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hand picked restaurants

The first Browns opened at Brighton in 1973 with one simple guiding belief, that classic food, well delivered in a stylish environment would be a recipe for success. The only thing that has changed since then is the number of Browns, now running at fourteen, of which six are in London, all prospering with the same theme.

Some of their buildings are particularly legendary in style, sometimes listed and always interesting. The premises at Bristol formerly served as the City's museum, art gallery and the University Dining Rooms, and are modelled on the Doge's Palace in Venice.

The main menu, available throughout the day, starts with appetisers, designed for sharing, with antipasti of Italian meat, vegetarian or seafood. Try the flatbreads with a range of interesting toppings.

In amongst the thirteen starters expect to come across smoked duck, crisp noodle and cashew nut salad with red peppers, tumeric cauliflower, spring onions and a sherry vinaigrette. The fish and salad choices include fish and chips tempura battered cod with minted mushy peas and tartar sauce and pan-fried butterflied tiger prawns tossed with linguine in a tomato, coriander and chorizo sauce.

The same theme of comfortable food, well-cooked and presented, continues throughout the mains course with roast chicken breast in sour dough bread with baby spinach, tomato and mayonnaise, served with seasoned chips, and steak frites 6oz prime sirloin, served with a lemon, parsley and peppercorn butter.

The chalkboard carries a list of the day's specials, but every day except Sunday is Browns's afternoon tea day, served from 2 to 5.30 pm, and on Sundays it offers a choice of three roasts. It would be harder to find a dessert much more English than lemon tartlet with crème fraîche.

By the way their breakfast and brunch menu is just one of the best, and they do a very nifty prix fixe menu from 4:00 - 6.30 pm.

The wine list is masterful and not over long, sometimes a great relief to those who find it tiresome to navigate their way through even an interesting list such as this. Many bottles are available by the glass and each group of wines is helpfully classified under headings such as white, red and rose with a reserve selection, house recommendations, New and Old World under them.

Browns at Bristol are well able to deal with groups, and have special menus to look after their particular interests. Click on their excellent Website for further details and menu changes.

Located in the former site of Quartier Vert, TownHouse Bar and Restaurant is a lively place where customers can enjoy a luxurious three course meal or happily while away unaccounted hours over cream teas or a drink with friends in surroundings that soothe and please. A modern British menu is complemented by classical regional dishes, and wines that are at one with the dishes and service that is friendly but not obtrusive.

The décor introduces warmth into proceedings with bold primary colours cleverly muted to balance each other and provide the relaxed atmosphere one hopes to find in a place that takes its clientele seriously.

With a brunch menu, traditional afternoon teas as well as the well-established set menus and a la carte, The TownHouse is quick becoming one of the most talked about places in Bristol.

Emphasis is placed on the local produce, renowned for its freshness and flavours and Owner/Head chef Nick Armitage is not slow to take advantage of the unexpected source or market find. So, it should not come as a total surprise to find seared Scottish scallops with chorizo and green apple puree added without impairing their flavour.

Starters include the locally sourced Chew Valley smoked salmon with sour cream and dill dressing, or the, now almost 'famous' Rare roast beef on hot dripping toast, parsley and caper salad, with horseradish cream. For main course, there's fillet of hake in the crunchiest beer batter with hand-cut chips or the incredible bavette of Devon rose beef with shallot and red wine sauce.

The whole point about this menu of Nick's is that it never stays the same for long, you can walk in and find the unexpected available without notice, thus increasing the pull food factor to new levels of expectation.

The wine list covers a good range, but it would be asking too much of human nature not to find a strong light shining on the New Zealand wines with which co-owner Vanessa is so familiar. At the bar you could choose from a remarkable array of 40 beers from around the world and spirits, whilst teasing your tastebuds with an array of snack size little bar dishes from a separate menu. These are no peanuts and pork scratchings - instead perfect miniature versions of many of the main menu dishes, ideal for the grazers.

Their attractive Website is only a click away.

Located opposite the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in the heart of this vibrant city, The Botanist on Berkeley Square is a striking pub on the banks of the River Avon. Boasting stylish contemporary interiors and a delicious modern British menu with a Mediterranean twist, the restaurant also has a large courtyard that's perfect for al fresco dining.

