Some meals are easy.

Everyone orders their own main course, and the conversation stops while the plates arrive.

Other meals are much more fun when the table gets involved.

You order a few things, pass them around, argue over the last piece of chicken and add something else because nobody has quite had enough of the menu yet.

Peterborough has several places that suit that kind of outing, but they do it in different ways.

Here’s where to look, depending on the meal you have in mind.

Tap & Tandoor: Indian small plates in the city centre At Tap & Tandoor in Queensgate, the menu is built for mixing and matching. Its Peterborough menu lists Indian small plates from £6.95 to £8.95, alongside larger dishes such as a mixed grill priced at £21.95.

That gives a table plenty to work with.

A couple could order several smaller dishes and add the mixed grill, while a bigger group can build a spread without everyone having to settle on one curry or one rice dish.

The location — 53 Cumbergate, inside Queensgate Shopping Centre — also makes this an easy city-centre choice for a catch-up, pre-cinema meal or casual dinner where nobody wants to make the whole evening too formal.

The Brewery Tap: Thai dishes for the middle of the table The Brewery Tap on Westgate takes a more structured approach.

Its Thai set menus are specifically designed for sharing, with options listed at £24, £26, £28, £30 and £35 per person.

There’s also a Thai tapas option listed at £19 for three dishes.

That is the one to look at if your group wants a little variety without committing to a full set menu.

This suits the classic “let’s all order different things” dinner: one person can choose something fragrant, another can go for heat, and the table can keep the plates moving.

The set-menu format also removes some of the usual group-ordering faff.

You’re not trying to calculate how many dishes will feed six people while someone secretly orders chips on the side.

The Brewery Tap is at 80 Westgate, Peterborough.

The Woodman: a lower-cost small-plates plan For a more relaxed pub meal, The Woodman at Thorpe Wood has a dedicated small-plates deal.

The current offer lists three plates for £15.95 or five for £23.95.

The examples include halloumi bites, squid, tacos, wings and chicken tenders.

It’s a familiar, easy-going mix rather than a tasting-menu experience, which is exactly why it could work for a group with different appetites.

Three plates gives two people a chance to share a few bites alongside drinks or another order.

Five plates makes more sense for a table that wants to turn the deal into the main event. It’s also a handy format for a mixed group: nobody has to agree on one style of food, and the menu has enough recognisable choices for cautious eaters.

The Woodman is in Thorpe Wood, Peterborough, PE3 6SQ.

Check the venue’s current deal details before setting off, as offers and menus can change.

Prévost at Haycock Manor Hotel: the special-occasion version If “try several dishes” means a longer, more polished meal rather than a pile of plates in the middle, Prévost at Haycock Manor Hotel in Wansford offers a different option. 

Its current offer is a five-course tasting menu with wine pairing, priced from £260 per couple.

This isn’t a sharing-plates deal, so it belongs in a different category.

 You’re not choosing a table full of dishes; you’re letting the kitchen take you through several courses.

That makes it the choice for a birthday, anniversary or an evening when the meal itself is the plan.

At £260 per couple, it sits well above the casual options in this list, but it also offers a completely different sort of outing.

So which one should you choose?

For Indian flavours and a flexible order, start with Tap & Tandoor.

For a Thai meal where sharing is already built into the format, look at The Brewery Tap.

The Woodman is the most casual and affordable route to several plates, while Prévost is the one for a full tasting-menu occasion rather than a spontaneous group order.

The best pick depends less on a universal winner and more on how you want the evening to work.

Do you want to browse, build your own spread and keep ordering?

 Choose a small-plates menu.

Do you want the kitchen to decide the sequence?

Go for the tasting menu.

If you’ve found another Peterborough-area restaurant that makes sharing and sampling especially easy, send us the name and the dish people should order first.