Chester restaurants

As a city catering for hungry tourists and exacting locals, Chester isn’t short on restaurants and cafés offering superb food and equally great value.

While Madrid has its tapas, and Rome has its pasta, Chester falls in line with the rest of England in not having a famous cuisine to dish up. Instead you’ll find a good dollop of pub-style grub, a pinch of fine dining, a spoonful of internationally-flavoured eateries and a smattering of other options that add extra spice.

Your options include informal cafés, where shorts and t-shirts are just fine, to fine dining, where smart attire is essential. And we’ve not really got into the continental swing of dining – there’ll be no eating out at midnight as is the Spanish way. Lunch is at lunchtime (though it’s often called “dinner” in the north of England), roughly from noon until 2pm, and dinner is taken at dinner time, which can be from around 6pm until the oh-so-nearly-continental hour of 9.30pm (and it’s sometimes known as “tea” around this way). If you want to buck the trend – and save some cash – eat outside of these popular hours and you’ll often find a deal.

I’m lucky enough to live on the banks of the River Dee, so walking to the city to sample one of Chester’s dining options is a weekly pleasure. I’m also lucky enough to have a fiancé who knows his way around a set of pots, pans and a mezzaluna (one of those fancy herb choppers), and I’m not bad in the kitchen myself – so I know a pleasant bit of grub when I taste it. And what with Simonseeks HQ sitting pretty within Chester’s city walls, I’ll often find myself at one of our eating and drinking establishments at lunchtime or after a long day in the office. In short, I know my way around this city’s cafés and restaurants. I’ve eaten at every single one of my recommendations and I wouldn't hesitate sending friends or family there. My biggest quality test: would I go back there? You can bet your last penny that I’d dine again in any of my top 20. Go on, dare me...