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When one of the country's most respected and leading critics says that a restaurant in this group is 'the best Italian Restaurant outside London' it is time to take them seriously. Britain's love affair with Italian food is a cause célèbre of long standing and shows no signs of waning, so it is always welcome news when somewhere like San Carlo sets out to reach for the skies.

Located in the heart of Leicester, San Carlo is well suited to catch both day and night time business, and the menu reflects this. There are a wide range of dishes, plus blackboard specials, offering snacks, meals, celebrations, all in true Italian style, dishes that bring Italy into the very centre of life in the city. San Carlo is one of a chain of similar restaurants, yet each one has its own personality.

The San Carlo at Leicester is particularly famous for having the city's only wood burning oven, ensuring that they produce the freshest pizzas in the area.

Favourite dishes include sliced prime Scottish fillet of beef with a light dressing of capers, anchovies, garlic and extra virgin olive oil, and that old favourite of connoisseurs the world over, pan fried breast of chicken with white wine, mushrooms and cream sauce, garnished with asparagus. Many of the ingredients to create these dishes are imported from Italy, and it goes without saying that the wine list is unashamedly and spectacularly of the same origin.

A combination of Italian cuisine and fish has always seemed logical - all that coastline - as well as highly attractive to the British taste. The antipasti at San Carlo includes a mixture of squid, prawns and mussels, deep-fried whitebait, and scallops in white wine and garlic. Amongst the main courses expect to find grilled whole sea bass, a mixed grill of fish, special pasta with lobster, brandy, tomato, cream and peas, or giant prawn and scallops in garlic and chilli.

It is customary to look for Italian wines in such places, nor will you be disappointed, but there are a few French inclusions also, with a rather nice Chablis in evidence. House wines, and few off the list, are available by the glass. Service is a good example of that Italian 'just make yourself at home we'll look after everything' manner, when you generally surprise yourself by taking their advice. In Britain we just say 'no problem', which may be succinct, but lacks style.

San Carlo Leicester is a real gem amongst the San Carlo collection, with its location in Granby Street, and its architecture and décor providing the best of Italian luxury. Groups are welcome at San Carlo, but to preserve the balance between groups, a limit of up to nine people applies on Friday and Saturday, and twenty to thirty on weekdays. Booking will always make for security but in general the arrangements mean there is room for everybody.

Ultimately a restaurant is judged by two main factors, each dependent upon the other. Combine quality food with life's movers and shakers in attractive surroundings and you have a sure fire record for the sweet buzz of success that permeates San Carlo.

Make sure you check out their Website to bring you up to date on special events at San Carlo Leicester.

Housed in a striking Grade II Listed, formerly a grammar school, 1573 Bar and Grill is ideally situated to provide a welcome haven for busy shoppers after a trip to the Highcross Shopping Centre nearby. Just a short walk from popular landmarks like St. Martin's Square and the Jewry Wall Museum, 1573 Bar and Grill is also just a stone's throw from Cinema De Lux and is the perfect place to unwind with friends after a movie.

Spread over two floors, the decor is charmingly rustic and the cosily-lit dining area features oak beams, exposed stonework and well-spaced tables for an intimate dining experience. The delightful terrace area at the front is great for a relaxed al fresco meal during summer.

The daily menu at 1573 is traditional with lots of appealing homely dishes and a selection of steaks, seafood, sandwiches and salads prepared using the finest fresh, seasonal ingredients. Enduring classics such scampi and chips, full rack of baby pork spare ribs and the 1573 classic mixed grill of 4oz fillet steak, Lincolnshire sausages, lamb chop and a half chicken breast served with fried onions are available all day.

Starters of Cajun king prawns with peppers, coriander and tomato sauce served with lemon dressed cucumber, and fresh Scottish mussels mariniere could be followed by an exquisite 21-28 day aged steak selection sourced from Scottish and Irish farms. Seafood and vegetarian options such as baked Scottish salmon with a basil crust, served with roasted peppers and sweet chilli crème fraîche, and aubergine stuffed with Cajun spiced chickpeas, peppers with halloumi are equally satisfying.

Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in a warm chocolate fudge cake served with rum and raisin ice cream, or key lime cheesecake with fruits of the forest coulis. 1573 Bar and Grill also offers a children's menu and a selection of burgers and baguettes at lunchtime.

To gain further information, just visit their extremely comprehensive Website.

Offering wonderful views over the River Soar and the historic Castle Garden opposite, Colourworks is a delightful place to eat and drink at Westbridge Close, in Leicester. Only a minute's walk from Braunstone Gate, and close to the bustling Highcross, St. Martin's Square and Haymarket Shopping Centres, the restaurant is the perfect place to put your feet up after a busy day of shopping. Colourworks is also conveniently close to landmarks and attractions such as the Jewry Wall Museum, the Cinema De Lux and the King Power Stadium, home to Leicester City Football Club.

The restaurant boasts sleek and contemporary decor with cosy seating and dim lighting to create the ideal setting for a formal business lunch, a relaxed family meal or a celebration with friends.

The menu is equally impressive and offers a choice of five starters such as Cajun spiced coriander king prawns bruschetta with pineapple and pepper salsa, and crisp belly of pork with apricot chutney. The main course selection includes roast honey glazed Gressingham duck breast served with potato rosemary mash and kumquat sauce; pan fried salmon with spinach and creamy champagne prawn sauce, and medallions of venison with rosemary mash and red wine served on weekends.

Pizza and pasta lovers are well catered for with choices such as spaghetti carbonara, lasagne al forno, penne with aubergine, mushroom and peppers and margherita. Colourworks also offer a lunch and Sunday carvery menu.

To round off a satisfying meal diners with a sweet tooth could choose between a warm chocolate and raspberry fondant with vanilla ice cream or freshly baked lime cheese cake with a kiwi coulis.

The concise drinks menu offers an impressive selection of wines available by the glass or bottle, alongside champagnes and cocktails.

For special occasions there is a heated terrace marquee available for hire with customised party menus, or you could host a drinks party at the Snug and Music Room.

More information can be found on their Website.

Housed within the buzzing Meridian Leisure Park, Bella Italia offers a delicious range of Italian dishes in a warm setting. An ideal place to unwind before or after a movie at the nearby Vue Cinema, Bella Italia is also close to the Hollywood Bowl and the David Lloyd Health Club.

The comfortable interior featuring dark wooden tables, a separate bar area and plenty of photographs on the walls creates a relaxed, informal atmosphere, making it just the place for a delicious meal with family and friends.

It is always worth remembering that eating Italian is a great opportunity to work away through something rather more liberating than the conventional 3 course English meal. Little and often seems to be the motto but move on to the antipasti and it's immediately obvious this is no easy task, confronted with well over a dozen dishes, not one of which you really have the heart to turn down. The selezione classica assembles a few of the favourite starters; oven baked lemon and rosemary chicken wings, spiced meatballs, calamari, mini garlic butter-filled calzoni and lightly battered courgettes served with flamed pepper and lemon herb dips.

A speck e rucola pizza, added to a traditional margherita brings together two traditions with Italian speck ham providing the second, but it is within the pasta and risotto dishes that you can adapt almost any main ingredient, as well enjoy some of Italy's most traditional treats. Who can deny a well-formed spaghetti Bolognese or penne Marco Polo? And not for nothing is a nicely prepared spaghetti carbonara the preferred dish of many.

From a selection of five choices amongst the secondi many will head unerringly for controfiletto ai ferri, an 8oz rump steak char-grilled to preference and served with garlic butter, roast field mushrooms and rocket, or the fritto misto, lightly battered prawns, cod fillet, calamari and courgette with fries and a herb lemon and caper dip.

