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A coaching inn that retains its old-world charm, The Calveley Arms is a popular eatery in the pleasant village of Handley and is a 10 minute drive from Chester, just off the A41. Surrounded by gardens, the place is a popular venue for weddings and other occasions, and also draws a large number of locals and food aficionados. The ambience is elegant and understated, with large wooden tables, huge wooden columns supporting a low ceiling and an old bar located at one end.

The menu offers a number of choices and varies constantly. The ingredients used are fresh and seasonal, employed in making dishes such as tarte flambé, a thin tortilla base spread with crème fraîche, onions and bacon, a speciality dish from France; tender grilled British steaks with vegetables; Chef's special Madras style curry served with rice, poppadum and mango chutney and depending on the season, pheasant, venison and lamb cutlets. Seafood is also much in demand, with fresh lobster as the house speciality.

Real ales, Belgian beers and constantly changing guest brews are the popular orders at the bar which complements the meal perfectly.

Dine in style at the Michael Caines restaurant at the ABode Chester in Grosvenor Road. It offers the award winning chef's modern British cuisine in a stylish setting. The swish dining room accommodate  diners comfortably indoors, while the outside terrace provides an open-air dining option in the city, directly overlooking Chester's famous racecourse. Service is friendly and efficient without being overly formal.

In addition to the à la carte and tasting menus, the restaurant features 'grazing menus' which offer smaller portions of dishes from the à la carte menu. Sample classic Caines dishes such as white haricot bean and black truffle soup, seared Scottish scallops, braised turbot and scallop and roasted breast of grouse. You could also try roasted pigeon breast, pan roasted duck liver, roasted skate wing with fennel purée, Lake District Farmers veal rump and sweetbread and slow-cooked marinated venison saddle with sprouts and glazed cranberries. The dessert selection offers rum and raisin chocolate fondant, hot raspberry soufflé and coconut pannacotta. An assortment of more than 150 wines from around the world delights the connoisseur.

It's bright, it's vivacious and it epitomises Italy perfectly, bringing you a lovely and continental setting, right here in the UK. Chic and modern elements fuse seamlessly with traditional charm and classic brasserie feel, and what you get is an ambience that resonates with a vibrant and contemporary buzz. The food is simply some of the best you can have outside Italy, and the fresh and superb quality ingredients along with the Neapolitan wood stone oven, makes sure that every dish is turned out authentically.

The fritto misto with fried squid, king prawn, asparagus and roasted garlic mayonnaise is a great way to begin, and crispy duck with honey roasted apples and Valpolicella red wine sauce makes a delicious main course. Pasta options are plentiful with favourites such as spaghetti carbonara and tagliatelle alla Bolognese; dessert includes the refreshing baked vanilla cheesecake with citrus blueberries.

Predominantly Italian, the wine list at Piccolino offers a number of choices alongside spirits and liqueurs.

Oddfellows on Lower Bridge Street was originally built as Bridge House in 1676 by Dame Mary Calveley, a wealthy widow, whose guests included influential people of the time. The décor is quirky, yet completely charming, but these little odd bits weave the fabric of this nouveau cultural hangout, whether it is the indulgently furnished bedrooms, street-level pantry, walled garden or the brasserie.

Consultant Chef Richard Phillips' ideals are propagated on the menu, which is centred around home-grown produce, so a meal here could start with honey glazed seared local beef or pan fried, diver caught scallops, before moving on to slow cooked belly of 'Landrace' pork, and grilled calves' liver. Desserts include a Manchester tart for two and a Cheshire cheeseboard. Their wine cellar has over 100 bins, with superb vintages and champagnes and other interesting wines.

Smoked salmon and creamy scrambled eggs make for a satisfying morning meal at Oddfellows, and look forward to some afternoon tea chatter over plates of gourmet sandwiches and cakes and the Earl Grey.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre but with close proximity to Chester, the Days Hotel is situated on the North Wales border and provides a host of facilities for guests travelling on business and leisure. Forty well designed and stylish bedrooms offer wireless internet connections, LCD televisions and luxury bathrooms as well as a leisure club with a heated swimming pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.

The imaginative menus offer dishes that are created fresh from locally sourced ingredients; start your day with breakfast and end it with a relaxed evening meal. A bowl of piping hot soup or flavoursome salt and pepper chicken wings with cucumber and spring onion raita could give you a good start.

Among main courses a retro mixed grill of chicken breast, bacon chop, minute steak, sausage, and black pudding with fried egg and chips vies for attention with honey marinated tuna kebabs, and Thai green chicken curry with jasmine scented rice and prawn crackers. Lighter bites take in baked potatoes, panini, sandwiches, and ploughman's lunches.

Surprisingly, though Chester is a major tourist destination, it is rather lacking in interesting and individual restaurants, as it is slightly dominated by chains; however, Aquavit has come along to help fill the gap in the market - and very successful it has been at that.

With its helpful and friendly staff, warm and different ambiance and interesting menu it provides a welcome addition to the local dining out scene, whilst also supplying amazing value, both at lunch and in the evening, especially with its set price menus.

Incredibly, a three course lunch can be enjoyed for a mere £6.95, and still could offer such enterprising choices as smoked haddock fishcake with a curry and sultana oil or seared chicken liver with marjoram on a crumpet and honey dressing to begin with and then mains like seared tuna loin on seaweed and potato mash with beetroot salsa or honey glazed goats cheese and aubergine gallette with stir fried sweet peppers and noodles; finishing with sticky toffee pudding or coconut parfait with chocolate sauce.

While in the evening it still only costs £14 for two courses or £17 for three, very reasonable for quality food, no wonder that they are so popular and busy, if only there were more neighbourhood restaurants like Aquavit around to enjoy, how much happier we would all be about eating out.