The French Franc may be dead - lost to European conformity - but in Chester Francs is very much alive. They've recently celebrated their 15th anniversary and, true to French tradition, they're not conforming to anything! They like to think that they add a special ingredient to French cuisine - fun!! The French just don't have their own word for it; at Francs, they take fun very seriously.

With three dining rooms buzzing with the residents of Chester, tourists from all over the world and local business people, the atmosphere at Francs is legendary - an essential part of what they are; not traditionalists but keeping the very best of rustic ideas and throwing in a few of their own.

The ovens were first switched on in 1987, since when 1,000,000 meals have been served, an impressive statistic when you come to do the sums. Certainly this delightful place remains one of Chester's favourites and the new ownership has taken on a big responsibility.

There are so many trusted and reliable dishes on the menu made in the spirit of minimal interference with the food and a desire to let the ingredients tell the story. Such simple things as the potage fume, with smoked haddock, potatoes, parsley, lemon and cream, or the passpartout with its joints of chicken slowly simmered with chick peas, sweetcorn, celery, fennel and spicy sausage in a creamy tomato sauce.