Harry's Restaurant

The building came first: an 1883 gothic pile on Longbrook Street, built as a wood and stone carving workshop for the sculptor Harry Hems. The hammering stopped long ago, but the place has kept its noise, thanks to the Pounds family, who opened here in 1993 and still run it themselves. In a city centre where the chains have swallowed most of the independents, that kind of stubbornness counts for a great deal.

The menu moves from expertly cooked steaks to falafel burgers and vegetarian mezze platters, with ingredients sourced locally and seasonally, and plating that shows real care. Candlelit tables and eclectic decor soften the gothic bones, though this is not a quiet room: birthdays and celebrations keep it lively, and students and their visiting parents have long treated it as a default. There is a bar and a private dining room too. Book ahead.