PUSHED for word space to describe my meal at Hunters Restaurant, Winchester, I would settle for ''Fine, thanks.''

But given the luxury of this column I can tell you why it was such a treat.

The cost of the meal, coming in at a little under £60 for two (with wine), may sound extravagant, but it was worth it.

Tiger prawn brochette with chicken and noodle salad and sweet chilli dressing was more than adequate to get the tastebuds going - beautifully presented and full of flavour.

My gazpacho didn't seem to have the customary zing of herbs and garlic, although anyone who came within a metre of me the next day may have disagreed!

Given the heat outside it was a refreshing choice, though perhaps not great value at £4.95 for what is basically cold tomato soup.

Starters are on the generous size and can be shared if you want to economise on price but not on quality.

We chose a bottle of ros to accompany our food.

Call me a snob, but I always think of this as the wine-drinker's version of alcopops.

How wrong I was. It had a clear taste that stood up for itself without over-powering the food. At £9.95 it's not a bargain bin choice, but unlike life, wine in restaurants really does seem to follow the motto ''You get what you pay for.''

Main courses arrived in the shape of salmon with stir fried veg and satay sauce (for him) and baked aubergine and mozzarella tower with crispy leeks, red pesto and balsalmic dressing (for me).

Both, priced at £12.95, would be satisfying enough in their own right if you want a bill of under £30.

The salmon was subtly buttery and maintained its own delicate flavour amid its spicy bedfellows.

While they might not sound like great combinations, the fiery sauce and fresh Oriental veg blended beautifully with the mild, but wonderful fresh fish.

Breaking into my tower of mozzarel-la and aubergine was a crime considering the craft of its construction.

The leeks were especially memo-rable. Hunters manage to transform the often drab, slimy and overly-healthy legume into naughty but nice calorific crisps.

Soft fresh bread was on hand to mop up every last drop of the full-bodied pesto and hot satay sauce. We would have been happy to leave without a dessert but once we had seen what was on offer willpower failed us.

Fresh figs poached in mascarpone and five-spice chocolate mousse in a biscuit basket soon made their way to our table and our already full stomachs.

Thankfully, portions weren't over-whelming. Hunters were paying a nod to the very first days of chocolate with the spicy zing they put into the mousse.

In a recent homage to chocolate I took a trip to Cadbury World near Birmingham and discovered that in its infancy chocolate was flavoured with spices.

The mousse was rich without being sickly.

My figs were fine, could have been sweeter, but that could have been because I was teasing my tastebuds with mouthfuls of my other half's choccy dessert.

We finally rolled out.

A trip to Hunters leaves you with the impression that they really know their business.

And not just the food.

The dcor is delightful and the service is friendly and efficient.

All the staff are approachable happy to answer questions.

So many top restaurants can have stuffy surroundings.

Spending £56.65 on food and drink isn't something I do often, but at Hunters it is almost a pleasure to part with your hard-earned cash.

Hunters Restaurant, Jewry Street, Winchester. 01962 860006

Hunters also has a branch in Broad Street, Alresford, and it is the sister restaurant of Bertie's, The Hundred, Romsey.

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