Cellar Restaurant, The

Had French knights come anywhere near to attacking Warwick Castle it seems possible that they could have been deflected from their task by an encounter with The Cellar, housed in a converted 16th century cellar half way up Smith Street.

Under the inspired leadership of award winning chef Lee Kalaker, with a long history of Michelin starred restaurants and 5-star luxury hotels is placing The Cellar on the culinary map, and a seasonally led menu concentrates on fresh produce from both sides of the English Channel. Everything is made in house.

The à la carte menu  starts off with a choice of six starters, grilled red mullet with orange and fennel salad, and coriander cream, or perhaps a ballotine of foie gras with apple and hazelnut salad.

Main courses offer a risotto made from spinach and Parmesan with a poached free range duck egg;  poached breast of Landes chicken, Savoy cabbage, white port and truffle sauce, or fillet of beef with Dauphin potatoes, wild mushrooms, baby onions and red wine jus.

That hallmark of French culinary classicism, the glazed lemon tart is given a twist with some honey ice cream, perfectly acceptable and indicative of an independent mind at work in the kitchen. A poached pear is served with mixed berry and white Zinfandel soup, and a trio of brûlée calls upon pistachio, chocolate and coriander.

A gourmand menu is a nice touch that appeals to those for whom contrast is everything, starting with a chef's appetiser before going on to seared diver scallops with cauliflower puree and crisp pancetta. Corn fed chicken terrine with onion marmalade serves as a well flavoured introduction to grilled sea bream, roasted fennel and Bouillabaisse sauce, before moving on to fillet of beef in red wine jus.

Chocolate brûlée and warm apple tatin are followed by coffee and petit fours, though an optional cheese course is also available. The only stipulation is that everyone on your table has to order from the gourmand menu, surely no great hardship.

But if times are hard their mid week special menu offers incredibly good value for money.

For further information and forthcoming events, as well as places to stay in the town, a quick click on their Website will do the trick.