Recommended Restaurant: Hamilton’s, Stockbridge

STOCKBRIDGE is one of my favourite parts of the city so it’s a crime that this was my first visit to the much talked about Hamilton’s.

The staff are friendly and inviting and even though the place was packed, they managed to find us a table – at the window, as it happens.

We ordered some wine, which came almost immediately, along with some glasses of water which were most welcome. To start, we decided to share the pan- fried chorizo with cider, lemon and chilli (£4.95) and the balsamic roasted tomatoes on toasted sour dough (£4.95) The chorizo was nicely charred, given a kick by the chilli and perfectly balanced by the lemon. The roasted tomatoes were simple yet very enjoyable.

For my main course I chose the grilled sea bream with herb-roasted panzanella bread salad (£14.95). The panzanella was as good as any I have had in Italy – golden crispy toasted bread sat perfectly with olives and basil but the sea bream stole the show – crispy skinned, light, flaky flesh and perfectly seasoned. My other half went for the oven-roast pork belly with black pudding fritters, caramelised pears and white balsamic potatoes (£13.95). The pears were a welcome change to apples and the sweet caramel was offset beautifully by the balsamic. All in all, a well put together dish.

To finish we treated ourselves with ice-cream and cocktails. The homemade ice cream was rich and creamy and we opted for a combination of vanilla, cherry and chocolate.

Cocktails, rounded off the evening perfectly. Mojito (£6.50) for me and my boyfriend had a Mary Pickford (£6.50). The mojito was sweet, yet refreshing and the Mary Pickford, made with rum, marachino, pineapple and fresh lime, was just like one we sampled in New York. Fabulous. I will definitely be returning.

CHARLIE PEMBERLEY-BROWN