The Middle Park Hotel

You'll first notice wood: the dark club-like panelling (from the MCG's former Long Room), the open kitchen's wood barbecue, or the chopping board brought to your table holding the day's top-grade steaks. Consulting chef Paul Wilson's menu is a meaty affair: terrines, Scotch eggs, chops, sausages and a 1kg monster 'Black Angus club steak' to share. Maybe start with a flash-grilled tuna steak with savoy cabbage and ginger. Daily pot pie might be chicken and mushroom, thickly crusted, and with mash, or go for beef, expertly aged, char-grilled and rested. Stay on the steak-and-narrow - peri peri chicken (with stodgy corn cake) can be a dull affair. A quibble: service can feel more front bar than fine-diner if you're unlucky, with noisy table clearing and clunky drinks service. Good are the thrice-cooked chips and the 'world's best onion rings', thickly beer-battered and stacked like quoits. To finish, there's milky bread-and-butter pudding with jugs of Jamieson's whisky cream and hot apricot sauce. Wood, fire and comfort come together at MPH.