Hickory’s Smokehouse

Down by the river Dee, Hickory’s, one of three sites in a growing regional chain, claims to be an authentic US barbecue restaurant. This has its ups and downsides. The adjoining bar looks, with its TVs and dim-lighting, every bit as depressing as so many American sports bars, and the soundtrack of good ol’ country and western is immediately grating (luckily, Hickory’s also does takeaway). On the upside, those huge, sticky hunks of brisket and rib racks that you can see being carved up, taste pretty good (from £8.95). The kitchen cooks slow ‘n’ low in a wood-fired imported smoker and also fast ‘n’ hot over coals, and my sample Texas dip sandwich contained a seriously beefy slab of melting, well-marbled, imported US brisket. Its pink and blackened exterior delivered a genuine, smoky complexity, and the accompanying skin-on chips were not bad either. There is a limited core of dishes on the mainline menu that come in under £10, but the budget traveller is best visiting Hickory’s before 5pm when that choice is bulked out by a selection of sandwich meals, such as the Big Pig (barbecue smoked pulled pork) and the Cubanos (ham, cheese, pickles, mustard).
• Mains from £6.50. The Groves, Souters Lane, 01244 404000, hickorys.co.uk. Open daily 9am-11pm

Artichoke

This handsome warehouse conversion – all bare brick, exposed beams and modern art – is one of a cluster of food businesses (also see The Old Harkers Arms, below) that line the Shropshire Union Canal, where it crosses under City Road. Served until 3.30pm, Artichoke’s daytime menu includes plenty of sharp, sub-£10 brunch dishes, upmarket sandwiches and deli boards. A plate of black pudding and colcannon (£6.95) was notable for its attention to detail: mash threaded with al dente kale, a perfect fried egg on top, that had been fried in butter. On a sunny day, the canal-side seating is much sought after and the bar serves a decent range of craft beers and real ales (from £3.40 a pint).
• Daytime dishes from £4.50. The Steam Mill, Steam Mill Street, Canal Quarter, 01244 329229, artichokechester.co.uk. Open (for food) Mon-Sat 10am-3.30pm and 5pm-10pm, Sun, breakfast 9.55am-11.55am, and lunch 12.30pm-8pm

Mockingbird Taproom

The Mockingbird looks to the Gulf of Mexico for inspiration and, between midday and 5pm, serves a selection of its fiery dishes for about £7. These include hot wings, a burger, various Cajun-spiced tortilla wraps and burritos, and a brioche of smoked brisket dipped and then re-dipped in Texan gravy, a bourbon barbecue sauce, and then layered with cheese and onion rings. Hear something? It could be your arteries crying out for mercy. A brisket chilli burrito (£6.95) hit the spot. It was a little heavy on the tomatoes, but it had a sweet, fruity flavour; the brisket had retained a good texture and its heat was bracing without being overbearing.
• Lunch dishes from £4.95. 85 Watergate Street, 01244 316100, mockingbirdtaproom.co.uk. Open Mon-Fri noon-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10pm

Blackstocks

Blackstocks is one of those shiny new fish and chip shops/restaurants pushing a modern, fastidious take on this British classic. Think MSC-certified sustainable fresh fish, seasonal potato varieties for its chips, own-recipe sausages and pies. It even uses specially-vented takeaway boxes to more effectively let the steam out. Crucially, everything is cooked-to-order for maximum freshness, resulting in crisp, buttery chips and cod (options included hake, sea bass, plaice, bream) encased in a well-seasoned batter that was almost tempura-like in its lightness. Talking about places that are ramping up the quality of commonplace items, the nearby Jaunty Goat is Chester’s go-to “third wave” coffee shop. It sells excellent locally made cakes (57 Bridge Street, Facebook).
• Small meals with drink, £3.75, regular fish and chips from £5.75. 33 Northgate Street, 01244 325822, blackstocks.co.uk. Open Mon-Thurs 11.30am-7pm, Fri-Sat 11.3am-8pm, Sun 11.30am-6pm

La P’tite France

As the name suggests, this is essentially a neat, modest provincial French-style bistro. All the details are there: the warm, chatty welcome from frontman Frédéric Lolliot; the cheesy French pop soundtrack; and, but of course, a limited, affordable lunch and early-bird menu du jour. Its sub-£10 mains might include croque monsieur with chips, warm goat’s cheese salad on toasted baguette or lamb’s liver and mash. A sample plate of sea bream with a warm, sharp, wine vinegar-laced salsa of onion, tomato and olives was simple, well-balanced and very accurately cooked. This came with a timbale of notably creamy rice and a salad that, once again, proved that when it comes to turning a few modest leaves into something special (using only a mustard dressing), the French are peerless.
• Menu du jour, one course, £8.95. 63 Bridge Street, 01244 401635, laptitefrance.co.uk. Open Tues-Fri noon-2.30pm and 5.30pm-9pm, Sat-Sun noon-3pm, 5.30pm-9pm

The Old Harkers Arms

“Old” is the operative word at Harker’s. With its Punch cartoon prints, pew seating, antique rugs and shelves of library books, this canal-side venue is a polished fabrication of an Edwardian pub, and one that seeks to maintain a civilised atmosphere by banning music, small children, stag and hen dos. Harkers is part of a large regional pub group, Brunning and Price, but B&P prides itself on serving freshly cooked food at its boozers. Budget travellers can fill-up on the erroneously titled “light bites” (portions are substantial), such as spiced lamb meatballs with fries and salad, quiche lorraine with new potato salad or the steak sandwich. The cooking is not flawless (my presumably pre-cooked then refreshed poached egg on my kedgeree was cold in the middle), but it is several rungs up from your standard pub grub. The staff are great too, and Harkers carries a decent selection of real ales (from £3.50 a pint).