Close to the city centre and its numerous attractions, which range from landmarks such as the Georgian House to more modern diversions such as the bustling Broadmead shopping centre and the Cube Cinema. The Botanist is also a stone's throw from the idyllic Brandon Hill Nature Park and cultural delights such as the Royal West of England Academy of Art, Colston Hall Theatre and Bristol Hippodrome.
 
After a busy morning of shopping or sightseeing why not recharge your batteries in style. The classically proportioned space holds a number of cosy niches perfect for private dining and is flooded with daylight from the glass ceiling. Beautifully decorated in a palette of pastels, dove grey predominating, with herringbone parquet flooring, the bar area also offers sofas and banquettes to sink into.

This attention to detail is also reflected in the seasonally changing menu which uses market fresh ingredients. Starters of Romana white onion soup, crispy fried pumpkin ravioli with parmesan and tomato salsa or a sharing platter of baby back ribs, chicken and chorizo spiedini, lamb koftas with flatbreads and chilli jam bring a whiff of the Mediterranean to the meal.

With freshly caught fish available for the asking in Bristol, The Botanist's seafood offerings are peerless and could include a mouth-watering pesto crusted cod with herb and spring onion mash and sauce Choron; pan fried sea bass fillets with aubergine and sweet potato tagine and, of course, the all time favourite of freshly battered fish and chips with minted mushy peas. Fish Fridays also offers a superb spread for fish and seafood lovers with the added attraction of a 50% discount on a bottle of white wine thrown in.

Committed carnivores needn't despair for the à la carte lists their favourites too including braised short rib of beef with bubble and squeak, lamb rump with sauce soubise and pork fillet with pancetta. They can further rejoice in Steak and Wine Supper Wednesdays with a bottle of red wine at half the price.

This pub pulls out all the stops on Sundays with an extensive menu which includes sumptuous British roasts with all the trimmings. Alternatively, you may wish to do brunch with dishes such as smoked haddock kedgeree with poached egg and curried hollandaise; eggs Benedict with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon or English lamb kidneys with wholegrain mustard sauce and rustic bread.

For a quick lunch or an early evening dinner, a two-course prix fixe menu is available while a more celebratory Supper Club menu offering two courses along with a bottle of Rothschild champagne starts at £40.

The finale at The Botanist is no less indulgent with puddings of warm brownie with vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate sauce; apple and blackcurrant crumble with vanilla custard and orange blossom and almond cake with mascarpone.

The globally representative, and expertly chosen, wine list includes a fine selection of Mediterranean whites and reds. A variety of bottled beers and cask ales as well as a number of cocktails and martinis also quench the thirst.

Loved The Botanist? You could also check out sister pubs The Bathampton Mill in Bath or The Langton in Cheltenham for a similar experience.

More information can be found on their Website.

We hear a great deal about recycling these days - du Vin recycles attractive but sometimes un-loved buildings to restore real gems in the best tradition of British understated style.

Compliment that with all that is best in the French bistro ethos, bars that reach out to please, and you have a setting that provides an inspirational background for people to meet, do business, get married, provide a base for golf or fishing, somewhere you can call your own for a private celebration, a spa or - most engagingly - a wine school that breaks the mould.

In Bristol, du Vin has taken on a collection of Grade II listed warehouses, formerly known as the Sugar House, dating from the 1770s. These are conveniently near the Bristol waterfront and lend themselves well for conversion into a luxury boutique hotel with 40 bedrooms, including several stunning double-height loft suites. The du Vin magic has worked again, and it's not all smoke and mirrors either.

The stylish bedrooms all have handsprung mattresses, fine Egyptian linen, deep baths and power showers, and high speed wireless internet is available in all rooms. There are plenty of reading opportunities as well in their extensive library.

du Vin hotels are renowned for their bistros and here at Bristol the menu is rooted in classic European cuisine with a contemporary edge. Head chef, Marcus Lang sets a policy of local, finest and freshest, cooked simply, priced sensibly. Starters, chosen from about ten dishes could include braised pigs' cheeks with swede purée and black pudding; squid, chorizo and crayfish salad, or French ham with rocket, Parmesan and figs.

