Tring, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

This enticing multi-cuisine spread at a country estate hotel near Watford is a real bargain at £74 per person (£94 per person on Friday dinner and at weekends) – “if I win the lottery I’ll be here every week”. There’s an impressive array of ‘stations’ to mix-and-match, from sushi, robata grill and Asian, via seafood, roast meats, live pasta, stone-baked pizza and salad bar to cheese & charcuterie, vegan and dessert. All-in-all, it makes for an experience that is entertaining and fun for all the family, if not necessarily very foodie.

“A consistently good local” from this indie group based in Hertfordshire and with a focus on sustainability – something they pioneered way before it became trendy, running their outposts on green energy and recycling all their waste. Handy for the High Street and the 11th-century cathedral and abbey church, the bright and airy three-floor venue offers “well-sourced, mostly local food” that’s also well priced: £20.95 for two courses, and £23.95 for three.

“Delicious sharing plates” of Turkish food that is “so much more than you’d expect” (for instance, meat is sourced from the organic Rhug Estate in Wales) draws a steady crowd to this 10-year-old St Albans outfit and its spin-offs in Harpenden and Berkhamsted. “It gets really full and buzzy on a Saturday night – probably one to book well in advance”. Top Tip – “the staff cater brilliantly for allergens”.