• Sandwiches and light meals from £5.95. 1 Russell Street, 01244 344525, brunningandprice.co.uk/harker. Food served daily noon-9.30pm

Kash Tap Rooms

With its bizarre psychedelic murals (hops in dinner suits, smiling hippy suns, multi-coloured elephant heads), eating in this brewpub is a bit like stepping into the artwork of a 1970s progressive rock album. However, in all other ways – most notably, in its hop-forward Redball beers and its modish menu of dogs, burgers, hot wings, burritos and chillis – Kash is bang up-to-date. Handmade on-site, Kash’s burgers have the heft and the tightly packed density of steak burgers, but are, nonetheless, juicy bombs, vigorously charred and prominently beefy. Served in an exemplary soft-glazed brioche bun with good-quality bacon and cheese, my sample burger was sweet and meaty … and wolfed down in short order. Note: all of Kash’s own keg and cask craft beers are £1 a pint with any burger.
• Hot dogs and wings from £5, mains from £8.95. 121 Brook Street, 01244 401777, kash-bars.com. Open Mon-Weds 4pm-11pm, Thurs 4pm-11.30pm, Fri 4pm-midnight, Sat noon-midnight, Sun 3pm-11pm

Koconut Grove

Despite its unlovely new-build location, this south Indian restaurant is a serene space – a clean, off-white box judiciously decorated with huge flower sprays and oversize ornaments. The menu runs the southern Indian gamut from Nilgiri chicken to a Keralan fish stew, and includes a variety of dosas. The latter are first-rate: light, lacy and crisp, but just thick enough to offer some resistance, almost greaseless, and partnered with excellent chutneys and a sambar that tasted, as the best do, like the ultimate winter veg soup. It was a little pot of pleasure with enormous depth of flavour. Normally, a lamb dosa just involves adding lamb to the standard, lightly spiced potato filling, but, here, my lamb dosa (£7.95) came stuffed with cubed, roasted lamb in a thick, hugely savoury curry sauce which, in its flashes of perfumed spicing, tasted almost North African. It was interesting, unusual and delivered a whole lot of flavour. Note: Koconut Grove serves a two-course lunch for £7.95 on Saturdays and, on Sunday afternoons, a £8.95-a-head buffet.
• Dosas from £6.95, mains from £8. Ethos Court, City Road, 01244 325888, koconutgrove.co.uk. Open Mon-Fri 5pm-11pm, Sat noon-2.30pm and 5pm-11pm, Sun noon-10pm

Deli Vert

A 10-minute stroll from Chester railway station, the suburb of Hoole is a “village” of independent shops, bars and good places to eat: not least Deli Vert, which sells a variety of homemade items and many produced in wider Cheshire. Its light quiches sing with clear flavours as do its jazzy sandwiches. Star of the show, however, is its onion marmalade sausage rolls. Deli Vert’s various scotch eggs looked excellent too, but unfortunately (it is a VAT issue, apparently), the counter staff cannot reheat them for you. Shame. If you are picking up a picnic, nearby Alexandra Park (off Canadian Avenue) is a useful place to plot-up.
• Snacks from around £2, sandwiches from £3. 10a Faulkner Street, Hoole, 01244 340505, deli-vert.co.uk. Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm

The Faulkner

This Hoole pub is rather blingy (lots of chandeliers and designer wallpaper), but its menu, which includes plenty of sub-£10 “light bites” dishes, remains democratic. In particular, between noon and 5pm, the Faulkner serves a limited lunch menu that includes a meal and a soft or alcoholic drink for £7.95. Judging from my smoked salmon benedict, served with wilted spinach on a toasted bagel, you are not going to experience the most refined cooking here (the hollandaise had split), but all the flavours shone through with a reasonable wattage. For the money, it was a pleasant plate of food. Other dishes on the lunch menu included a buffalo mozzarella salad, a lime, chilli and ginger marinated chicken breast with a watermelon salad, and ricotta and mushroom-stuffed panzerotti.
• Lunch deal £7.95, sandwiches, light meals and pizzas from £4.75. 48 Faulkner Street, Hoole, 01244 328195, thefaulknerchester.co.uk. Food served Mon-Thurs noon-9pm, Fri-Sat noon-9.30pm, Sun noon-8pm

Great places to stay and visit in Chester. Tony Naylor’s travel between Manchester and Chester was provided by Arriva Trains Wales, arrivatrainswales.co.uk