There is no sparing of the fish here and you could choose from fillets of red mullet, pan-fried fillet of halibut, pan-fried sea bass or poached smoke haddock. The rump of lamb with pommes dauphinoise and pea purée makes a pleasing cut. For a real treat however, look amongst the simple classics and order the eponymous fish pie, a luscious moist production with plenty of body, well finished with a cheese topping. In season give yourself a reward with roast partridge served with pommes pailles and bread pudding.

Whilst one might argue that the whole point of being in a du Vin is to snuggle up to the wine list, this list is designed to march with the food and can only be described as superb. With a team of sommeliers, headed here by Stefan Gorda, there is no room for anything but the best. Service is telepathic in the best possible sense.

Click on their Website for full information and rates. Hotel du Vin, with fourteen options throughout Britain, awaits your call.

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 Bristol, 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 Bristol was the second in the group to be developed, emphasizing clearly that a San Carlo is not a theme restaurant but a highly lavish exclusive Italian venue for people who appreciate fine food, good service, luxurious and comfortable surroundings, as well as value for money.

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 on the blackboard Dover sole, 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.

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. It is worth remembering that you will have the best service and advice from their Italian Directors and staff throughout.

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.

Please ensure you keep up to date with events and any changes at San Carlo Bristol by clicking on their Website.

The uber cool Second Floor Restaurant and Bar, situated on the top floor of the Harvey Nichols boutique store on Philadelphia Street is open all day and serves a delicious modern British menu for brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. Sweeping city views from the floor-to-ceiling windows as well as the interior's clean lines with gold and silver touches make it the perfect rendezvous for the city's trendy set.
 
Located in the Quakers Friars section of the bustling Cabot Circus shopping centre, the two AA Rosettes awarded Second Floor Restaurant is a stone's throw from the Odeon and Showcase cinemas and is the perfect place for a meal before or after a movie.

Head Chef Louise McCrimmon's menus use classic techniques and ingredients sourced from around the world, but with an emphasis on using the finest produce from the South West. A typical dinner could open with starters of potato and wild mushroom soup; West Country venison kofta with carrot and mint salad, pomegranate yoghurt and flat bread or crisp polenta with grilled artichoke, goat's cheese, herb salad with sundried tomato dressing.

This could be followed by a main course of braised leg of Guinea fowl with roast fennel, wholegrain mustard and orange sauce; South Coast gurnard with parsley risotto with lemon velouté or seared lamb's liver with celeriac and apple mash, pickled apple and red onion jus.

For a leisurely Sunday brunch the restaurant offers dishes such as Inverawe smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and toasted homemade toasted brioche, buttermilk pancakes with smoked black bacon and maple syrup and Stornoway black pudding with fried egg, roast apple and rosti potato along with your choice of Bloody Mary. Mains include roast rack and slow cooked leg of lamb with sweet potato and Muscat purée, sweet potato fondant and tomato jus as well as seared fillet of Pollock with pomme purée, buttered spinach, oxtail and Bristol beer reduction.

For the finale, consider an unusual sweetcorn mousse paired with bourbon ice cream and salted caramel popcorn or other delicious creations such as blood orange and passion fruit Pavlova, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla Anglaise or lime and ginger pannacotta with roast pineapple. Alternatively, consider a cheese plate with Gorwydd Caerphilly, Bath Soft and Harbourne cheeses served with grapes, homemade oatcakes and Harvey Nichols chutney.
 
The afternoon tea menu offers an array of savouries and cakes including dry cure smoked back bacon sandwich with slow roast tomatoes, scrambled egg and smoked back bacon with toasted brioche, banana and walnut cake with vanilla mascarpone and Valrhona chocolate and pecan brownie with clotted cream.

A sumptuous cocktail bar, with skilled mixologists in attendance, offers luxurious signature libations of Double B'bellini and Grapefruit Caipirinha as well as a variety of champagnes and wines by the glass.

The Second Floor also boasts an exclusive private dining room, perfect for that special celebration or corporate event. The entire restaurant including the bar is also available for hire individually or as a whole.

