Houstons Bar and Grill

After extensive refurbishment, Houston's, an independent family-run restaurant has re-opened its doors as a Houstons Bar and Grill to the people of Leicester. Within, a softly lit interior of rustic bare brick and olive walls, wooden floors and wicker chairs promotes an air of refined charm. Upstairs a handsome dining room breathes elegance and good taste, with a supportive bar that offers comfort and a fine choice of wine and spirits.

Leicester used to be one of the most prosperous cities per head in Britain, and it has always had a generous share of life's little indulgences in the form of decent restaurants, of which Houstons Bar and Grill is a brand leader.

Houstons's sibling restaurant is Shearsby Bath near Lutterworth, where the family have a smallholding, from which produce for use in their restaurants is reared or grown. All dishes are homemade and cooked fresh to order.

A daytime menu sails under the name of lunch but it has plenty to offer in the way of substantial snacks and sandwiches, with salads and main courses that could include Houstons's bacon, spinach and blue cheese topped with a Shearsby Bath free range poached egg, grilled salmon teriyaki or an 8oz rump steak with hand cut chips. Their own char grilled steak burger is something of a local legend; perhaps it has something to do with the seasonal salad and garlic mayonnaise. If in company think in terms of Houstons's large Knickerbocker Glory, a large and spectacular confection suitable for sharing.

The set lunch menu carries with it a promise that you may 'eat, drink and enjoy, all within an hour'. This bold claim is serviced by three choices per course and a typical lunch could start with a rustic chicken liver pate, progress to a 6oz rump steak and finish with New York baked vanilla cheesecake. The same menu serves the pre-theatre customers. Prices for 2 or 3 courses are kind upon the purse.

The main event is, of course, dinner. An entrée of eight choices offers a smoked salmon plate with lemon, capers, shallots and soda bread, deep fried brie bites with a sultry relish, or perhaps a chicken or prawn Caesar salad, a refreshing and healthy starter. The range of main courses is inspiring and be warned, it is one of those menus where choosing is a real hazard and all dishes seem to grip your attention. Altham's quality assured, 21 day aged prime English beef reared on Cumbrian fellsides produces some fine cuts, not least the 16oz côte du boeuf for two.

Every day fresh fish is served dependent upon the market, and sea bass and giant king prawns are always available, served with seasonal salad and a choice of handcut chips, new potatoes or couscous, and three fish sauces. Houston?s mixed grill, happily enjoying a general renaissance it would seem, offers a gargantuan plate of meat delicacies for the seriously hungry.

Eight really beguiling desserts await your discerning eye, including the charming artist's palette, a sweet biscuit palette with a selection of ice cream and sorbet with chocolate brushes. Houstons's say that their wine list is simple and I would not disagree beyond adding 'inspired'. Relatively brief for the benefit of those whose heads ache before they drink, guests are delighted with a beautifully selected list of around thirty numbers, up to half of which can be bought by the glass, including two of the five champagnes.

Houstons Bar and Grill's Website will tell you all about the place without hyperbole, but the way it is. Which is - a splendid restaurant that has not forgotten that the customer is king.