Heavenly fare

Jonathan Lewis regards printed menus as a major restriction. He is much happier these days cooking from the menu that is chalked up daily on a blackboard at Jonathan's at the Angel, the brasserie with rooms that he has run with his wife, Josephine, for two years in Burford, Oxfordshire.

"I can change the menu just before service, and even during service if I need to," he says. "By being able to make regular changes I can keep the supplies moving, which in turn keeps prices down, and that's what customers like."

Indeed, it is also what some of the guides like. In the 2002 edition of the Red Guide to Great Britain and Ireland, published by Michelin, Jonathan's at the Angel has for the first time been awarded a Bib Gourmand, denoting a restaurant offering carefully prepared meals and moderately priced menus.

While there is no pattern to the regularity of menu changes, there is usually a fixed number of dishes - generally six to seven starters and 10 main courses.

The style of food is eclectic. As well as offering some simply prepared British dishes - such as the main-course dish of wild salmon trout with fresh asparagus (£9.75) - Lewis, who heads a brigade of three, also cooks a sprinkling of Italian, Indian and Thai dishes that he and Josephine have experienced on their widespread travels. However, he insists that he will cook Indian and Thai food only if he can do so authentically.

Lewis's repertoire includes tom yam soup with tiger prawns (£6.95), red Thai curry (£9.75) and lamb jalfrezi served with aromatic rice, sag aloo, tarka dahl and home-made naan bread (£10.50).

Lewis believes you can judge a kitchen on the quality of its terrines and consequently he always has at least one on the menu - maybe a layered duck terrine with pickled walnuts (£6.50) or a potted chicken parfait with foie gras, served with red onion chutney and wild garlic leaves (£6.95).

Main-course dishes include roast breast of Gressingham duck served with confit of leg, roast parsnips and pear sauce (£10.95) and monkfish with green sauce (made from spinach and watercress whizzed together with chervil and tarragon) and fresh gnocchi (£11.50).

Usually there is a choice of three desserts, alongside a selection of home-made ice-creams and sorbets, which change frequently. The choice of ice-creams may include vanilla and mascarpone, pistachio, chocolate chip cookie and cherry, and coffee and cardamom, while among the sorbets there may be raspberry and vodka, apple and Calvados, and blackcurrant and Glayva. The Angel Delight (£6.50) allows customers the opportunity to taste all three desserts, together with a selection of ice-creams and sorbets.

Average spend at Jonathan's at the Angel, which is open for lunch from Thursday to Sunday and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, is £31 a head, including wine. The 32-seat restaurant usually serves an average of 38 covers for dinner.

Jonathan's at the Angel, 14 Witney Street, Burford, Oxfordshire. Tel: 01993 822714.www.theangel-uk.com

Sample menu from Jonathan's at the Angel

Fresh lobster bisque, £6.50
Risotto of wild rocket and shaved Parmesan, £5.50
Fresh ravioli of crayfish with shellfish sauce, £6.95
Fillet of cod baked with Bombay aloo, £9.75
Breast of guinea fowl with lemon grass sauce and pilaf rice, £12.50
Sirloin steak with horseradish mash and hollandaise sauce, £12.75
Iced prune and caramel parfait with sweet and sour plums, £4.95
Dark chocolate and rum torte with homemade toffee ice-cream, £4.95