Nova

Hidden just around the corner from Heswall’s ‘restaurant row’, this personally run eatery is something of a find. Chef Moyo Benson and his wife Jana are old hands at the restaurant business, but Nova is their first solo venture – a chic dining room with polished floors, striped fabrics and a menu that is fleshed out with home-baked soda bread, amuse-bouches (tiny complimentary ‘burgers’, say) and other extras. “The food is quite remarkable, as is the service”, notes a fan who appreciates the kitchen’s eclectic use of British ingredients – witness veal sweetbreads with garlic, cauliflower and buckwheat, rosemary-crusted lamb loin with broad beans or spiced monkfish with lentil and smoked bacon salsa. There are also grills (well-hung steaks, calf’s liver, sea bass etc), while desserts might run from strawberry soufflé to lemon posset. The atmosphere is easy-going and Nova accommodates allcomers with children’s menus, “stunning” vegetarian dishes, Sunday roasts and excellent-value early-doors deals.