Situated in the thriving Oxfordshire town of Banbury, Veritas Wine Bar and Bistro has brought a new concept of relaxation and pleasure to the town, with food and drink that attracts as well as satisfies in surroundings that are a tribute to good taste and style. No matter whether you are in a state of semi collapse after too much shopping, or looking for the right environment in which to entertain, this is the place for you.

A WiFi connection may strike you as a dubious blessing - once inside Veritas your aim would probably be to stay out of touch, but there are always some for whom it is indispensable.

The role of Veritas as a haven of escape is interpreted in many different ways. They are promoting a fabulous Monday to Friday Working Lunch Specials that change weekly. Wine tastings and dinners are organised regularly so there really is no excuse for not increasing your knowledge of one of life's greatest pleasures. Veritas also holds regular Sunday lunch music festivals.

The food is designed to suit the occasion, whether it be a choice from the lunch menu or the dinner á la carte, as you contemplate the day of rest, a romantic evening, or a family celebration when time matters not.

Dinner service is available from 6pm with a full à la carte menu that might offer haddock fish cakes with baby spinach, poached egg and hollandaise sauce to start, or blue cheese tartlet with red onion marmalade and poached pear.

Mains tread carefully between the traditional course content with choices such as homemade beef lasagne served with garlic bread; mussels with white wine, garlic cream sauce and hand cut chips; lamb shank with red wine sauce, roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables; roast salmon with mussel chowder and potato rosti; pigeon breast with peas in French style, wholegrain mustard sauce, or pan seared scallops with artichoke, pancetta, clam and herb dressing.

If you fancy a nibble with your glass of wine in the evening, enjoy a selection of farmhouse cheeses with chutney, honey roasted figs and oat biscuits, or a charcuterie board of cured meats, gherkins, sun-dried tomatoes and crusty bread.

Bring the meal to a telling close with homemade crème brûlée, or pear and frangipane tart. Is it any wonder that with menus like these, executed with skill and panache, Veritas has become an extremely popular place? To top it all, much of the menu changes monthly so you?ll never get bored!

But the food is only part of the pleasure, and a wine list that would melt the steeliest heart travels the world. It's a spirited gallop through some pleasantly familiar names which appear as though some of the top bottles on offer have been spared traditional mark-ups.

Veritas has an excellent Website that will keep you up to speed with their attractive programme of events and seasonal menu changes, which are de rigueur.