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Homemade fresh food from Wales, good service, top brand drinks, and music events combine to make The Promised Land a popular and lively venue. Located at 4 Windsor Place Cardiff, at the top end of Queen Street, it is a pleasant spot for coffees, meetings and all the way through business lunches, shopping breaks, busy afternoons, after work gatherings to evening and late night food and drinks.

Try the elephant beef burger, served with lettuce and three individual relish pots, blue cheese, tomato and garlic mayo and a toasted bun, and roasted vegetables bound with a tomato and basil sauce and topped with a crispy crumble topping. Among sandwiches there is baked ham with dill mustard and Llangloffan cheese. If you prefer salads you can opt for smoked chicken and mango. Desserts include lemon tart, chocolate mousse and Mario's Welsh ice cream.

The Quality Hotel Cardiff is ideally located for business or leisure with easy access to Cardiff City Centre, South Wales and the M4. It is the perfect base to explore the many Welsh Castles, gardens, museums or the wonderful coastline of Wales; and guests there feel welcomed by the friendliness of the local people.

The Hillside Restaurant at the Quality Hotel is a modern refuge that offers a range of well-prepared popular dishes in a relaxed informal atmosphere. You can make your choice from either the carvery that offers traditional dishes to suit every taste, or alternatively the à la carte menu, which gives diners a chance to sample international as well as local dishes.

Alternatively, enjoy a light snack after a hard days work in the 'Valley Bar' or sunken lounge.

The hotel is a well known venue for wedding receptions and civil wedding ceremonies.

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.

An impressive Chinatown-style frontage outside with stylish Oriental décor inside charms guests dining at Phi-B's Chinese in Crwys Road. Drop in for a quick lunch or a leisurely evening meal, whether it is with family or friends. Polite attentive service adds to the pleasure of dining here. A takeaway menu is also available.

The eclectic menu offers a wide range at Phi-B's. Diners can look forward to starting well with such dishes as barbequed spare ribs, vegetable spring rolls, crispy seaweed, stir fried tofu, sweet and sour pork, crispy roast duck with pancakes and chicken in chilli and black bean sauce. Mains options include roast duck and pork in plum sauce, fried sliced beef in black pepper sauce, fried straw mushrooms with bamboo shoots and Singapore noodles and egg fried rice. For dessert, choose between toffee apple, lychees with vanilla ice cream and mango pudding.

Signor Valentino is the latest flagship restaurant in Babak Arabestani's expanding chain, and has introduced a refreshing dining experience to the waterside area.

As with all his other restaurants, Signor Valentino has been designed by Babak himself; it has been described as cool, chic with contemporary Italian cuisine. With an open plan kitchen, American oak flooring, original modernistic paintings complimented by marble and glass, this new eatery has already developed its own "community" of regular diners.

The clean lines and fresh modern interior creates a fashionable feel, which is perfectly complemented by the informal and friendly service provided. With a glass frontage that opens up in the summer months to allow for dining 'al fresco', you can be forgiven for feeling like you really have escaped to Italy.