Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Opened in 2002, by Shayne and Louise Bowers, Cat in the Hat restaurant has always had a reputation for providing good quality food and wine, combined with friendly and helpful service. Now it is owned and run by Phil Picton, Shirley Hughes, and Wendy Watson, who have retained the same high standards of hospitality, with a focus on fine dining, Westcountry produce, and excellent wines.

Offering excellent value at lunchtime with a two course menu, changed daily, at only £9.95, the evening à la carte is heralded by a complete change of atmosphere as the lights go down, the candles come out and the impression is of walking into an almost completely different restaurant.

The menu is changed monthly, but amongst the starters look to find local mussels, steamed in white wine with a julienne of vegetables, shallots and cream or a marinated pigeon breast carved over a salad of fine beans, red onion marmalade, sunblushed tomato and pesto.

The main event kicks off with tranche of cod, enveloped in lettuce, with a leek, saffron and dill coulis, and cauliflower risotto or pan fried fillet of wild sea bass with a South Hams crab mash, mussels, a caviar and Noilly Prat sauce, and braised fennel. Their ever popular meat - all from local suppliers - dishes might include Creedy Carver duck breast, roasted and carved onto a stew of autumn vegetables with barley and scrumpy or Westcountry Gold fillet steak, with leek and potato dauphinoise, wild mushroom and brandy sauce and wilted spinach.

Desserts are by no means the poor relation on this menu; consider tarte tatin of figs with clotted cream, maple and walnuts or a hot Valhrona chocolate fondant with marmalade ice cream and hazelnut tuile. The outstanding range of West Country cheeses also show up well.

Carluccio's was started by Antonio and Priscilla Carluccio as a small café and shop stocking Italian food and ingredients in 1991, and grew into a restaurant serving authentic cuisine at sensible prices in 1999. Antonio is an expert on food and has been a wine merchant, restaurant manager and owner, cookery expert on television and author of twelve cookery books. It is therefore not surprising, that today Carluccio's has over fourty-nine outlets across the UK.

Antonio believes Italian cookery involves minimum fuss and maximum flavour. This is exactly what his restaurants try to do by using fresh produce, and working largely with families who make things the traditional way - with care. Their passion also translates into special events like hands-on cookery classes and recipe sharing, Antonio and his team regularly organise for interested guests. They also offer takeaways and a catering service.

The breakfast menu offers croissants and breads served with butter and preserves or honey and free range eggs, either scrambled or fried and served with pancetta or ciabatta. They also have long cured Parma ham and healthier options like muesli and fruits. These are best had with coffee, tea or freshly squeezed juice. Carluccio's offers an impressive list of white, red, rosé and sparkling wines which complement your meal.

The restaurants offer a range of soup and salads which give your meal a nutritious start before moving on to the mains. If you like pasta, enjoy the small filled parcels served in a ham and cream sauce, or sample the Neapolitana spaghetti with whole fresh clams, garlic, herbs and chilli. The branzino con salsa e patate, fillet of pan fried sea bass served with tomato salsa and sautéed potatoes and Somerset rib-eye steak with rosemary potatoes, called bistecca di bue con patate, are good options too. If you are looking for something lighter, you could opt for the numerous sides called contorni and panini.

In the Tuscany region of Italy, meals end simply with almond biscuits dipped in a sweet local wine, Vin Santo and eaten. You can enjoy that experience at Carluccio's, or settle for a more conventional dolci of tiramisu, warm chocolate and kahlua pudding, your choice of Italian cheeses or gelatos in different flavours.

Start with a cocktail, say a bourbon cookie, cosmopolitan or a parson green apple before tackling some food that will vary from pub to pub. There are bar meals, try lime and coriander chicken in Didsbury, or a more formal approach in restaurant style, what about 21 day hung, 10 oz British sirloin steak in Mayfair, with homemade chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce in Birmingham. In general the menus are very similar, with plenty of choices all round.

There are now over twenty five branches of Pitcher and Piano where you can be assured of the same decent levels of food and drinks, service and quality. Surely that's better than the lucky dip approach?

Discover the joys of dining in this small but perfectly formed, family run restaurant in Central Exeter. The chefs carefully prepare diver caught scallops, West Country fillet steak, rack of lamb, woodpigeon and cheeses all sourced from Devon.

They opened as a café bistro but over time concentrated more on food after realising it to be in such demand. The menu changes each day because according to them, there's nothing worse for a customer than making a choice, only to find it's not available, a problem the constantly varying menu avoids. To give your meal a flavoursome start consider the tiger prawns, poached in coconut milk with fresh coriander and chilli.

Mains come forward with attractive options such as pan-fried calves' liver with Anna potatoes, pickled walnuts, sage and balsamic vinegar dressing or roast rack of lamb with pistachio nuts and fresh mint crust. Their carefully researched wine list has two specials, to complement the well-flavoured food.

The appropriately named Olive Tree Restaurant, displays its Mediterranean influence from the first glance at the menu. However, pan-fried Brixham scallops with tagliatelle, asparagus and a saffron oil dressing do not exclude more substantial local offerings, with the result that a nice balance is maintained.

The MC Café Bar at ABode Exeter could be your place of choice for breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. Outdoor tables situated in the Cathedral Yard, with fine views of the city's 11th century Gothic cathedral, make for pleasant alfresco dining. With Michelin starred chef Michael Caines at the helm of the culinary experience at ABode, a talented team of chefs showcases modern European cuisine using local and regional produce.

Guests at the MC Café can look forward to sampling dishes like pan-fried free range chicken livers with smoked streaky bacon, salmon and ginger fish cake with homemade sweet chilli sauce and spiced Creedy Carver duck salad. Platters for two offer chorizo Ibérico sausages, marinated aubergines and mushrooms, duck spring roll and soy glazed pork belly. The grill selection includes ribeye steak, pork loin chop, lamb cutlets and piri piri chicken burger. Prune cheesecake with Armagnac ice cream or ginger pannacotta with pear sorbet brings the meal to a fitting end. An extensive wine and cocktail list offers more pleasure.