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

When you enter a chain restaurant there is always a sense of déjà vu, yet with the twelve outlets of Giraffe, this may not really be true. Russel and Juliette Joffe and Andrew Jacobs' philosophy behind this group of restaurants is sustaining the driving force of healthy, happy eating, while retaining the difference each location brings. This includes minor variations in the menu too, and explains why the restaurant does not like to be called a chain, but prefers being referred to as a herd. The origin of its quaint name too, is interesting. The giraffe has the largest heart in the animal kingdom, and with its magnificent height is able to perceive things differently. These two features of being different and large hearted sum up the restaurant's proclamation of 'love, eat, live'.

Giraffe offers world food and adds an unusual twist to some familiar dishes. Their breakfast menu has stacked pancakes with bananas and blueberries, warm waffles, ranch styles tostadas and healthy veggie options. Some great starters are a mezze plate with warm naans that offer the best of many cuisines - grilled halloumi, hummus, tzatiki, ratatouille and falafel. Japanese king fried prawns are a hit, while another bright spot on the menu, is the colourful sunshine antipasti bruschetta, a clever combination of artichokes, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers, red onion and rocket on pesto foccacia. If this long list of ingredients is intriguing, just wait until your palate takes over.

The house's special salad, cheekily calle 'more than love', is colourful and has crunchy appeal. The Thai chicken and vermicelli noodle version is an equally enticing starter. For mains, there are plenty of options like roasted corn and chilli bran burritos, tangy turkey enchiladas and the much loved sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans and broccoli served with organic brown basmati rice. One can also settle for a good old burger and wash it down with interesting smoothies. They also offer world wines and unusual cocktails with catchy names like Bombay flower and pomegranate caipirinha.

The dessert section comprises of not just fruit based healthy desserts, but brilliant stars like Swiss mountain chocolate cheesecake, banana waffle split and rocky road ice cream sundaes, which transport the diner to a state of bliss. The friendly staff, who are carefully hired for their sunny disposition, and children's activities help make these restaurants a very special, happy and healthy treat indeed.

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

Strada describes itself as 'a group of stylish, contemporary Italian restaurants, serving good quality, simple and freshly prepared dishes'. The statement sums up what this group of around seventy restaurants offers to people looking for good Italian food. The first outlet opened in Battersea in 1999 and their clientele has been increasing steadily ever since.

Though Strada has grown into a fair sized group, each outlet retains the feel of being a local neighbourhood Italian restaurant. The menu includes pastas, risottos, salads, and fish dishes, but they are best known for their quality pizzas.

They present authentic Italian dishes in contemporary surroundings and aim to use only the freshest and finest ingredients, such as Luganica sausages, Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella, imported from Italy to provide exactly the kind of rustic, traditional dishes one would expect to find travelling around its regions.

A meal could kick off with zuppa vongole e fregola, a traditional clam soup with Sardinian fregola pasta grains, wine, chilli and parsley, served with bread, or the delicious sautéed king prawns with garlic, white wine, chilli, and lemon butter served with your choice of bread.

Move on to their creamy risotto verdure, freshly grilled asparagus, broad beans, peas, spring onions, zucchini, green beans, white wine and mint, finished with baby spinach leaves. Or you could opt for the healthier, tagliolini nero granchio, black cuttlefish ink pasta with crab, courgette, red and yellow peppers, spring onion, and a hint of chilli and parsley. A real treat for the taste buds comes in the form of the bistecca manzo, a 10oz rosemary-marinated char-grilled, rib-eye steak with fries and fresh rocket.

A range of pizzas, all spun by hand, is an integral feature of each restaurant. They include the rossa, with spicy southern Italian salami, roasted red peppers, chilli, caramelised onion, garlic, fresh oregano, tomato and mozzarella. Nor are vegetarians are overlooked, and can be found tucking into dishes such as fiorentina, made of spinach cooked with garlic, nutmeg and black pepper with mozzarella, parmesan, tomato and an egg.

For those wanting to satisfy their sweet tooth, there is torroncino affogato, an iced nougat semi freddo with a shot of espresso to pour over, or a classic Italian tiramisu and, as you might expect coffee to round off the meal.

A wine list consisting of purely regional Italian wines, beers and liqueurs, all carefully chosen to complement the menu comes as no surprise and in addition, every table receives a complimentary bottle of purified water.

For further details including their latest news, menus and deals, and to find a Strada nearest to you, their Website certainly warrants a visit.

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.

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.