Venturing out of the City - The Olive Tree, Bath

As a general rule, the Northerner and I don't venture too far from London town to socialise. And if we do, we're talking Paris, Marrakech or New York as opposed to Leeds, Ipswich or Bradford. Nevertheless with 'staycations' now very much on trend, as us being as affected by the credit crunch as any other social butterfly we decided to take a long weekend in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath. We'd been here once before and had been more then a little taken with the stunning architecture, quaint riverside scenery and greenery and of course the Roman spa, but had struggled to find much of a social thing going on. What a difference ten years makes.

Alongside your normal chain bars are gorgeously restored old pubs, funky tapas and cocktail bars, and wonderful restaurants. And we had the good fortune to be staying at the best hotel in town - The Queensberry, with what is (according to Bath 'siders', Bathers?) THE best restaurant, The Olive Tree. Now okay - there are a couple of Michelin star restaurants in Bath nowadays and The Olive Tree did receive it's vote by the locals in 2008. But when we went there on a chilly but clear skyed Saturday evening there was no mistaking that the place is popular. Bookings are required.

Having said that, it's location in the basement is not as good as it could be. The hotel has the most wonderful reception rooms that one would expect from knocking three glorious Georgian terrace houses together, and its a shame for the diners that this space hasn't been allocated to the restaurant. But that's being picky. The ambience is all low lights and soft jazz music. The clientele are well-heeled Bathonians and those lucky enough to stay at the hotel, and the service is impeccable and charming.

The food is great. I started with Pork Belly and Langoustine and the Northerner did crab risotto with tempura of soft shell crab and courgette flower. Simpler then they sound, the dishes were wonderfully presented and perfectly executed. Beef with dauphinoise potatoes and halibut with pancetta and peas and chive mash were eaten with relish as we only reluctantly offered each other a taster. Desserts of peach melba and raspberry sorbet with a twist of cheese cake, and a charlotte of blueberry, raspberry and blackberry were indulgent without being overly sweet or fussy. We wash it back with a delicious Valpolicella which they put in their mouth-watering sweet and sour section. And they were right.

The place isn't cheap, but nor is it prohibitively expensive, and we rounded off the evening with a port or two in one of the lovely reception rooms. A perfect evening ended was given a slightly bizzare twist when, an admittedly very drunk couple decided to share with us their extra-marital fling secrets. They did have the good grace to buy us another drink for our troubles. And people wonder why we don't venture far from London.