Nick's Restaurant

In the county town of Rutland is one of the best-kept culinary secrets of the East Midlands. When I talk to chefs in the area and ask them where they spend their nights off, those who will admit they actually have one smile reflectively and murmur, well, Nick's, and others add, 'of course'.

I suppose that might be the point to end this summary with the restaurant equivalent of 'I rest my case, m'lud', but that would be less than fair to Simon McEnery and both his kitchen and front of house team.

Attached to the much respected Lord Nelson's House Hotel in a corner of Oakham's ancient market place, Nick's has quietly and comparatively quickly acquired a reputation for food that does not reach for the mountain peaks of dining experience, but moves along the increasingly popular path of genuinely un-fussed ingredients of quality presented in recognisable and complementary form.

The results are compelling. The a la carte menu, without doubt the flagship menu of the house, could start with a half-chilled melon with port roasted figs and a summer fruit sorbet; avocado and crab salad with seared red mullet and dill mayonnaise.

Seafood has a place of honour at Nick's, starting with half a dozen Scottish oysters, or a dozen if you prefer. Where oysters go lobsters tend to go also, so choose between a half lobster salad or a whole one chargrilled with herb butter. A Mediterranean fish casserole, that most delicious of dishes is served with hot crusty bread and can be taken as a starter or main course. No restaurant that monitors on fish can be without its cold seafood platter - at Nick's think lobster, oysters, clams, mussels, smoked salmon and king crevettes, all served with a sparkling fresh green salad, again either as a main or starter.

However, don't let your enthusiasm for the fruits of the sea deflect you from other dishes, such as a remarkable roasted sweet potato ravioli on cardoncelli mushrooms with red pepper sauce, roast rack of English spring lamb on red onion confit, fondant potatoes and rosemary jus, or tornedos of fillet steak served on a parfait crouton with a wild mushroom and red wine sauce.

Seafood may be a speciality, but chargrilled dishes also enjoy the same care and attention to detail that characterises Nick's. Sirloin and fillet steaks are served with oven roasted tomato, green salad, hand cut chips and sauce béarnaise, with peppercorn as an option for those who prefer a bit of bite. Salmon, organic of course, is supported by asparagus ands watercress salad, citrus dressing and dill hollandaise served with new potatoes.

The table d'hôte option is available Tuesday - Thursday, with three or four choices from a starter/main menu, and includes a glass of house wine.

Nick's is at the centre of a busy market town, with a large public school interwoven amongst its handsome stone buildings, and there is no lack of trade at lunchtimes, with a table d'hôte of three or four choices from a two or three course option; excellent value, served with time in mind. If that is still pushing your luck go for the 'lunch for less' two course.

The modern wine list is an admirable selection from a very widely flung net that does ample justice to the excellent cuisine.

For up to the minute information try a click on their no-nonsense Website.