Could anything be more appropriate than The Godfather, for 1 or 2 naturally, with nutty chocolate fudge brownies, vanilla and honeycomb ice cream with chocolate sauce, fresh cream and wafer curls, and rest assured the coffee will do justice to the meal.

With a wine list that makes few concessions to other countries - and why should it - good Italian food can receive an equally national baptism by wine. For further enlightenment, news about their on-line shop and special deals, a click on their lively Website will reveal all.

More information can be found on their Website.

In a city where anything goes architecturally speaking, it comes as no surprise to find that one of Leicester's most striking restaurants is housed in a former luggage manufactory, though in truth it would be very hard to believe that now from an interior point of view.

Heaven knows how much time and money has been spent both before and since the opening of The Case in 1990, but the result, across four floors is a place of great atmosphere that has been skilfully transformed into a welcoming series of spaces that offers almost a way of life, with a shop and tasting room, great areas for private parties, a champagne bar and snug, meeting place for conferences and a fine setting for wedding parties.

There are places like The Case, which set out to provide much the same sort of service, but some of them still lack that most vital ingredient, the willingness to do what the customer asks for within reason. However, no chance of that at The Case where the customer is king. The best catering manager I've ever employed was the one who used to say to me 'no problem' - and delivered without fail.

What then of the food? A weekly set lunch provides both a service and a shop window. From a choice of four dishes per course, a 2 or 3 course meal that would set you up for the day is well within reach. Try crispy wonton parcels with an oriental sauce, followed by a chargrilled pork steak with stilton dauphinoise, winding up with chocolate dip strawberries and ice cream.

Dinner offers around ten choices per course and could start with seared scallops on a warm salad of wild mushroom and shallots with truffle dressing, followed by chargrilled fillet of beef with seared calves liver, horseradish rosti and Madeira sauce, or pan fried black bream on a mussel and clam chowder with sautéed spinach, leeks and saffron potatoes.

A dessert of banana tarte-tartin with Navy rum sabayon and yogurt sorbet would ensure the end to a meal made from fresh ingredients and produce, served with charm and accompanied by a wine list that does not shy away from more expensive wines but recognises the majority will probably go for something more within their means. There are plenty of these, clearly chosen by an eagle eye combined with a good nose. Several, including champagne come by the glass.

Children are welcome with plenty to occupy their active little minds whilst the grown-ups bore on. Having a party in the champagne snug, with its special menus that includes for instance a cooked through fillet steak sandwich with Roquefort and red onion marmalade is a way to make your friends feel extra special.

The Michelin Guide has smiled on The Case - for ten years to be precise. They set a green example, from the daily collection of its waste and 70% conversion rate, to their consistent efforts to ensure that as much produce and ingredients are locally sourced.

As an example of how a restaurant should be run there is so much more that could be said in favour of The Case. The answer really is to go and see for yourself - suffice to say it has been a pleasure to write about a restaurant that takes such pride in what it does - and does it so well.

To catch up on the rest check on their Website which, in itself, demonstrates their attitude to their life and work. I suspect you?ll like what you see.

One of the hallmarks of quiet and unostentatious excellence when it comes to pubs, inns or eating houses, whichever fills your sails, is a kindly word or two from that widely travelled independent arbiter of good taste, Alastair Sawday. On the subject of The Almanack and its siblings he observed, 'the most innovative small pub group in the land'.

In a city not entirely reeling from the burden of visible history Almanack has made a wise choice, overlooking a sunny new public square and The Old Grammar School, yet only a two minute walk from John Lewis and the Showcase cinema, ensuring that good retail opportunities and decent entertainment are within easy reach.

With close connections to the people behind The Rose and Crown in Warwick, and a sister pub in Kenilworth, there is an encouraging background of goodwill, great food and friendly relaxed service.

Likeable Senior Head Chef Corin Earland joined Almanack from The Fishes near Oxford which, under his inspiration was named as Al Fresco Dining Pub of the Year, whilst winning for himself a prestigious Acorn Award, given to rising stars in the world of catering.

