Bistro West 156

When it comes to neighbourhood restaurants, we tend to see them in three main categories. There is the kind of place we eat at because it is cheap, local and nicer than cooking at home, though you suspect that you could cook as well if you only watched Jamie Oliver more often (think Mink in Chorlton).

There is the occasional restaurant which should, by rights, be slap bang in the city centre, complete with a crowd of adoring food writers prostrating themselves on the ground before it (think Palmiro in Whalley Range).

And then there is the chic little bistro down the road that would be swallowed up in town but stands out a mile in the suburbs. The kind of place that you take your friends when they come to stay for the weekend because not only is the food lovely but you can get back quickly for the babysitter or stumble back when you are all hammered.

Bistro West 156 is just such a place. The food is British fare, traditionally cooked and presented with a distinct lack of pretension. It's not exactly cheap but a set menu Monday until Wednesday and the generous portion sizes make up for it, and the melting chocolate pudding will sweeten you up so much you probably won't even notice. With its pretty décor, local artwork on the walls and relaxed atmosphere, it really is the perfect neighbourhood restaurant.