Bistro Thierry

Maybe you're dreaming of a trip to Paris, anticipating a warm, wood-panelled brasserie with bentwood chairs and solicitous waiters in waistcoats, a menu crackling with golden frites and burnished duck skin, followed by chocolate souffle lovingly filled with unctuous hot sauce and rushed from the kitchen. In that case, make your first stopover Hawksburn Village. Bistro Thierry is like the best-of-French-brasserie experiences. Rich beef bourguignon under a shard of pastry, roast chicken with asparagus, steak frites, warm chevre salad, and even Moroccan tagine that every real Frenchie craves regularly are there to enjoy. But the kitchen also steps out confidently with delicate entrees like rare tuna with avocado mousse and horseradish foam, or the more adventurous blackboard specials. Crepes suzette, the lush souffle or caramelised tarte tatin feel obligatory - no passport required.