Ingredients are of the highest quality available and organic and free range products feature widely in the dishes. Deli boards range over five main headings, cheese, cold cuts, veggie, fish and favourites, making good snack or starter dishes. Amongst other starters or light mains expect to find herb pancakes, summer vegetables and ricotta stuffing with/without salmon, and the free-range duck with coconut, honey glazed cashews, coriander and spring onion salad.

Main courses explore traditional and much loved dishes with pan-fried Welsh sea bass, free range sausages, pan fried Cornish gurnard fillets and splendid Casterbridge rump steaks never far away. A roast of the day ensures that regulars can throw their own almanacks away - if it's Friday, for instance, look forward to free-range gammon - all served with hot vegetables.

In summer months expect to find some good spine-sticking desserts such as iced lemon meringue parfait or dark chocolate mousse with orange tuile.

For those in need at an early hour, breakfast is served from 8am-noon, either at the pub or carry-out. Nothing too elaborate but well up to the task of getting the show back on the road.

Children are of course welcome and have their own menu with Almanack taking a view that they are equally welcome to use the other menus, perhaps with smaller portions, in the interests of introducing children to more adventurous good eating.

A wine list of sensible proportions gives ample choice without causing the bafflement that often ensues when a more elaborate list is on the cards. There's plenty of room for private parties, and the menu changes in natural rhythm with the seasons.

Their Website will tell you more and keep you up to date with events at this splendid place dedicated to good eating in the heart of Leicester.

Bella Italia is a restaurant that pulsates with Italian style and fashion, where the day starts with breakfast, not least the Inglese, the familiar bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato and fried or scrambled eggs and sauté potatoes with ciabatta toast so beloved of hearty eaters seeking a good start to the day, particularly when they don't have to prepare it. A vegetarian option is available, along with the bambini of sausages, tomato and scrambled egg, or a strapazzata, scrambled eggs on ciabatta toast. A cappuccino or hot chocolate offers a more gentle awakening and croissant or pastries are welcome at almost any time.

It is always worth remembering that eating Italian is a great opportunity to work away through something rather more liberating than the conventional 3 course English meal. Little and often seems to be the motto but move on to the antipasti and it's immediately obvious this is no easy task, confronted with well over a dozen dishes, not one of which you really have the heart to turn down. The selezione classica assembles a few of the favourite starters; oven baked lemon and rosemary chicken wings, spiced meatballs, calamari, mini garlic butter-filled calzoni and lightly battered courgettes served with flamed pepper and lemon herb dips.

A speck e rucola pizza, added to a traditional margherita brings together two traditions with Italian speck ham providing the second, but it is within the pasta and risotto dishes that you can adapt almost any main ingredient, as well enjoy some of Italy's most traditional treats. Who can deny a well formed spaghetti Bolognese or penne Marco Polo? And not for nothing is a nicely prepared spaghetti carbonara the preferred dish of many.

From a selection of five choices amongst the secondi many will head unerringly for controfiletto ai ferri, a 7oz sirloin steak char-grilled to preference and served with garlic butter, roast field mushrooms, fries and rocket, or the fritto misto, lightly battered prawns, cod fillet, calamari and courgette with fries and a herb lemon and caper dip.

Could anything be more appropriate than The Godfather, for 1 or 2 naturally, with nutty chocolate fudge brownies, vanilla and toffee ice cream with chocolate sauce, fresh cream and wafer curls, and rest assured the coffee will do justice to the meal.

With a wine list that makes few concessions to other countries - and why should it - good Italian food can receive an equally national baptism by wine. For further enlightenment, news about their on-line shop and special deals, a click on their lively Website will reveal all.

Café Rouge has over one hundred branches throughout Britain all offering a wide range of dishes drawn from the French cuisine. Slightly less than half their branches are in or close to London. Almost inevitably the décor and design of each restaurant differs from the others, but there is a general curtsy towards La France.

