I’ll lay my cards on the table from the off: I think Hywel Jones is one of the UK’s most exciting chefs. In fact let me go one step further: last night I had one of the most enjoyable meal of my life (and I’ve darned lucky enough to have been to some of the best). The Park is one of the best (as far as I’m now concerned).

The Bull a double fronted Hotel on East Street gives the impression that it is a fairly modest establishment. However, apart from the nineteen guest rooms, there are two bars, a dining room and a rather impressive ballroom. There is also The Stable, which has its own bar, where cider is the focus, together with some interesting and tasty pizzas and pies.

Nobody likes to dine alone, but there’s such a warm and friendly atmosphere in The Duke of York that it isn’t an issue. The staff are talkative and friendly without being overbearing. You can genuinely tell that they will go out of their way to make sure you have the best time possible. A really charming venue with a strong talent for cooking

We had a really good evening at The Regent, it felt like an old-fashioned pub (in a good way), but with interesting food, and a broad range of drinks on offer, it has a contemporary feel that makes for a good experience. At a time when pubs are reported as facing tough times, places like this deserve support and it certainly has ours.

The Grill Room is a decadent culinary haven and definitely has what it takes to hold its own at this infamous golf club. Prices are not as extreme as you might expect for a club with this level of reputation; value for money is very much high on the agenda here and they certainly deliver on it.

Douglas Blyde heads to a less than salubrious part of Oval for a deeply spiced feast at cult Indian brasserie, ‘Hot Stuff’…

Modern Chinese cuisine and dim sum, it’s a curious combination so just how ‘modern” is the latest offering from the Goldfish family?

Inside Le Café du Marche you don’t feel lost, you feel right at home; this is a tranche of France that is as Gallic as surrendering without a shot. The walls are bare brick and you can scent the cooking on the air, something sadly lacking in restaurants where the trendy chef is cooking via Twitter.

Nozomi is battling to bring down costs by offering special Bento box deals at lunchtime as a way of luring in locals. Bento boxes are boxes of of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, originally designed as take out meals or lunch packs prepared at home for people to carry to work or school. In the UK we call them Tupperware Boxes.

A very good lunch and perhaps the most resounding reason being that everything is just right. The cooking is good, the dishes are well thought out, the atmosphere is spot-on and in all the feeling is that, for a lunch, Brasserie One is just right and definitely more enchanting than squashing into the nearest franchise chain outlet.