Mortimers

This Ludlow address was once home to Claude Bosi’s original Hibiscus and later Michelin-starred La Bécasse, but it now houses Mortimers – a “gorgeous new restaurant” set up by Andrew Brookes and local chef Wayne Smith (a Bosi protégé). Expect “good company and a great atmosphere”, along with classily rendered food that’s “up there with the best” (according to one devotee). Attractively priced menus are in the modern idiom, with terse dish descriptions belying the kitchen’s highly skilled endeavours: hand-dived scallop with pumpkin and black truffle or duck with pastrami and celeriac might precede Mortimer Forest venison with baby leeks and roast shallots or halibut with white bean and crayfish ragoût. Desserts are also out to impress – think chocolate marquise with hazelnut brittle and caramel ice cream or a trio of rhubarb (poached, sorbet and pannacotta). “A great all-round dining experience” declares one fan, while another simply says “very special indeed”.