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 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.

Apart from the richly decorated dining room there is a courtyard garden, with pavilions to deter the odd drop of rain, and if push comes to shove there are tables on the paving stones at the front where you can watch the life of Chichester from a detached point of view.

The beautiful Georgian house has always been a prominent landmark in North Street. Tom Taussik writing in the Sunday Times Magazine remarks, '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'.

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 potato pancakes, topped with smoked salmon and a poached egg, goat's cheese filo parcel with sun-blushed tomatoes and mushrooms, gently infused with saffron and served with a mild curry sauce or chicken liver pate served with a homemade chutney and Granary toast.

The char grilled boneless quail I served with a mango dressing of just the right piquancy, Selsey crab provides the dressing for a Gallia melon flower, flavoured with passion fruit dressing. Incredibly good value are the half dozen fine Irish oysters, or the Scottish diver-caught scallops, made even more interesting by the addition of a little bacon.

All the main dishes carry a choice of salad and new potatoes or a selection of well-cooked vegetables. Classic favourites like the omelette Arnold Bennett, and the char-grilled noisettes of English lamb beautifully served on a bed of seasonal leaves, 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 widening approach to hitherto little known inhabitants of the deep. The pork and liver faggots are a delight to the dedicated connoisseurs of offal, where black pudding and haggis even, are welcome additions to the menu. Salads embrace Selsey lobster or roast rare Scotch fillet of beef.

If the Seasonal Platter of four different puddings on one plate is not your scene, there is a classical lemon tart, or more intriguingly a dark chocolate and Grand Marnier terrine. No surprise to find that glasses of Muscat, Madeira and Port are flying around amongst this course.

As for the wine lists I can only leave you to speculate. Suffice to say there is a List and there's a Connoisseur List, with sensible prices, many by the glass, including champagne. The surprising thing is that anyone eats anywhere else in Chichester.

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. Neil Rusbridger has also opened Tapas@31 North, a contemporary Tapas bar offering a mouthwatering selection of 'light bites' to enjoy at any time of day.

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