure. Add to all this, a warm welcome and superb service, special offers each day of the week and plenty of options on the à la carte, it soon becomes obvious what gives The Red Lion the edge over more run of the mill gastro pubs.

Guests can relish a range of British classics as well as pizzas and pastas, not to mention daily specials, all made with the freshest seasonal ingredients including locally sourced fish and meat. Sharing plates of mezze with rustic breads; Romana white onion soup with cheese croute and tiger prawn, chorizo and crab linguine offer a wonderful slice of the Mediterranean. While crispy duck salad with mooli, carrots, hoisin and plum sauce or fruit de mer pizza with tuna, prawns, anchovies and pineapple salsa incorporate influences from farther afield.

There's no escaping the well-loved aromas of classic British specialities at The Red Lion. Be it freshly battered fish and chips with minted mushy peas or calves liver with champ potatoes, crispy shallots and red wine jus, these time tested favourites satisfy the appetite. Steak and Wine Supper Wednesdays with the best steaks and a whopping 50% off on a bottle of red wine is indeed an offer too tempting to resist. Fish and seafood lovers get their own deal on Fridays with chef's fresh fish and shellfish specials and white wine at half the price.
 
The Sunday selection pleases with its succulent roasts with all the trimmings. Fine food and drink come together with the Supper Club menu for two which offers a bottle of the celebrated Rothschild wine with a two-course menu. A prix fixe menu is also available for a quick lunch or early dinner.

Tempting desserts of apple and blackcurrant crumble with vanilla custard, a choux bun with fresh cream, espresso and chocolate sauce or white chocolate crème brûlée brings the meal to a fitting end. A cheese plate with Colliers Cheddar, camembert and gorgonzola could be equally satisfying.

The stylish bar is the perfect place to drop by for a quick drink or linger on for a meal from the bar menu. An extensive selection of delicious aperitifs and digestifs as well as cask ales, chilled draught beers and an expertly chosen wine list offer a multitude of reasons to stay a while longer.

You might also want to consider visiting nearby sister pub The Trout Inn.

More information can be found on their Website.

An historic Victorian pub, The Radcliffe Arms is a popular haunt that successfully combines the traditional with the modern as its 18th Century red brick exterior gives way to a clean and airy contemporary interior. Located on the corner of Walsworth and Verulam Roads in Hitchin's historic Victorian triangle, it is only five minutes away from the rail station and a ten minute drive from nearby Letchworth.

Much more than your standard gastro pub, The Radcliffe Arms is open every day from 8am, serving honest-to-goodness British fare in a warm and friendly atmosphere whether it be a hearty English breakfast that sets you up for the day, a laidback lunch with old friends or an intimate dinner for two. As well as three restaurant areas, guests can also while away the evening in the newly restored bar with open fire or sitting on the terrace which offers heated parasols for nippy evenings.
 
The talented kitchen team led by head chef James Nicholas has developed menus to cater to all tastes. The seasonal à la carte menu offers freshly cooked dishes that never disappoint, expect to find tempting starters such as terrine of chicken and bacon with pistachios and shallots, blade of beef with truffled mushrooms, crispy goat's cheese parcel or butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds. The main courses offer classics such as English lamb rump with minted spring peas, char grilled rib eye steak with roast tomatoes, roast chicken breast with cabbage and bacon, and Cornish sea bream with king prawns.

Dishes such as tiger prawns with pickled ginger and cucumber salad, slow cooked pork with Asian spices and bok choi and spinach and feta spanokopitta give the menu a contemporary touch. For Sunday lunch guests can look forward to roast beef, pot roast chicken breast, swordfish steak, roast pork or honey roast gammon with all the trimmings. Desserts of apple tart with caramel sauce, sticky carrot cake with stem ginger ice cream, chocolate and orange torte with crème Chantilly and white chocolate and raspberry mille fuille indulge the sweet tooth and round off the meal fabulously.

