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Ten minutes from Swindon and the M4, Stanton House is a real dream Cotswold country house unencumbered with the practical inconvenience of antiquity, but just as charming. The house has been added to with sensitivity to give space for 82 bedrooms. Outside beautifully maintained gardens give a restful background against which to relax and enjoy this delightful corner of England.

It comes therefore as something of a surprise, even if the name is a giveaway, to find that in the Mt Fuji Restaurant full-on Japanese cuisine is served, offering the opportunity for an insight into traditional Japanese culture and eating, starting with the design and décor before going on to food that is freshly prepared and cooked to enhance the flavours and sensations. As they say at the hotel, 'your tastebuds will be in heaven'.

Within the restaurant there are four distinct dining areas, Ashai, Kame, Tsuru and Sakura, offering the opportunity to experience traditional Hori Gotatsu, or low level seating. Best be aware that customers are required to remove their shoes on entering the restaurant. Attractively presented menus illustrate each dish, with descriptions in Japanese and English.

Starters of soya beans in their pods, octopus battered with fruit sauce and white fishcakes not only sound enticing but are seen to be too, a vital point in appealing to potential customers.

A typical dinner menu could consist of skewered chicken with a sweet soy dressing, lightly battered squid rings, three varieties of sashimi, four varieties of tempura, sea eel with a sweet soy dressing and Japanese omelette, and simmered spiced belly pork, and desserts include pancake with Azuki beans and Japanese ice cream with mixed fruits, jelly and sweet Azuki beans, all served in a bento box.

Pockets of sweet tofu filled with sushi rice; prawn, fishcake and vegetables, sliced beef sirloin with a sesame dressing, fried aubergine with hot soba soup are also excellent choices.

The manner in which English country house meets Japanese cuisine is skilfully handled, nor let it be supposed that European cuisine is not also available, in the Rosemary restaurant. But that, as they say, is another story; find out more on their Website.

Although the English countryside and the charming village of Stanton Fitzwarren seem a most unlikely setting for a Japanese restaurant, it's quite easy to make the connection once the facts are known. The nearby Honda factory has many employees from Japan and the hotel where the Rosemary Restaurant is housed, Stanton House Hotel is probably home to many of these expats, hence the need to assuage their homesickness and nostalgia with some delicious food as they would find in their own country.

The décor is simple and unfussy, and the gleaming dark wood of the furnishings and the airy French windows that look out over the meadows, elevate it from the mundane to classic elegance. Smiling waitresses make you feel at home and it's only natural to settle down with the anticipation of a good meal ahead.

The à la carte brings together all the favourites and the execution is top notch, making this a big contender among the best Japanese restaurants in Britain and as Mathew Fort, former restaurant critic of The Guardian, said, '..I'd say that the food coming out of Rosemary's kitchen is among the classier Japanese grub in Britain?.

Starters include the yakitori, skewered chicken in sweet sauce; sautéed ox tongue; sliced spicy belly of pork or the deep fried fish cake coated in a seaweed batter. Tantalising you further are the well known sushi and sashimi variants, prepared with salmon, squid, tuna, prawn or marinated mackerel, while the grilled eel with a sweet soya dressing on a bed of rice is a must for those who like to experiment.

The other way to enjoy the variety and delicacy of these dishes without the agony of choosing one over the other is to opt for the bento box. Traditionally, these were lunch boxes packed with different forms of food, and sent by home makers to their children or husbands. Today in Japan, commercially packed bento boxes are commonly seen everywhere as people want to eat on the go. At the Rosemary however, there is no rush, and the kaiseki bento provides a selection of 7 dishes, a feast for sure!

Tempuras, stir fries and teriyakis make their presence felt in the menu amongst other more traditional dishes such as tonkatsu, deep-fried and breaded pork loin and fresh salad or the Stanton chicken curry served with rice and a side salad. The Sunday lunch buffet is a fantastic deal and prices are heavily discounted for children; the all you can eat menu is a definite bargain too.

The Stanton House Hotel is a convenient place to stay if you plan to visit the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Avebury, Bath or Oxford. They have 82 rooms, all en suite with direct dial telephone and satellite TV. For more information about the hotel or the menus at Rosemary, a simple click on their Website will do the trick.

