The best restaurants in Berkshire

Seasonality grew from a Queen Street shop selling restaurant-quality produce into a neighbourhood restaurant for chef Wesley Smalley and his wife Francesca.

Smalley's background includes running the kitchen at the Oriental Club, and dishes such as beef cheek massaman reflect that experience. The open kitchen makes the counter a good place to sit.

Housed in a former Lloyds Bank in Newbury, Goat on the Roof focuses on small plates, natural-leaning wines and carefully sourced ingredients.

Think Trealy Farm ham and Winchester cheese croquettes, plus patatas bravas - which took three years to perfect. Marble tables fill the restaurant downstairs, with a wine bar upstairs that focuses on UK and European bottles.

Three period fireplaces warm the oldest, 15th-century part of Heston Blumenthal's Bray pub, which has held a Michelin star for 13 straight years.

The classics are the point: triple-cooked chips, devils on horseback, quaking pudding. Groups can book the Vicar's Room, set around a table cut from one oak trunk; everyone else can prop up the bar with a pint.

The Waterside Inn has been a fixture on Bray's fine-dining scene since Michel and Albert Roux opened it in 1972, retaining three Michelin stars since 1985.

Alain Roux continues the restaurant's classical approach, with dishes such as lobster medallions in white port sauce, alongside a gueridon menu that brings some tableside theatre. Thames-side tables are particularly appealing in summer.

Monks, an exiled king's pet, or paint? The name most likely comes from the monkey murals the third Duke of Marlborough commissioned for his 1723 fishing retreat, still on show in the Monkey Room.

Cross the footbridge to this private Thames island for relaxed brasserie cooking, afternoon tea on a riverside terrace, and a spa that floats on a boat.

Fork is the relaxed restaurant at the Royal Berkshire, a Queen Anne mansion built for the Churchill family in 1705.

The menu sticks to hearty British favourites, with dishes such as bavette and triple-cooked chips alongside a Sunday roast. The 15-acre grounds are part of the appeal, with croquet and giant chess available after lunch, and well-behaved dogs welcome.

This refurbished coaching inn on the Bath Road in Speen is a useful stop for anyone visiting the Watermill Theatre, around a 20-minute walk away.

The kitchen keeps things familiar, serving breakfast, pub dishes and Sunday roasts, while 30 bedrooms make it possible to stay over. Dogs are welcome too, with treats and water bowls provided.

At Coworth Park, Michelin-starred chef Adam Smith presents his cooking through a country-house kitchen's four stages: Pantry, Larder, Stove and Pastry.

Guests choose three courses, with snacks prepared in the pantry on arrival, while a dedicated cheese room and a substantial bread course add to the experience. Ask for a table in the conservatory for views across the parkland.

Once an Edwardian swimming pool built to give women privacy, Thames Lido spent more than four decades derelict before reopening after refurbishment in 2017.

Today, the Bristol Lido team run the Reading pool as part of a restaurant, spa and swimming complex. Food leans Spanish, with tapas and larger plates cooked over fire, while breakfast makes an appealing post-swim option.

Heston Blumenthal's Bray restaurant is as much an experience as a meal, with two ways to approach its famously elaborate cooking.

The Journey follows a childhood holiday through a menu presented with maps and other surprises, while the Top Seat puts diners directly at the kitchen pass. Three Michelin stars have been held since 2004, and either experience takes several hours.

Set within 80 acres of parkland, The Terrace is the restaurant at Easthampstead Park's 19th-century mansion, with views across the formal gardens.

The menu covers all-day staples, from full English breakfasts and roasts to afternoon tea, with a children's menu of sliders, macaroni cheese and other crowd-pleasers. All in all, a straightforward choice for relaxed meals with the whole family.

Caldesi in Campagna offers regional Italian cooking in a cosy, brick-walled restaurant on Bray's Old Mill Lane, with a covered terrace for warmer days.

The influence is Tuscan, and the format changes through the week: Wednesdays focus on pasta, Saturdays can include hands-on cookery classes with Giancarlo or Katie Caldesi, and Sundays are reserved for long Italian lunches.

The more relaxed dining option at Cliveden House, The Astor Grill occupies the estate's former stable block, with horse-stall booths and saddle-style bar stools.

The menu has an American influence, reflecting the Astor family, alongside grill favourites and British classics, including beef tartare, a maple-bacon burger, cod and Wellington for two. Dogs are welcome, and the dress code is relaxed.

Calico brings together Indian flavours and Japanese techniques on the ground floor of Hotel 1843, opposite The Oracle.

Expect dishes such as Karaage 65 wings, ghee-roasted chicken yakitori and chicken sheek katsu with saffron pilaf, alongside cocktails and smaller plates. The setting works equally well for an affordable lunch or a more leisurely drink in the hotel's Victorian library.

Adam Handling's Old Windsor pub brings together Scottish and North East influences, reflecting the friendship behind its name.

The menu gives familiar pub dishes a more considered treatment, from haggis Scotch eggs and cheese doughnuts to seasonal trifle, while herbs and vegetables come from raised beds beside the terrace.

Look up on the way in: the chandelier dropping through the stairwell of this former 1911 Shire Hall holds 86,000 Italian crystal beads.

The Roseate's restaurant matches that sense of ceremony with oysters and caviar before dinner, and a seven-course tasting menu (wine flight optional), with vegan and vegetarian versions available too to cater to all.

Set in what was once Cliveden House's drawing room, The Dining Room combines grand interiors with seasonal cooking and views across the estate's gardens.

The menu makes use of produce from nearby growers, with a seven-course Cliveden Journey available with wine pairing. Ornate cornicing, chandeliers and the south-facing setting make this a destination for special occasions.