Food aside, The Radcliffe Arms also features an excellent wine menu with classics such as a crisp La Colombe Chablis rubbing shoulders with bold modern varieties such as the La Cote Flamenc Picpoul de Pinet. The list also offers an impressive 28 wines available by the glass including flavourful Cabernet Sauvignons, a subtle Pinot Noir from New Zealand and a smooth Grand Reserva Rioja from Spain. The well-stocked bar possesses real ales and beers and is where locals and visitors gather in a typical buzzy atmosphere with friendly staff adding to the positive vibe.

As well as creating special menus for Valentine's Day, Mothering Sunday and Christmas, the Radcliffe Arms can also host your special occasions be it a family birthday or a work party, with catering available for up to 30 seated guests or a buffet for 45. Their Website will tell you more and keep you up to date with events.

Alkham Valley is without doubt a vacationer's paradise - with green rolling hills and narrow country lanes - here's old world England at its best and being featured on an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty list is a fitting tribute. This picturesque location sets the scene for The Marquis at Alkham and what was once a village pub now enjoys the tangible benefits of a major refurbishment, transforming it into a contemporary restaurant and hotel with soft furnishings and an assorted collection of art.

The five individually designed, ensuite bedrooms adorned with beautiful fabrics and stylish furniture is decidedly trendy, in marked contrast to the rural setting. There are flat screen TVs, designer bathroom fixtures, pocket sprung mattresses dressed in luxury cotton and more for that stress-free getaway. Two large room suites have a sofa which morphs into a double bed, if required, and all rooms have splendid views across the valley as a delightful distraction.

The Marquis has now added two awards to its kitty and that includes five stars and two Rosettes from the AA.

Head Chef Charles Lakin's love for hearty rural cooking began during his tender years growing up in a farm in North Yorkshire. His former stint as an assistant chef at a Michelin-starred establishment helped him fuse modern style of cookery with old school favourites. Now at The Marquis, his kitchen team leave no stone unturned in an endeavour to create a menu which lays emphasis on local produce.

The weekday evening menu could open with starters of beetroot marinated trout, soused baby beetroot, set cauliflower cream and wood sorrel, and cherry wood smoked breast of Godmersham pheasant with ballotine of leg and foie gras, pear and saffron chutney. Loin of fallow venison with root vegetable pan haggerty, Sussex blue cheese dauphine potato and elderberry jus, and the day's cut of Sladden Farm Dexter beef sourced from the nationally recognised 'Moomin' herd, grazing on the Alkham valley, feature amongst attractive main courses.

Quince soufflé with mulled vintage cider and bay leaf ice cream, and dark chocolate ganache tart with cinder toffee and sea buckthorn sorbet could please sweet lovers. The wine list goes the traditional way alongside bins from the New World and a welcome contribution from nearby Chapel Down.

The Marquis at Alkham will be happy to host your small, intimate wedding celebration and with the 13th century church of St. Anthony of Pamiers right next door, the setting is just perfect. Love outdoor pursuits? There's walking, horse riding, sailing, golfing and much more happening nearby and don't miss a game of cricket at the village's tiny cricket pitch claimed to be one of the smallest in the UK.

Their Website keeps tab on menu changes, events and other useful nuggets of information.

The White Hart offers guests a truly outstanding dining experience. This elegant pub and eating house located in Brasted, Westerham is an ideal place to relax with your favourite drink or for the enjoyment of an elaborate and intimate meal with family and friends.

Backed by service that is cheerful, brisk and totally in keeping with the friendly nature of a good English gastropub this charming pub has a warm and inviting bar and a spacious dining room where you'll find plenty of regulars dropping in. A log fire in the handsome exposed brick inglenook in winter, brown leather chairs accompanied by sturdy wooden tables well matched with the quarry-tiled floor, and an oak beamed ceiling with subdued lighting is the sort of interior you can expect at The White Hart.

The atmosphere is one of joviality and when the sun is out, there are few things better than an al fresco meal; a deck area and the garden overlooking the woods set with comfortable chairs and a bench, easily seating around 200 diners at once, provides a spacious setting.