Many restaurants do an excellent breakfast, or shall we say petit dejeuner, at which such delights as scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toasted brioche, croque Madame, croissants and pain au chocolat make welcome appearances, and to their credit the English traditional gets top billing.

An array of small dishes takes in pulled pork pâté with French bread, and spicy beef and lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise. Salads and pasta feature largely, as do baguettes and croques. Quick dishes, ideal for lunch, include slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread.

Moving on to more serious stuff we find steaks, an 8oz bavette and thin cut rib eye, with a choice of béarnaise or peppercorn sauce. No French menu would be complete without the poulet jaune grille, pan-roasted breast of corn-fed chicken served on a warm taboulé of bulgar wheat and a medley of roasted vegetables with minted crème fraîche, or a steak frites before moving on to the crème brûlée, or the tart tatin. Almost invariably the coffee tastes like coffee should, something that sadly can all too often still not be said of our English restaurants, who depend too much upon technology and too little on the acquisition of a certain flair for this important conclusion to a meal.

By now we all know that the French, despite their distinctive habits when it comes to matters of satisfying the inner man, maintain a miraculous longevity of life. This is generally attributed to a number of causes, of which a measured consumption of decent wine is foremost. Café Rouge, you may be pleased to hear, encourages this with a well-chosen selection of French wines. Their prix fixe lunch and meals for children, both at a very reasonable figure, also offer excellent value.

Their Website will keep you updated on menu changes, news and other competitions and offers from the Café Society.

The Beefeater Grill range of restaurants, owned by the well established firm of Whitbread has transformed over time into what is now predominantly a cooking platform for chargrill. The restaurants are warm, modern and stylish, with low lighting and contemporary artwork. A comfortable, cosy, mainly booth layout offers guests their own space with no feeling of being hurried at any point. Staff are friendly and helpful if need be - what a difference that can make to a good evening out.

Be it the wide open spaces of Argentina, the intimate setting of a French restaurant, or a busy grill in London's West End, there's no denying the popularity of chargrill. As the production of quality beef, chicken, fish and lamb has grown, prices have come down by comparison, and the simple and traditional art of minimally cooking dishes by chargrill, sealing in the flavours and tastes by intense heat has caught the public imagination.

All the steaks at Beefeater Grill are matured for a minimum of 28 days before being seasoned. Whether it be juicy rib eye, the classic sirloin, that emblem of the Sunday lunch, a tender fillet, or a delicious 7oz rump, all grilled to your own specification, you're never far away from perfection. Even beefburgers have shaken off their dubious image and the highly popular Beefeater burgers are made from 100% beef.

The popular sirloin with giant prawns offers a treat to those for whom an alliance between sea and pasture is a natural attraction, whilst a 16oz steak platter links rump, fillet, sirloin and rib eye into one mouth-watering dish served with chips, battered onion rings, grilled tomato, a flat mushroom and peppercorn and brandy sauce.

Many of us love rib meat, and the rack of ribs at a Beefeater Grill has a meaty rack smoky flavour; maple ribs of pork with a choice of three sauces, mojito, smoked caramel and apple glaze, or Bourbon and black BBQ. And if all else fails and you are totally baffled by the wealth of choices, ask to have a word with the Steakmaster who will help find what is right for you, together with the best cooking method. These guys leave nothing to chance.

On a menu that is a delight to read, let alone choose a meal from, expect to find smaller dishes such as traditional prawn cocktail, whitebait, chicken liver pâté and baked Camembert, or juicy lamb koftas served with yoghurt and mint dip. There's something about a good steak meal that always leaves a gap for a little temptation to sweeten up the scene and from amongst twelve options look for Belgian chocolate cheesecake, treacle sponge pudding or a caramel apple crumble pie.

