Lunch has a habit of becoming an administrative task.

You've got 45 minutes. Somebody's hungry. Somebody else needs to be back somewhere.

And suddenly you're standing underneath the same logo ordering the same thing you ordered last month.

Nothing wrong with that.

But Peterborough has plenty of independent places capable of rescuing lunch from autopilot.

Here are three very different ones to remember.

Fratelli Tavola Calda: the Italian option at Rivergate

Fratelli Tavola Calda in Rivergate Arcade gives you an Italian answer to the lunchtime question.

It's an independent restaurant and deli, with pasta, pizza, breakfast, coffee and lighter options among what's available.

The attraction at lunchtime is that it doesn't automatically have to become An Occasion.

Sometimes you want to sit down for a proper plate of food.

Sometimes coffee and something lighter will do.

Having both options in the same place makes Fratelli handy when two people have very different ideas about how serious lunch should be.

And if you've spent the morning walking around town, pasta suddenly sounds considerably more persuasive than it did at 9am.

Chaat & Chill: give the sandwich a day off

Over on Bridge Street, Chaat & Chill takes lunch in another direction with Indian street-food flavours.

This is the option for the day when another sandwich isn't going to cut it.

Street food also suits the slightly chaotic nature of lunch rather well. You don't necessarily want the ceremony of a big evening meal you just want something with enough flavour to make going out for it feel worthwhile.

Its central location makes it easy to combine with shopping, errands or a day in town.

MD Coffee: when lunch doesn't need to be enormous

Then there's MD Coffee on Westgate.

Coffee, homemade cakes and lighter lunch options make this the choice for the person who says:

“I don't want a massive lunch.”

And then looks at the cake.

Sometimes that's exactly what you want somewhere to sit down, have a coffee, eat something without writing off the afternoon and perhaps stretch the break a little longer than originally intended.

The best local lunch might not be in the city centre

These three aren't supposed to settle the argument over Peterborough's best lunch.

They're supposed to start a bigger one.

Because the really interesting question is what we're missing outside the obvious city-centre search.

Bretton. Werrington. Orton. Hampton. Stanground. The villages around Peterborough.

There must be cafés, bakeries, delis, pubs and tiny lunch stops people swear by that barely appear when somebody searches

 “lunch Peterborough.”

Tell us in the comments: where do you go for lunch around Peterborough when you want to avoid the usual chains and what should we order when we get there?