It’s a reassuringly short hop up Church Street from The Grapes pub to The Stewing Pot restaurant, writes Richard McComb.

Fortified by a glass of Newton’s cider from Leominster – and a second, of Robinson’s Flagon, from Tenbury – I am ready for dinner. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t drink cider as an aperitif but you’ve got to when you are in the fermented apple juice capital of the universe.

I find myself at The Stewing Pot on the back of numerous recommendations. It is opposite a fine cheese shop, The Mousetrap, in the shadows of Hereford Cathedral. The setting is Inspector Morse-like, without the dead academics.

The 28-cover restaurant was set up by chef Stuart Leggett and his wife Vikki in 2005. Stuart now oversees the operation, and a successful outside catering business, and 23-year-old head chef Alan Cartwright is left in charge of day to day cooking duties. Cartwright works the kitchen with a single assistant chef and does a remarkable job turning out well-prepared, tasty dishes that hit the mark perfectly for a local, neighbourhood restaurant.

The market menu is £22.95 for three courses (£18.50 for two courses). The starters include sweet potato soup and flaked smoked mackerel with mains including pan fried cod loin, tomato concasse, herb and fennel fricassee and field mushroom risotto with basil pesto. There’s lemon posset and local strawberries and cream for puds. It’s the sort of stuff you want to eat.