Sometimes pie and peas just won't get your message across, and we all need to treat our bodies to actual food (rather than pre-heated polysterene ready meals) once in a while. Go on, treat yourself and your special friend to some top quailty grub. Here are our pick....

Michel’s Brasserie
21-24 Northampton Street (01223) 353110
Michel is clearly an old romantic, and has created an ideal environment for young lurve to flourish, with low lighting to make second or third choice dates look more palatable. Sweet, sweet love doesn’t come cheap, as you’ll discover very quickly, which means it’s worth sorting potential special friends in terms of ‘Michel’s’ or ‘McDonald’s’.
Mon-Sun 12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10pm
Recommended dish: Oven baked mackerel £13.95
House wine £9.95

22 Chesterton Road
22 Chesterton Road (01223) 351880
If you have no friends, and are never invited round to dinner, here is your salvation. A Victorian terrace house that’s been turned into a restaurant, the setting so intimate that it’s pretty much like dining in someone’s living room. The food is far beyond homemade spag bol, however, it’s simply fantastic, from a set menu of five courses for £25 a head, and an incredibly long wine list to boot. Sweetly individual, and always popular, so book in advance to secure your place.
Tue-Sat 7pm-9.45pm
Recommended dish: Set price three course menu £24.50
House wine £11.25

Vaults
14a Trinity Street (01223) 506090
Claustrophobics be warned, Vaults lives up to its name. It’s hard to spend a night here without getting the feeling you’re in a nouveau bomb shelter – apparently that’s half the attraction. And at least you’re encased with enough good wine and food to see you through ‘til peacetime. The restaurant has tasty but tiny dishes, so it’s advisable to order lots to share. Definitely make-or-break date territory; if you can negotiate dinner here, marriage and kids will be a breeze.
Mon-Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10.30pm
Food served: 12pm-10.30pm
Happy Hour: 5pm-7pm
Recommended dish: Sea bass fillet £6.50
House wine £10.50