The menu changes with the seasons and is modern British, comfortably interwoven with some Mediterranean influences. It ranges from traditional favourites such as fish and chips and steaks to freshly made pizzas and pastas with the chef's daily specials displaying the finest fresh market ingredients. There's something for everyone and for all occasions and you don't have to go for the full works if you don't want to; just have a snack and a lingering drink in the bar with your friends.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates; share a metre board of mixed pizzas, Greek mezze with taramasalata, red pepper hummus, tzatziki, feta and flatbread, or Italian antipasti with cured meats, dolcelatte, roasted vegetables, parmesan, rocket, stuffed peppers, curly green chillies and warm stone baked bread.

Specialities here include dishes such as vodka cured salmon, beetroot and horseradish crème fraiche, and nut crusted goat's cheese crostini, butternut squash, red onion, tomato and red pepper dressing. Sea bass fillets, artichoke, olives, pepper, courgette, chorizo, tomato and rosemary potatoes, and quattro formaggi with mozzarella, dolcelatte, parmesan, goats cheese and red onion marmalade are sure to please many a palate. Stone baked pizza with Serrano ham, roast artichoke, olives and mozzarella, or classic burger with gherkin, mustard mayo, cheese, relish and frites await the adventurous palates, among many other dishes on the extensive and eclectic menu.

An apple and frangipane gallette with cognac ice cream, summer pudding with clotted cream, and vanilla pod cheesecake and blackcurrant compote are some of the crowd pullers among their pudding section.

The wine list offers everything from crisp refreshing whites, trendy pinks to fat juicy reds by the bottle or glass. The bar stocks a wide range of cask ales, super chilled draught and bottled beers.

Check in on their Website for further details, changing menus that follow the seasons, and special promotions. Please note that the E-Mail Contact is for enquiries only, not for bookings.

Windsor Grill, only a stone's throw from Windsor's Long Walk, is a continuation of the Antony Worrall Thompson crusade for simple, honest food, largely British, to be served in his restaurants, using only the finest ingredients. The Grill is a welcome addition to the pleasures of this historical royal fortress town.

One of the principal attractions of the Grill is the expert attention paid to the selection of the meat courses, combined with a certain leaning towards some of the more traditional dishes as befits a decent brasserie type menu. Devilled lamb's kidneys, or bang bang chicken with peanut sauce, Mr Machin's Scottish smoked salmon and avocado prawns all carry connotations of red damask and shiny brass rails. But for many the steak tartare never fails, served as a starter or main course compete with capers, shallots, gherkins with grilled bread, and chips with the mains.

There is a culinary symmetry at work here and it is little surprise to find seared scallops, salmon and smoked haddock fishcake with buttered spinach and Hollandaise, or chilli salt squid with guacamole, sour cream, and chilli jam sitting comfortably within range of sumptuous steaks.

Few burgers have a better pedigree than those offered by AWT, and the eponymous version weighing in at 8oz is good value, made with 35 day hung Scottish beef and served on an onion bun with salad horseradish and tomato sauce, mayonnaise and skinny or chunky chips.

Six different cuts of steak start with a 10oz rib-eye, and move through a 24oz rib-chop on the bone, described as "a mega piece of meat", a modest 6oz fillet that is very tender and fat free, finishing with a 16oz Chateaubriand for two. Five different sauces give pretty total taste coverage.

That traditional piece of indulgence in the form of a classic mixed grill brings to your plate steak, lamb cutlet, pork sausage, calf's liver, dry cured bacon, lamb's kidney, black pudding, tomato and mushroom, though pork enthusiasts are likely to be sidetracked with a plate of porchetta, black pudding, sausage, belly, bacon, sage and onion stuffing and a good helping of apple chilli jelly.

A menu of daily specials explores Parma ham, grilled figs and melon salad, slow cooked duck leg served with soy and sesame Asian salad, a 9oz fillet steak, fillet of brill with a medley of greens, creamy garlic and white wine prawns, and a vegetarian dish.

One always has the feeling that desserts at a robust restaurant such as this are a bit of an afterthought, but a vanilla pannacotta, berry coulis and tuille biscuit, fresh English strawberries with pouring cream in season, or some very agreeable Wigmore soft cheese are certainly not to be ignored. Their lunch and late supper menu meet a real need in the town and at less than £15 for three courses who's to grumble?