Brewer's Fayre restaurants offer a warm welcome to those who want a reliably tasty meal in pleasant surroundings, with plenty of choice, minimal fuss and friendly service. With a reputation going back 25 years they should have a fair chance of doing that, but don't take our word for it. Give them a try and see if you agree that this is how good quality pub food should be served.

Whether it's snacks, grills, pub classics, fish, Sunday roasts or side dishes they think their way through the options, talk to their guests, and then come up with the goods. Not everybody wants a full meal so they've considered the needs of those who want to keep the gap filled and the children contented, perhaps on a journey or a day out.

Hot filled baguettes are always popular be it sausage and red onion or a classic chicken club sandwich. Jacket potatoes are good on their own but filled with mature cheddar cheese and beans they take on a new dimension.

More paced occasions demand a wide menu, perhaps with starters of breaded butterfly prawns, chicken goujons or breaded camembert bites. Grills are there for the hungry and whole rack of meaty BBQ pork ribs served with extra sauce, chips and coleslaw can be very welcome. The days of the mixed grill are back - or did they ever go away - a 4oz rump steak, two pork sausages, and a gammon steak topped with a fried egg served with all the trimmings will remind you if they did.

Salmon and prawn fishcakes are served with buttered new potatoes, tartare sauce and a lightly dressed salad. A combination of sea and land comes with a rump steak, whole grilled chicken breast and breaded breaded butterfly prawns, served with chips and a side salad or garden peas.

The rise of eating out in pubs has brought into our daily lives a whole legion of what might be termed 'pub classics'. Many of them have their roots in what used to be called 'good home cooking' and include such dishes as sausage, egg and chips, beef and ale pie, chicken and mushroom pie and for the very daring a beef lasagne. Well, all of them and many more are on the menu at Brewer's Fayre, supplemented by such new regulars as vegetable Goan chicken curry, pork chop, chilli con carne and grilled chicken and bacon salad.

It has often been said that chicken tikka masala is now the most popular dish in Britain. Some may not really want to believe that, much as they love curry, but travel, population movement and other factors have widened our scope and they are probably pretty keen on fish and chips in Timbuktu.

What is certain is that the great British Sunday roast is exclusive to these islands, though copied maybe elsewhere or in ex-pat outposts. No surprise therefore that it's on the Brewer's Fayre menu. A trade of three roasts with an opportunity to trade up to a mega roast for a modest sum. With it come two Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh seasonal vegetables and that important element - gravy.

A fine list of immensely tempting desserts may well bring the most ardent weight-watcher to their knees. A short but well thought out wine list offers all choices, except champagne, by the glass. Staying the night - check to see if there's a Premier Inn next door - chances are you'll be lucky.

A quick click on their Website is always worth while. The only thing that stays still permanently is the quality which is helped by a changing menu, and some very special offers.

The Beefeater Grill range of restaurants, owned by the well established firm of Whitbread has transformed over time into what is now predominantly a cooking platform for chargrill. The restaurants are warm, modern and stylish, with low lighting and contemporary artwork. A comfortable, cosy, mainly booth layout offers guests their own space with no feeling of being hurried at any point. Staff are friendly and helpful if need be - what a difference that can make to a good evening out.

Be it the wide open spaces of Argentina, the intimate setting of a French restaurant, or a busy grill in London's West End, there's no denying the popularity of chargrill. As the production of quality beef, chicken, fish and lamb has grown, prices have come down by comparison, and the simple and traditional art of minimally cooking dishes by chargrill, sealing in the flavours and tastes by intense heat has caught the public imagination.

All the steaks at Beefeater Grill are matured for a minimum of 28 days before being seasoned. Whether it be juicy rib eye, the classic sirloin, that emblem of the Sunday lunch, a tender fillet, or a delicious 7oz rump, all grilled to your own specification, you're never far away from perfection. Even beefburgers have shaken off their dubious image and the highly popular Beefeater burgers are made from 100% beef.

The popular sirloin with giant prawns offers a treat to those for whom an alliance between sea and pasture is a natural attraction, whilst a 16oz steak platter links rump, fillet, sirloin and rib eye into one mouth-watering dish served with chips, battered onion rings, grilled tomato, a flat mushroom and peppercorn and brandy sauce.

