Hotel du Vin, Birmingham

Popular with the rich and famous, you can enjoy a touch of class at this landmark hotel,

You might recall last week I pondered the origin of the chosen spot's name. It wasn't so tricky this week. With a name like Hotel du Vin, there's no mystery about what is at the heart of this business.

Flicking through the many pages of the wine list, no, make that a wine book, the dedication to vino is laid bare.

They say the selection is comprehensive. Exhaustive might be a better description. And if you're not a wine connoisseur, it's probably quite terrifying. It's packed so full of choices there's a handy page number guide.

The first two pages alone concentrate purely on champagne, then it's off to France, Spain, Australia, California and beyond.

And the irony of the situation was, that on the night I chose to visit this wonderful shrine to wine, I was the designated driver. Not my brightest move. With the help of the sommelier – or wine waiter – my pal settled on a half bottle of Muscadet, priced at £12.50. (Another bottle I spied was £765, but let's save the Cristal Brut for another day shall we?).

The Birmingham branch of the boutique chain is based in the heart of the city's business district in Church Street, just off Colmore Row. It's in the old Eye Infirmary, a marvellous early Victorian building restored to such a standard it oozes importance, class and sophistication. It's no surprise it's a magnet for the rich and famous, the chosen haunt of celebrities when they come to Birmingham for work or play.

Stars of television, film, comedy and politics all head for Hotel du Vin, one of the city's poshest places to wine, dine and sleep in style.

Most recently it hit the headlines when the new X Factor judges chose to make it their base during their much publicised launch of the latest series earlier this month.

So if it's good enough for Gary Barlow and er, Tulisa from N-Dubz, it's certainly worth a trip for the Insider, and picking out our best smart-casual attire, my friend and I went along last Tuesday evening for a meal at its French-style bistro.

We expected it to be pricey, but luckily I'd handily been pointed in the direction of a voucher offering two for the price of one on starters and desserts, so hopefully it wouldn't break the bank.

There's on-street parking outside and on the surrounding streets where there's usually a space, and it's free after 6pm. But it's well placed if you wanted to get the train, and is a short walk from the Metro station at Snow Hill.

As you walk through the front doors the restaurant is through a door on the right. Opposite it is the hotel's bar, known as the Bubble Lounge, a relaxing, rustic place with sofas and comfy chairs, which offers patrons myriad of different drinks.

The bistro has an entirely different feel. We got a warm welcome by a smiley waitress and were given a nice round table by one of the huge windows, decorated with dozens of wine bottles with an elaborate display of dried pink flowers cascading down the frames.

It has the feeling of a grand dining room, with dark wood floors and round tables, old fireplaces, high ceilings and vintage posters on the yellow walls.

We scanned the room for any sight of celebs but didn't spot anyone. The clientele was a fairly mixed bunch, a couple of businessmen, two female pals enjoying a bottle of champers and two larger groups of friends.

The menu has just about the right amount of variety – about 12 tempting starters including Dorset crab spaghetti and duck liver parfait.

Mains included lamb cutlets with sweetbread and broad beans, braised ox tongue with carrot puree and foie gras and a "Hotel du Vin" burger.

There's also a separate steak, fish and salad menu. We also spied a fantastic offer on during the week for two people – two courses and a bottle of wine for £35. If only we'd arrived 45 minutes earlier – as it finishes at 7pm.

Other diners were taking advantage of this and seemed to be getting a rather good deal.

One of the waitresses came and apologised for the wait, it had been around 35 minutes since we'd ordered. With the fine wine flowing, good conversation and the busy hum as people came and went, time was flying by unnoticed.

Our starters arrived soon after, delivered by another needlessly apologetic member of staff. The ham hock (£6) was a perfectly formed package of salty meat pressed with capers and spices, accompanied by a deliciously fruity pineapple pickle. It was good – really good. Plenty of food but not too much, it was the perfect start to the meal.

My pal had purposely chosen a lighter starter, but to say the Evesham asparagus cost the same as mine (£6), we felt a little disappointed with the size, although she did say it was delicious. The mains arrived around 20 minutes later.

The smoked haddock fishcake (£12.50) was packed full of flavour, coming rested on a bed of spinach with a soft poached egg on top of it and surrounded by a chive butter sauce.

The pan-fried sea trout (£13.95) was a generous portion of beautifully presented fish fillet in a creamy sauce.

They were the best meals we've had in a long time. And at the price we were paying, so they should have been, to be honest.

The dishes didn't come with any other accompaniments so we chose three separate side orders at £3.50 a piece. All three – chunky chips, minted Jersey Royals and broccoli in hollandaise sauce – were large portions and there's plenty to share. The potatoes were a highlight – soft, salty and very moreish.

For dessert, we shared a variety of sorbet and one of the finest creme brulee's known to man (both £6.95).

With the service charge, the bill for our three-course meal came to £75 with the voucher. It's much more than I normally fork out, but not bad for a one-off and we both felt it was well worth it.

It had been a great evening and we'd been extremely well looked after – the service, atmosphere and fabulous food is what sets Hotel du Vin apart from its rivals.

My advice? Get there before 7pm and take advantage of the "early bird" deal, where you can dine like a celeb for a fraction of the price.

ADDRESS:

Hotel du Vin, Church Street, Birmingham B3 2NR

Tel: 0121 200 0600

Web: www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/birmingham/birmingham

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Duck liver parfait, apricot and chilli chutney (£6.50); Dorset crab spaghetti with anchovies (£6.95)

MAIN COURSES

Pan-fried calves' liver, crispy pancetta, caramelised shallot and sage mash (£17.90); Braised ox tongue, carrot puree and pan-fried foie gras (£16.50); 22oz onglet steak and French fries (£15.50); Mackerel, rocket, pine nut salad (£6.75/£11.50)

DESSERTS

Coffee pannacotta, port roasted fig and biscotti; Blueberry cheesecake; Rum berry jelly and Chantilly cream (all £6.95)