A well selected wine list yields some intensely interesting prospects and those who like their cocktails will certainly not be disappointed. AWT these days wears the contented smile of a man who has escaped the rat race and settled down with a nice number of restaurants in each of which he can take a close interest. For further information a quick click on their Website does the trick.

The Royal Saracens Head, an eighteenth century free house, is situated in the attractive town of Beaconsfield and offers its customers a comfortable experience combined with warm hospitality. The original site is believed to have been a tavern as far back as the 12th century and was reputed to be a regular haunt of Richard I. The results of refurbishment are clearly visible in its trendy ambience - stripped wooden artefacts, large mirrors and stylish lighting.

The menu is simple but up-to-the-minute with lots of comfort appeal and offers homely dishes like pizza, steaks and pasta as well as ones with more contemporary, global touches, all delivered by friendly and cheerful staff. Their wine list contains well known favourites alongside more unusual numbers from around the world.

To set the right note of fashionable sociability there are sharing plates, garlic pizzette, caramelised onion and rocket, a box baked camembert with stiratta romagna and home made tomato jam.

Amongst the starters, there is freshly made soup, sardines on bruschetta with red onion, plum tomato and gremolata or water melon with prosciutto ham and feta with chilli ice cream. Look, too, for scallops of the day. The salads - sorry, that should read 'leaves' - offer crispy duck with mouli, hoisin, carrots, spring onions and plum sauce, for the seafood fiends some prawn, avocado, pecan, mango, watercress, bacon with orange and pomegranate vinaigrette.

These days no self-respecting gastropub can afford to be without its pizza range; expect to find a classic margherita of tomato, mozzarella, oregano and basil, piccante with pepperoni, chorizo, tomato and jalapeños or the rustica of roasted Mediterranean vegetables, goats' cheese, cherry tomatoes and rocket.

Pastas include linguini with tiger prawns, crab, chorizo, chilli, tomato and white wine, or strozzapreti of fresh tomato, goats' cheese, spinach, pine nuts and raisins. For the big event there is always Indian spiced salmon fillet with wilted spinach and sweet potato with aubergine and mango chutney.

The roast rump of lamb with sauce soubise, asparagus, pancetta, button onions and baby potatoes is popular, a sign of the times and improving taste in eating. There is a lovely spit chicken with lemon, garlic, thyme and frites, as well as calves liver, tray baked potatoes, red onion and bacon with sage panagrattato.

A wide range of supporting dishes includes green salad, Belgian frites and mayo, and cabbage, leeks and peas. For desserts choose between Eton mess or apple, blackcurrant crumble and vanilla custard. 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.

The first Browns opened at Brighton in 1973 with one simple guiding belief, that classic food, well delivered in a stylish environment would be a recipe for success. The only thing that has changed since then is the number of Browns, now running at fourteen, of which six are in London, all prospering with the same theme.

The main menu, available throughout the day, starts with appetisers, designed for sharing, with antipasti of Italian meat, vegetarian or seafood. Try the flatbreads with a range of interesting toppings.

In amongst the thirteen starters expect to come across smoked duck, crisp noodle and cashew nut salad with red peppers, tumeric cauliflower, spring onions and a sherry vinaigrette. The fish and salad choices include fish and chips tempura battered cod with minted mushy peas and tartar sauce and pan-fried butterflied tiger prawns tossed with linguine in a tomato, coriander and chorizo sauce.

The same theme of comfortable food, well-cooked and presented, continues throughout the mains course with roast chicken breast in sour dough bread with baby spinach, tomato and mayonnaise, served with seasoned chips, and steak frites 6oz prime sirloin, served with a lemon, parsley and peppercorn butter.

The wine list is masterful and not over long, sometimes a great relief to those who find it tiresome to navigate their way through even an interesting list such as this. Many bottles are available by the glass and each group of wines is helpfully classified under headings such as white, red and rose with a reserve selection, house recommendations, New and Old World under them.

Browns at Milton Keynes are well able to deal with groups, and have special menus to look after their particular interests. Click on their excellent Website for further details and menu changes.