FINDING a spot in Winchester to ingest a good Sunday lunch while working your way through the newspapers is as rare as the Royal Family enjoying a month without a major scandal breaking.

This is why I have slight reservations about letting you in on this new contender which, going by current numbers, has yet to be properly rumbled by the wider population.

Not for the Blonde Beer Caf a menu offering chewy roast chicken with vegetables so waterlogged they practically seep off the plate, served with accompanying pounding music which plays havoc with the digestion.

Nope - there are fragrant mussels, massive sandwiches and more types of Belgian beer than even Oliver Reed could have handled with ease.

However the best bit about Bar Blonde are the burgers. Big and succulent, they are the perfect antidote for whatever excesses you might have stumbled into the previous night.

There are a fair few to choose from too - beef, stilton and caramelised onion (excellent), lamb and coriander (almost as good), or there are chickeny and venisony ones too.

All are served with salad, potato wedges and something gloopy to dip them in which may have been related to crme fraiche but, frankly, tasted good whatever it was.

My friend Miles grizzled that his portion wasn't big enough but, to be honest, that says more about his ability to hoover up vast quantities of food than any shortcomings in the kitchen.

The Blonde Beer Caf only opened a couple of months ago on the site of what was, for years, the Cricketers pub.

The new owners completely gutted the building, added a new extension and decorated it simply, with large chairs, wooden floors and examples of quirky art.

In addition to all that beer (Hoegaarden is on tap), the wine list is of a consistently high quality and certainly seems to disappear at speed whenever Miles is around.

They even provide the newspapers to complete the Sunday lunch experience.

All of which is a bit of a contrast to Saturday evenings at the beer caf , which see the bar full to bursting point, with a DJ in residence.

Take your pick - flat out noisy or calming tranquility.

But try to slip in a burger somewhere along the way if you can.

Reservations: 01962 877077.