GOOD to see Simon Rimmer cooking up a storm in this stylish restaurant slap bang in the middle of Hale; the place to be seen if you are a Cat C celebrity and for that read Gordon Burns, Graeme Souness, Robbie Savage, the bloke who played Private Matthew Lilley in the 1970s ITV hit comedy classic, Get Some I, and, of course, the Bafta nominee (not) Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster from Coronation St).

The place was absolutely packed and the food befits the reputation; top drawer.

There were people sitting so close to the kitchen they had to wear hair nets for health and safety reasons but I'm sure the owners won't complain that the credit card machine was absolutely smoking at the end of the night with all shaded of gold cards.

You get what you pay for in this life and if you pay the amount they ask then it had better be good and it was. I'm from the school of thought that a Sunday roast down the pub for £6 is good value.

The waitress was quite chatty and friendly without being cheesy or "Disney," but perhaps if she could lose the school ma'am bit ("I know what's good for you...") then she'd probably be working in the Savoy.

I don't really go for fancy food and I am certainly not a foodie and so a beautifully presented lamb with a precariously positioned sprig of parsley cooked with just the right amount of coriander is all well and good, but for me this type of cuisine smacks of "flattering to deceive'' and therefore is usually hiding something....like a decent sized portion of lamb to get your teeth stuck into.

Complete

Au contraire, the meal was a complete "Kate Winslet'' - that is, visually appealing, very tasty and just the right amount of meat.

The wine list "sans prices'' is OK if the punter is from the Cat C list above, but for us mere mortals I was a bit nervous playing "pin the tail on the donkey" on how much we are going to pay for the beverages.

Me: "House white, please."

Waitress: "Good choice sir, but can I recommend a Barolo to accompany the lamb?"

Me: "Yes, you can, but please recommend it to that table over there. I heard they ordered the lamb, too (they were sitting only 15cm away). We'll stick with the House White."

Certainly sir!

In summary, good venue, good food, good evening. Stand your ground with the waitresses and you'll be fine, she still got a decent tip though.

I think the next time I visit Earle, though, will be when I am entertaining clients during the week when it's not quite so full and I can put bill through the expenses, and if I can sweet talk the waitress to ensure the bill isn't itemised with wine costs and the tip, then my accounts staff won't know the individual cost of the booze.

Earle, 4 Cecil Road, Hale (0161 929 8869).

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