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10 City/Town-centre lunchtime pit stops
while doing the sales
London
2nd Floor Brasserie, Peter Jones, Sloane Square, SW1
tel: 020 7901 8070
Go for reviving bites like smoked salmon and crab fishcakes
with coriander mayonnaise (£6.80), and pears poached
in red wine with vanilla crescent (£7.25). More mundane,
perhaps, but definitely not down-to-earth (on the 6th floor!),
is the Top Floor café. On Oxford St, W1, go toThe Place to
Eat, 3rd Floor, John Lewis, tel: 020 7629 7711.
Bath
Chandos Deli, 12 George Street, Bath
tel: 01225 314418
Head for the small restaurant at the back of the excellent Mediterranean deli, considered one of the best in the city, for superior bites like homemade tarts with dressed leaves (£6.50).
Bicester
Carluccio’s Caffé, Bicester Shopping Village,
Bicester, Oxon
tel: 01869 247651
Situated next to the West Gate entrance, it’s open
all day, every day, till late with a long menu of enjoyable,
Italian classics like cannelloni with wild mushrooms and tiramisu.
£40
Also at: West Village, Bluewater,
Kent; Fenwick, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Hendon, NW3 (12-5
Sun); Fenwick, New Bond St, W1 (closed Sun)
Exeter
Michael Caines Café Bar, ABode Exeter (Royal Clarence
Hotel), Cathedral Yard, Exeter, Devon
tel: 01392 223626
The Royal Clarence Hotel is the first in two-Michelin starred
chef Michael Caines ABode group of boutique hotels.
Try the Café Bar for a quick and easy shopper's menu including: : cripsy duck confit wrap (£5.45);
poached smoked haddock with poached egg and cheese sauce (£9.95).
Harrogate
Bettys, Parliament Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
tel:
01423 502746
A Yorkshire institution with lots of gorgeous cakes and pastries
as well as snacks, salads and sandwiches: Yorkshire curd tart
£2.80; Cointreau torte £3.50; Bettys Traditional
Afternoon Tea £12.75.
Also at: St Helen’s Square,
York; Little Bettys, Stonegate, York; The Grove, Ilkley; High
St., Northallerton.
Leeds
Anthony’s at Flannels, 68-78 Vicar Lane, Leeds, West
Yorkshire
tel: 0113 242 8732
Anthony Flinn's first venture out of his award-winning basement
in Boar Lane is a superior all-purpose café/restaurant
with panoramic views on top of the store.
Open shop hours, it does kippers with anchovy butter for breakfast,
a three-course budget lunch, an all-day brasserie menu, and
delightful cream teas. £50 for 2, set 3-course L £15.
Manchester
Zinc, The Triangle, Hanging Ditch, Manchester
tel: 0161 827 4200
Brunch on eggs Florentine (£5.50), or perhaps the daily-changing
£8 Express Lunch menu, e.g. salmon risotto on Wed, roast
haddock with Welsh rarebit on Fri. A favourite with city-centre
shoppers owing to its convenient location close to the main
department stores.
Southampton
White Star Tavern & Dining Room, 28 Oxford Street, Southampton,
Hampshire
tel: 023 8082 1990
Award-winning gastropub just a short distance from Ocean Village
and the main shopping area. There’s a tempting snack
menu and lunchtime carte: goats’ cheese and caramelised
onion tartlet (£5.95) is typical. The winter warmer
menu kicks in this month
(£7.95 for 1 course and a glass of wine).
York
Mulberry Hall, Stonegate, York, North Yorkshire
tel: 01904 620736
Set in a building dating from 1434, seventeen glittering showrooms
are clustered in this, one of the world’s leading china
and crystal specialists. The Coffee Shop offers superior light
bites in relaxing surroundings. £15.
Glasgow
Kember & Jones, 134 Byres Road, Glasgow
tel: 0141 337 3851
Deli-cum-café with kitchen wares, too, at this fine
food emporium in the heart of the city’s West End. Eat
in the mezzanine area and enjoy a menu of superior sandwiches
(from £4.95), salads (from £6.95), and platters
(from £10.95), with everything carefully sourced and
baking done on the premises.
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