Throughout the day a wide range of more general dishes are yours for the ordering, sandwiches, jackets, classic favourites like fish and chips, pasta, salads, and sharing dishes of nachos, potato shells and a Beefeater Grill combo. Next door to many of the restaurants are Premier Inns, so staying the night whatever the circumstances need not be a problem.

And what about wine? Endorsed by Matthew Jukes, wine writer in the Daily Mail and bon viveur in his own right, a wine list that marches with the menu completes an impressive and compelling invitation to enjoy whatever takes your fancy at the nearest Beefeater Grill.

Click on their Website for menu updates and special offers.

A popular neighbourhood restaurant close to the Grand Hotel, Zizzi Leicester serves delicious Italian food in a vibrant setting on Belvoir Street. Just a 5-minute walk from the Curve Theatre, Zizzi is perfect for pre or post theatre meal, while Walkers Stadium, home to Leicester City Football Club, is just a 7-minute drive away.

With a comfortable, modern atmosphere, Zizzi is ideal place to enjoy a leisurely meal after visiting the nearby Jewry Wall Museum and Leicester Farmers Market.

The bustling open kitchen at Zizzi turns out freshly prepared, tasty fare. The extensive à la carte offers distinct sections of antipasti, salads, pizza and calzone, pasta, risottos and mains of seasonally changing meat and fish dishes with a variety of tempting desserts to finish.
 
Zizzi's special antipasti platter has mixed Italian meats with buffalo milk mozzarella, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, mixed olives and red onion focaccia bread. There's also choice of arancini, crispy risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and peas and served with a tomato chilli sauce as well as gnocchi gorgonzola, potato dumplings in a creamy gorgonzola and spinach sauce seasoned with nutmeg and black pepper, setting the tone for a hearty meal.

For a delicious pasta or risotto choose between penne vodka, king prawns, chilli, peas and Grana Padano in a creamy tomato and vodka sauce; ravioli di capra, goat's cheese and spinach ravioli served with tomato sauce and topped with pesto and pine nuts; zucca e pancetta, pumpkin, pancetta, spinach, sage and Grana Padano topped with mascarpone and rigatoni con pollo e funghi, chicken in a tomato, onion, rosemary and mushroom sauce. Gluten-free pasta is also available on request.

If you prefer a pizza, then you could try Zizzi's speciality pizza rustica, which couples extra thin and crispy bases with a range of toppings such as bufala, buffalo mozzarella with sunblush tomatoes, basil, rocket and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or mare e monti, one half topped with tiger prawn, courgette and mozzarella and the other with spicy sausage, tomato sauce and chilli, all finished off with a rocket and crème fraîche. The carne piccante calzone has marinated chicken, meatballs, Bolognese sauce, mushrooms, chillies, tomato and mozzarella while the clarissa version, has aubergine, and red pepper caponata, olives, goats' cheese, rocket, pine nuts, tomato and mozzarella. Zizzi's calzon'pizzas, half calzone and half pizza, add an interesting twist to the meal.

Sumptuous mains include agnello con peperonata, roasted lamb shank served with basil, roasted vegetables and a little pot of potatoes with tomato, red onion and Grana Padano; duck arrosto, slow roasted whole duck leg in a balsamic, olive and pancetta reduction served with Tuscan potatoes and green beans; and sea bass al vino, sea bass pan fried with wine, garlic and baby plum tomatoes and served with herby potatoes.

The scrumptious dessert list offers torta cioccolata with its thick hazelnut chocolate base topped with rich chocolate torte and served with vanilla mascarpone; homemade tiramisu; creamy vanilla pannacotta with fruit compote and torta Zizzi, an almond-based plum and fig tart topped with pistachios and icing sugar and served with gelato.

The wine list is dominated by a range of Italian wines from regions such as Veneto, Lazio, Sicily, Tuscany and Lombardy. Also on offer is an assortment of beers, and spirits as well as a range of soft and hot drinks.

More information can be found on their Website.