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hand picked restaurants

The Osborne Hotel looks over six acres of its own landscaped grounds that stretch down to Meadfoot Beach, together with a lovely view across the English Riviera.

Langtry's offers a choice of regional specialities and innovative fare. Their team of chefs, led by Head Chef Peter Roberts, use fresh local ingredients to create dishes that appeal to even the most discerning diner. The lounge section has comfy settees and armchairs and is great for private parties and special gatherings.

Take in the unspoilt splendours of the Coral Coast at Babbacombe Bay and have your fill of quality gastro pub fare at the Restaurant at The Cary Arms. Here is a menu that reflects freshness and seasonality, using locally available ingredients including 'catch of the day' from Brixham. This is where guests can expect to enjoy superb Devon beef, Lyme Bay lobster and line caught seafood in a typical country style ambience of beamed ceilings, stone walls, and planked floors.

Top a day of activity with some of head chef Ben Kingdon's creations. Begin the meal with a prawn and crayfish cocktail or mackerel and salmon terrine. Then move on to chargrilled Devon lamb chops, dressed Brixham crab, whole Brixham plaice or roasted 'creedy' duck breast. Choice of sandwiches includes Montgomery cheddar and tomato chutney, grilled pepper, mushroom, smoked cheese and olive paste and smoked salmon, all served with freshly baked white or granary bread with fries.

For dessert, there's chocolate mousse, rhubarb and raspberry trifle and chocolate and orange pannacotta. Savour the taste of Sicilian and St. Clement's lemonades, Otter Ale, Bays Gold, Plymouth Gin, English Gin and other spirits at the bar.

Simple and quietly elegant, The Orange Tree Restaurant on Parkhill Road has been serving people over the past three decades in different capacities, ranging from a bistro to a regular French restaurant. Today, it has been smartly refurbished and in the capable hands of the owner couple, it has transformed into an English European restaurant and the single seating policy they adhere to allows you to relax and enjoy your meal in peace without ever feeling rushed.

Typically expect starters of terrine of guinea fowl supreme and smoked ham hock followed by pan seared duck breast glazed with sesame and acacia honey. The palate cleansing grapefruit sorbet between the courses is a stroke of genius whilst the dessert of coconut and lime cheesecake with rum chocolate ganache is enticingly decadent. Wines in the Orange Tree's list reflect global tastes, although there is an ample range of classics on offer too and recent awards attest to the fact that this is a place that knows what it's all about in every way.

It's all about capturing the essence of Italy, here in Torquay and Milan Milan does that most effectively, right from their simple and elegant décor, welcoming and friendly atmosphere to the amazing range of food they have on offer. Customers can often be seen dropping in even for breakfast which they serve gladly and some of the options include baguettes, croissants and eggs and of course a number of Italian coffees to give a proper start to the day.

The á la carte offers a selection of cured meats such as salami and prosciutto with olives and crispy bread amongst the antipasti. Further on, main courses might involve spaghetti carbonara, with smoked pancetta, free range eggs and double cream. There are also eleven thin crust pizzas and for dessert, the homemade chocolate meringue with two scoops of gelati help finish the meal admirably. Spirits, liqueurs, cocktails are popular while the predominantly Italian wine list is extensive and varied.

In the English Riviera, on South Devon's beautiful coast Port Salut is situated in one of the most prominent buildings in the area. A refreshing change to the hustle-bustle of Torquay, it's an inviting and glamorous restaurant with high ceilings, elaborate mouldings, sparkling chandeliers and an imposing bar all drawing upon its past, when it was the Devon and Cornwall Bank.

A daily changing menu that uses the freshest of local produce is a pick and mix of exotic and comfort food. Manchego goats cheese parfait, tomato compote, citrus brioche or Thai crab with shrimp noodle, fried garlic and pickled vegetables. Char-grilled aged rib eye steak, crumbled day boat fish or a chicken Kiev are few good options with which to follow.

By way of offering fine wines and stylishly exciting cocktails, Port Salut aims to bring back to Torquay the appeal of seaside resort living in a welcoming and tranquil atmosphere.

Elephant opened in 2003, since when a cornucopia of reviews, press comment and enthusiastic critics have left no room for doubt that we are looking at a major new addition to the culinary delights of the South West.

Chef Simon Hulstone is quoted as saying that Devon and the West Country has a wonderful larder, giving him the ability to source some of the best ingredients possible. As the holder of more than 30 international gold medals he is well placed to make the most use such natural bounty.

In a fashionably smart dining room expect to find creamed Jerusalem artichoke soup with foie gras and an orange syrup, or traditional Devon hogs pudding with morel and a wild garlic ragout and an egg boiled at low temperature.

Amongst the classics on offer consider the grilled rib eye of South Devon beef with hand cut chips and home made ketchup. A fillet of red mullet with a saffron stock, brown lentils and roast celeriac is a masterpiece of flavours that compliment, though you may feel tempted to add a side order of their renowned roast potatoes.

The desserts open up another veritable minefield of temptation, with the attention of many focused on the bitter chocolate and olive oil truffle, with raspberry and red pepper jelly and a passion fruit coulis.

Their bar food menu is equally inspiring in its own way, with the Elephant sea food platter a suitably celebratory dish. A small and perfectly adequate wine list ensures a quick decision. Elephant should be an addition to your ones-to-watch list.

Another of those wonderful seaside hotels where you can enjoy excellent seafood whilst looking over the sunlit waters and thinking of their relations beneath and yet to come. The Five Stars does not make for a stuffy experience at all and in the variety of places to eat there is a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere throughout. A splendid wine list helps things along.

Pizza Express remains a hugely popular bedrock of casual eating. Its popularity is testimony to the fact that across the country, they have restaurants where you will always be guaranteed a good nosh, with children's tastes being well catered for.

Pizza Express has gone even more Roman, and following the success of that particular example of listening to their public have introduced Romana pizzas, including the scorching Etna and the hearty Siciliana.

These pizzas are now thinner, bigger and crispier, and if that sounds like a marketing line, it is. However, unlike many such lines, this one is true, and their quality is always consistent, though cleverly they have still managed to retain a homemade feel to their pizzas.

As an alternative to pizza, try their pollo pesto - cavatappi pasta with torn chicken breast, mushrooms, red onions and mozzarella in a creamy gruyere, parmesan and pesto sauce and finished with grana padano - or the niçoise salad with mixed leaves, yellowfin tuna, free range egg, green beans, potatoes and tomatoes with olives, anchovies, capers and house dressing.

Many of the big chains have come a long way, and Pizza Express is certainly amongst them. One of the first to be quoted on the Stock Exchange - in 1993 - Pizza Express is not a franchise operation and retains tight control through its own staff.

Their wine list - though short - contains some surprisingly good offerings, especially their intense Australian Chardonnay, and a big, full-bodied Merlot from Cusumano, Sicilia.