FOR anybody who has visited Hill Head I’m sure Emma’s dress shop and the Osborne view are probably the first things that spring to mind when thinking about the area along with the stunning views.

However, this looks all set to change since Maria Lewis transformed the former dress shop into her very own ‘dream’ eatery.

Breezes is a café and delicatessen by day feeding the hungry passers by and busy mums on the school run and a romantic bistro three evenings a week - Thursday, Friday and Saturdays.

A former dress shop is not the first venue that comes to mind when looking for a spot of fine dining but the quaint bistro is starting to make a name for itself in the area since opening its doors just a couple of months ago.

And after visiting recently for a bite to eat I can certainly see why.

During the day the emphasis is on quality café-style food offering chunky toast, eggs benedict or porridge for breakfast, winter warmers such as chunky soup and pastry topped chowders for lunch and even healthy snacks such as chunky toast and fruit for the children after school.

And the café are even offering customers a free tea or coffee if they present this article before November 20 2009.

The evening dining experience is conducted at a somewhat slower pace serving just 30 covers from the tasty a la carte menu offering a relaxed yet personal touch to its diners.

Despite the menu being fairly small with the specials board changing weekly it seems well thought out with something on offer for all tastes.

I decided to try the moules mariniere to start – mussels in a Thai sauce served with fresh bread to ensure you soak up every last bit of the delicious sauce.

My partner went for the interesting dish of – soft crab meat on a crab paste topped with sweet chunks of tomato topped with avocado ice cream, providing a great variety of flavours which combined to make a unique but great tasting dish.

For our main course my partner opted for the fillet of salmon served with warm new potato salad, which again was cooked using the freshest ingredients, but no matter how tasty his dish was he couldn’t help getting food envy.

As I took the waiters advice who couldn’t speak highly enough of the chef’s – Richard West – risottos and ordered pan fried chicken served on a butternut squash risotto which was a dish from the daily specials board. And the dish was as good if not better than he had described with the risotto being the best either of us had tasted.

Despite being full we couldn’t miss the opportunity to try the desserts, so I opted for the rich chocolate tart served with a scoop of vanilla New Forest Ice Cream, while my partner went for the fruit filled crepes. Again both dishes were faultless even if we were a little too ambitious and couldn’t quite manage to finish them, well this was certainly the case for me anyway!

All in all the bistro offers great food cooked and presented well with the friendly staff adding the finishing touches to what was a fantastic evening.

SHELLY FOUNTAIN ■ Fareham