"From the moment we entered the door of this stylish Alderley Edge restaurant, we had a feeling it was going to be a good review. Laurence Tottingham (previously of Simply Heathcotes) is one of our favourite chefs and, apart from the fact the decor was plush and inviting with every table being full of fashionable locals and the staff all dressed out in a smart uniform, there was an excellent live musician performing an acoustic version of the Stone Roses 'Made Of Stone' - this was going to be a perfect Sunday lunch!

Sat on a large round table by a glass cabinet full of champagne bottles and fine wine, you sense they sell a lot of it around these parts, we were left to read the menus, an a la carte choice of some fantastic local dishes or a Sunday Lunch special, which offered superb value for two courses at just £15.50. Had it not been for the great tunes from the musician (Paul Simon, followed by Don McLean) we probably would have grown impatient at how slow the service was - the previous Sunday, we had spent almost 4 hours in Gordon Ramsey's Maze in London and, thirty minutes into this visit without even ordering, we knew we were going to be writing off another Sunday afternoon - the dark night's are certainly drawing in quickly!

When the starters finally did arrive (almost an hour into the meal), you could understand why there had been such a delay. The work that had gone into preparing the Black Pudding Scotch Egg (£6.50) was incredible. Apart from being slightly cold, it tasted as impressive as it looked, even if the vinegar of the pickled red cabbage that accompanied it was far too overpowering.

Whilst it was almost a further 30 minutes before the main courses we arrived, we were content with the conversation and the live music - the musician was now covering the likes of John Williams 'Deerhunter' (it turned out he was completely unaware of the guitar maestro's concert later that evening at The Lowry). The music was quite apt as the stand-out dish, the Roast Breast & Leg of Pheasant (£17.50), accompanied by buttered carrots and dried cherries, was certainly worth the wait. Again though, the dishes were not warm enough and one of the Sunday Roasts had to be sent back to the kitchen to be warmed up or replaced. The staff, who had been excellent throughout, did this quickly and politely with no problems at all.

As with most of Paul Heathcotes restaurants, desserts were also fantastic, both in presentation and substance - the Sticky Toffee Pudding going down a treat, however by now, we had been in the restaurant for almost 3 hours so didn't have time for coffee or liquors. Despite now being mid afternoon, customers were still streaming through the doors and it's not hard to see why. If you're after a lazy Sunday afternoon lunch accompanied by some great acoustic music - then this is the place for you!" - restaurants of manchester - 17/11/08 (visited on a sunday lunch)