Bradley's

It's not often that you hear about a restaurant set up by a husband and wife team who, knowing their own expectations when it comes to dining out, and having found them ill-met decided to create something that reflected those same expectations.

The result at King's Lynn, a thriving seaport in East Anglia with its roots well down into Norfolk, is Bradley's, a popular restaurant and wine bar, where the primary aim is to meet the needs and aspirations of their customers, a simple strategy which seems to pass right over the heads of some would-be restaurateurs.

Don and Julie Rutherford have worked hard to upgrade this former Georgian merchant's house which had rather gone down in the world and finally taken the commercial route to survival. True to history they drew on the origins of the house and the rest is now. And no, the merchant was not Mr Bradley, but Julie's pedigree black Labrador who responds with enthusiasm to the name as well as exuding the sort of quality for which the restaurant has become renowned.

Walk off the pleasant waterfront and you will find yourself in the Wine Bar, very much the social and relaxed hub of Bradley's, a place for a quick bite of lunch, a few glasses after a hard day before touching base, a good place to watch the sun go down over the river or hole up in the shady courtyard at the back. An interesting choice of brasserie style dishes might well result in you going no further, but if it's something rather more formal, up the stairs you go to the first floor restaurant where the elegance of a Georgian dining room awaits.

Here, amidst a sea of spotless napery, gleaming glassware and elegant furnishings three well-defined menus, à la carte dinner, a fixed price and the ever popular Sunday lunch, conspire to provide a gastronomic wonderland, supported by the enthusiastic comments of well-pleased customers. Start with a Braeburn apple stuffed with Binham Blue cheese, partnered with a Waldorf salad, or salmon and crab cakes with warm coconut and ginger dressing, before eying up an English fillet steak served with cherry tomatoes, flat mushrooms and hand-cut chips and sauce of choice. The turkey escalope with ham, cheese and chestnut stuffing finds common cause with a Madeira sauce and noodles.

With a tidal river flowing past the door piscatorial thoughts will not be far from mind, and grilled whole lemon sole, haddock fillet in Adnam's ale batter and a monkfish fillet wrapped in Parma ham could be flashing from the menu to attract your attention.

A fixed price menu of two or three courses for lunch or dinner, four choices per course, could start with a seafood tagliatelle in white wine sauce or avocado cocktail, either a vegetable curry with Basmati, or roast loin of pork and apricot stuffing, and heading for the final hurdle with vanilla cheesecake and poached blueberries or an apple crumble with homemade custard.

Sommelier Richard Ryan is on hand with advice about wine whether it is for your meal or for a special occasion that you wish to hold in this fine setting. There are eating places, be they top class hotels or the humblest village pub where you instinctively know that all will be well as you walk through the door. Of such is Bradley's, the dream made true of Don and Julie Rutherford.

Check on their Website for updates on menus and meetings of their popular wine society.