Telephone: 01926 315522
Address: 15 Dormer Place, Royal Leamington Spa, Warks.

Leamington Spa bustled. It was in the thick of pre-Christmas frenzy, but bustling seemed at odds with the nature of the town itself. The fine, 18th-century facades and plentiful open spaces suggest a rather more leisured and ruminative past. It seems to have been a particular favourite of 19th-century literary folk, attracted, presumably, by the medicinal qualities of its waters and healthy financial arrangements. Charles Dickens gave readings here, and returned the favour by giving Leamington a minor role in Dombey And Son. Nathaniel Hawthorne, he of the unreadable The Scarlet Letter, composed the scarcely more gripping Our Old Home here. The largely forgotten Ambrose Bierce, author of The Devil's Dictionary, stayed in Leamington in 1874, and John Ruskin came here for his health in 1841. Come to think of it, the Spa has much to answer for.

And now it is the culinary home of Stephen Love, who has converted a basement into a rather sombre, serious-minded restaurant. Love may not be the most talked about young chef around at the moment, perhaps because he is in Leamington Spa and not in London. For any chef to catch the notice of the taste arbiters, it seems almost obligatory to live within spitting distance (both literally and figuratively) of Piccadilly Circus. However, Love is a chef with pedigree, and a rather special pedigree at that. He is an award-winner. In 1997, he won the Roux Brothers' Scholarship.

I have something of an interest in the scholarship, because this year I am a judge. The competition probably doesn't mean much to the great guzzling world, but in the industry it is held in high esteem. It gives bright young chefs working their way up through the ranks a chance to go through their paces under the watchful eye of their seniors, and to get recognised for it. Not every chef is a Marco or a Gordon, leaping fully formed into the public eye. Many struggle for years to gain any kind of recognition whatsoever. The Roux Brothers' Scholarship gives them the acclaim of their peers and a launchpad for independence, and is all the more valuable for that.

Before he declared independence in Leamington, Love worked at Mallory Court, a very pukka Midlands country house hotel, spent time with Alain Ducasse in France as part of his award, and generally polished up his obviously considerable skills. One of the reassuring points about a CV of this kind is that it usually means the owner can cook. That is, they can do the basic things properly. They can make a sauce, reduce a stock, be precise about meat, treat vegetables with consideration and create toothsome pastry. You'd be surprised how many starry, starry chefs can't do these things.

So, when you sit down to gravad lax with celeriac remoulade, the salmon has been carefully cured so that it does not kill the flavour of the fish, and instead produces a succulent density to balance against the fierce, mustardy heat of the remoulade. I followed that with a braised shoulder of lamb with white bean purée, mashed potatoes, braised carrots and Brussels sprouts (I may be alone in this, but I do love a Brussels sprout).

The hero of the dish had spent a good many hours in a gentle heat, breaking down the structure of the meat, quietly rendering out the fat, gradually focusing the flavour, so that it separated naturally into chunky, squashy nuts of meat. These had been bound back within the skin and reformed into a fat, tight trunk, which was surrounded by its own glistening, peat-brown juices. It was topped with the bean purée, like a hanging judge's cap, only white, and ringed by the sweet braised carrots and sprouts. It was a quintessential winter dish - deep-flavoured, hefty and very sustaining,

I had pudding, too: vanilla pannacotta with a very good spiced poached pear stuffed with blueberries. The pannacotta had a delicious, slightly sour taste, as if it had been made with buttermilk, but there was a touch too much gelatine in the mix, so that it had a slightly rubbery texture.

At £13.95 for two courses and £17.95 for three, we're looking here at the bottom end of London lunchtime eating prices, which may, of course, be the norm for the country as a whole. The cooking is better, sounder and more satisfying than in many London restaurants, if less flashier and fashionable.

If I have one piece of advice, it would be that I'd like Mr Love to relax a bit, and see more of his own culinary character peeking out from underneath the panoply of traditional French cuisine.

· Open Tues-Sat, 12noon - 2pm, 7 - 9pm. Menus: Lunch, £13.95 for two courses, £17.95 for three; dinner, £22 for two courses, £27.50 for three. All major credit cards. No wheelchair access.