Many of us love rib meat, and the rack of ribs at a Beefeater Grill has a meaty rack smoky flavour; maple ribs of pork with a choice of three sauces, mojito, smoked caramel and apple glaze, or Bourbon and black BBQ. And if all else fails and you are totally baffled by the wealth of choices, ask to have a word with the Steakmaster who will help find what is right for you, together with the best cooking method. These guys leave nothing to chance.

On a menu that is a delight to read, let alone choose a meal from, expect to find smaller dishes such as traditional prawn cocktail, whitebait, chicken liver pâté and baked Camembert, or juicy lamb koftas served with yoghurt and mint dip. There's something about a good steak meal that always leaves a gap for a little temptation to sweeten up the scene and from amongst twelve options look for Belgian chocolate cheesecake, treacle sponge pudding or a caramel apple crumble pie.

Throughout the day a wide range of more general dishes are yours for the ordering, sandwiches, jackets, classic favourites like fish and chips, pasta, salads, and sharing dishes of nachos, potato shells and a Beefeater Grill combo. Next door to many of the restaurants are Premier Inns, so staying the night whatever the circumstances need not be a problem.

And what about wine? Endorsed by Matthew Jukes, wine writer in the Daily Mail and bon viveur in his own right, a wine list that marches with the menu completes an impressive and compelling invitation to enjoy whatever takes your fancy at the nearest Beefeater Grill.

Click on their Website for menu updates and special offers.

This handsome house strikes quite a chord when you first approach, with its handsome classical frontage and large portico that at least leaves no shadow of doubt where the front door is located.

Inside all is calm and colour schemes that would delight to bits the average National Trust curator are the order of the day. There is the distinct feeling that Jesmond House is all about heart, and certainly the welcome afforded to guests (for they have rooms too) is warm and genuine.

Two menus, apart from lunch, vie for your attention: dinner à la carte and square meal. Since, on the evidence available they both fall into the last category, one wonders . . . . . Let's settle for the a la carte, with its starters of brown shrimp and salmon cannelloni, crushed peas and shellfish bisque, followed by locally smoked ribeye of beef with vanilla and Jerusalem artichoke puree. A plate of 'black' and 'blue' desserts to share sounds a good idea, thought the pear tart tartin with caramelised walnuts and wattle seed crisp might just get in the way.

Standards are high and whilst this is clearly a place where bed and dinner fit naturally together it also makes an appealing setting for those who want a good night out without running the risk of trainers and jeans looming on the immediate horizon. The AA seems to feel the same and gave them 5 stars and 2 rosettes in April 07.

Located in the heart of Swindon in Wiltshire, World Cafe as the name suggests, literally offers the world on a platter. Serving the finest cuisine from every part of the globe, World also comes with an ambience that suits everyone and every occasion - casual lunches, romantic evenings and family gatherings. With sophisticated modern interiors, an open kitchen and friendly service, the place is also ideal for special celebrations and corporate parties.

The chefs at World get a rush out of creating unique flavoursome dishes using freshly sourced produce and offering them in inventive styles. This love for authentic world cuisine is evident in everything from the Thai crab cakes and classic Italian pasta with meatballs to the Tennessee salmon steak and Mexicano wrap. There is an extensive drinks list including a hot drinks list for those who like a shot of espresso or a luxury hot chocolate with the meal. Live music nights, salsa lessons and film nights are more reasons to visit.

This pub has its own organic farm, and a chef to match! Acclaimed as a true gem hidden in the magical Wiltshire countryside, the food is unique as Liz Franklin's light touch turns the beef, veal, pork, dairy and eggs from Helen Browning's Eastbrook Farm into cuisine that's catching the attention of customers and critics. Guests can enjoy crisp, clean air during farm walks and participate in scrabble leagues.

The simple starters on the menu may typically include St. Tola goat's cheese on toast and hummous and toasted seeds. Main course consists of pork belly slow cooked with fennel and sherry cannellini beans, served with chilli beans and traditional rarebreed Wiltshire faggots with smoked ham, opitati gratin and vegetables. A white gooey chocolate soup and saucy lemon surprise pudding bring the meal to a perfect end.

The bar stocks interesting, simple real ales and features a short but powerful organic wine list.