Bistro at Hotel du Vin - Poole

We hear a great deal about recycling these days - du Vin recycles attractive but un-loved buildings to restore real gems in the best tradition of British understated style.

Complement that with all that is best in the French bistro ethos, bars that reach out to please, and you have a setting that provides an inspirational background for people to meet, do business, get married, provide a base for golf or fishing, somewhere you can call your own for a private celebration, a spa or - most engagingly - a wine school that breaks the mould.

Think quintessential British style. Elegant and unpretentious. Combine this with great spirit, wit, an unquestionable devotion to wine, and you have captured the essence of Hotel du Vin.

At Poole, that haunt of the well heeled, du Vin has taken on the former Mansion House, a handsome building in close proximity to Poole Harbour. In addition to the customary delights of a first class hotel they have some extra goodies. For cigar lovers there is the Bothy Lodge where enjoyment of that particular kind can be pursued lawfully and without hindrance. You can dine there al fresco too in the sheltered courtyard. A La Roche tasting table in the hotel permits wine-lovers to embark on a voyage round the world's finest vineyards with minimal effort.

Thirty-eight bedrooms and suites incorporating many of the original features of the Mansion House, with handsprung mattresses, fine Egyptian linen, plasma screens and DVDs throughout, deep baths and power showers. High speed wireless internet access is available in all rooms.

In the classy bistro, called Banquette, a choice of nine starters could include twice baked Dorset cheddar soufflé with herb cream, linguini of rabbit, oyster mushrooms and wholegrain mustard, a delicious local fish soup with saffron and thyme gnocchi, smoked seafood rillette and salad niçoise, or potted pork, piccalilli and toasted sour dough.

Head Chef, Darren Rockett follows a cuisine that changes daily and supports the hotel's philosophy of the finest and freshest local produce. Operating from an open kitchen that services the 80 seat bistro, Simple Classics for the first two courses yield Uig Lodge smoked salmon, shell on prawns, aioli and mixed leaf salad, and a grilled Donald Russell rib-eye steak with béarnaise sauce. The fish round here must not be missed, freshness to the last degree.

Main courses of breast of duck with pearl barley, pan-fried black bream with pea and smoked salmon risotto, or slow roast belly of pork with mixed bean cassoulet

Whilst one might argue that the whole point of being in a du Vin is to snuggle up to the wine list, this list is designed to march with the food and can only be described as superb. With Ivan Vegas as Head Sommelier there is no room for anything but the best. Service is telepathic in the best possible sense.

Click on their Website for full information and rates. Hotel du Vin, with fourteen options throughout Britain, awaits your call.