Dining Out: Maison MesAmis, Chesterfield

In Chesterfield, the menu at Maison MesAmis gives away the restaurant’s culinary leaning just as much as its name.

We went on a Wednesday evening, where the midweek brasserie menu offered plenty of choice.

Families can also take advantage of a Wednesday offer which sees kids eat free - albeit from a limited and very Anglicised children’s menu.

To kick off, we opted for Crémant de Loire baked camembert, served with locally baked bread (£7.50) and chicken liver paté with toast and red onion marmalade (£7.25). Both were excellent and dispatched in quick fashion.

When it came to mains, our table went for the eight-hour slow braised beef bourguignon with pommé puree and seasonal vegetables (£16.95). The meat was dark, unctuous and simply melted in the mouth.

My eye was taken by the roasted pork fillet, pommé puree, baby apples and black pudding crumb (£17).

These are classic combinations and the soft meat went beautifully with the sweet fruit, cut through by the crisp and salty black pudding.

The French are well known as red-blooded carnivores, with a single dish like cassoulet containing an entire butcher’s shop of meat. But vegetarians will definitely enjoy the pan fried gnocchi served with spinach, cherry tomatoes, dressed with basil pesto & parmesan (£15) which was bursting with Mediterranean flavours.

The sweets, or boudoir bon bons as the menu described them, didn’t disappoint either. The vanilla crème bruleé (£6.75 ) was heavenly - rich and moreish, although the homemade shortbread which came with it could have been crisper.

While the lemon posset with raspberry sorbet and mini meringues (£7) was bursting with clean fruit flavours and rounded off the meal perfectly.

With its chic decor and lovely ambience, it’s well worth making friends with MesAmis.

Our rating: 9/10

To book, call 01246 768789 or visit Maison Mesamis