The initial impression on entering Merchants is good. Greeted and conducted to our table by a cheery maitre d’ lacking all the pretension and broom-up-back-side-attitude all too often displayed by the by the try-hard staff of trendy restaurants, my guest and I are set immediately at our ease and leap with, with surprising gusto, into criticising the décor.

Sculpted pewter-effect panelling on the vaulted ceiling, opaque mirrors, chandeliers with just a touch too much ‘bling.’ As individual pieces, there’s not much that we like. However, the simple wooden tables and comfortable seating are somehow pulled into this rather ostentatious surround by clever lighting to create a perfectly relaxed and intimate ambience which is surprisingly hard to describe.

Service is prompt and it’s not long before we find ourselves munching on parmesan rolls and herbed bread whilst perusing the menus and arguing over the wine list.

2005 saw Merchants the winner of Nottingham’s Restaurant Awards for best wine list (and best service), so it comes as no surprise that the choice is wide, ranging from a £12 bottle of Domaine de Laballe white to £99 bottles of Krug Champagne. With such a selection, I’m not entirely sure how we ended up with a rosé, but at £21 the Rhone Valley Tave Rosé La Forcadiére was surprisingly pleasant, a very light and subtle accompaniment to any meal.

Next, the important part – food. The tag-line that Merchants goes for is “no-nonsense,” boasting wholesome and hearty British brasserie fare, with a touch of the continent. Between us we dined from the Al a carte menu and the Table D’hote, created by Head Chef, Patrick Tweedie (ex Le Gavroche).

First thought on seeing the menu is that it’s all surprisingly reasonably priced. Second thought is that there’s not the greatest choice of vegetarian dishes, but an enquiry of a friendly waitress soon provides me with an additional menu and an offer to adapt other dishes to suit my requirements, where possible. I settled on the roasted pumpkin soup with crème fraiche and caviar (minus the caviar for me), the roasted vegetable ratatouille tartlet with pesto and mozzarella, followed by the chocolate slice with mango sorbet, while my friend dined out on a “bloody sublime” haddock risotto to start, a main course of Aberdeenshire beef fillet with pommes Pont Neuf, balsamic jus and béarnaise sauce and finished off with a chocolate soufflé with pistachio sorbet and mixed berry coulis.

Admittedly, presentation-wise, there’s not a great deal that you can do with soup, particularly if your picky customer requests a removal of garnish (my apologies to the chef), but the rest looked beautiful. Cooked to perfection, the servings were well-sized and the flavours so well balanced that although some combinations were not the most obvious choice (chocolate and mango), they complimented each other wonderfully.

Merchants has a fairly hefty reputation to live up to and being a cynic of monumental proportions I was fully prepared to go in and pick some sizeable holes, but there’s really not much that I can fault. The courses arrived in a perfectly timely manner, with no pressurised hurry to vacate the table but without leaving us waiting for too long, the food was every bit as appetising as the advertising reps would have us believe, the atmosphere cosy and intimate without being claustrophobic and the service flawless. What is there to complain about? Well, you should have seen the shoes of the woman at the next table; I mean shiny sequined silver stilettos? Please!

The Table D’hote will set you back £29.50 per head, the Al a carte menu between £27.50 and £42.90. It is worth noting that Merchants is100% non-smoking.