Dining Room at Purchases, The

This admirably comfortable, brilliantly run restaurant offers arguably the best cooking in Chichester, within easy reach of the town centre, the theatre and other key points of interest. It is also probably unique in that it takes its full name, The Dining Room at Purchases due to its location above the cellars of what was the country's oldest wine merchant; a promising start indeed. Above the cellars owner-chef Neil Rusbridger and his team produce a menu that can leave you in a crisis of decision, so spell-binding are the dishes.

The beautiful Georgian house has always been a prominent landmark in North Street. Tom Taussik writing in the Sunday Times Magazine remarked, 'This restaurant seems to meet your new criteria: they source most of the food locally, the atmosphere, service and cooking was very good when I visited and the menu is creative without being silly'. Apart from the richly decorated dining room there is a conservatory and a charming courtyard garden, with pavilions to deflect the odd drop of rain.

Shellfish and game are specialities of the house, but should these not be to your taste read on, there is plenty more. The essence of a starter is that it should tickle the taste buds, warm up the engine so to speak, without interfering with or prejudicing the larger treats to come. With these thoughts in mind consider the Selsey crab gratin with sushi ginger and leeks in a béchamel sauce, topped with gruyere, or pan-fried Scottish diver-caught scallops served with bacon puy lentils, dressed with tomato and herb Provençal.

The duo of crispy duck leg and duck breast in five spice marinade, served pink with braised red cabbage and a butternut and thyme velouté is of just the right piquancy. Classic favourites like the omelette Arnold Bennett, and smoked haddock omelette glazed with Hollandaise, remind us that Chichester is an ancient cathedral city with a strong sense of tradition that exerts its influence in a wide variety of ways. Always watch out for the fish of the day, invariably fresh and increasingly often making use of a more understanding approach to hitherto little known inhabitants of the deep, like sand sole, John Dory, halibut and sea bream. Sandwiches embrace smoked salmon or toasted walnut and Shropshire Blue.

If the seasonal platter of four different puddings on one plate is not your scene, there is a classical warm chocolate fondant with poached star anise infused pear, or more intriguingly a warm blackberry polenta cake served with orange zest crème fraîche. No surprise to find that glasses of Muscat and Sauternes are flying around amongst this course.

The Cellar Door occupies the Georgian cellars of the The Dining Room and from a list of over 200 wines and 400 spirits and liqueurs; guests are truly spoilt for choice. The idea is to be able to offer patrons of the restaurant the opportunity to take home wines they have enjoyed whilst dining and for the citizens of Chichester to enjoy the service that prides itself on quality more attributable to a bygone age. In addition to this there are some of the regular tutored wine tasting events and a range of wine accessories to choose from.

They now offer a stylish champagne, wine and cocktail bar - 31 North - so you can enjoy one of the many wines or champagnes offered by the glass - or one of the classic cocktails, either as a preamble to a meal or just to pop in with friends en route to another destination.

However, decide for yourself about the merits of The Dining Room at Purchases by visiting their exceedingly informative Website.