LAURO'S Brasserie only opened six weeks ago, but because the restaurant's owner is one of Hampshire's best loved chefs, it already has a solid customer base and is fully booked at weekends.

Filipino-born Lauro (Larry) Aman has lived in Britain for 28 years and was originally trained in classic French cuisine.

A former chef/proprietor at The Granary in Bishop's Waltham, his new restaurant has a Mediterranean theme (with a hint of the Orient).

But Larry is confident he can turn his hand to any type of cuisine to keep up with the trends in eating out.

"People's tastes change the whole time so, if they want Thai, I will do Thai," he says.

The interior of Lauro's Brasserie is simply decorated with paintings, terracotta lights and rustic wooden tables and chairs.

But it was frankly hard to tear our concentration away from the food, which was imaginative and of a high quality.

The chicken liver parfait with cranberry and orange preserve was beautifully presented.

And the medallions of Hampshire pork fillet, wrapped in bacon, with Granny Smith sauce were succulent and moist.

One of my fellow diners plumped for the fillet of beef steak with a brandy and black pepper sauce and said it was one of the best cuts of meat she'd eaten for ages.

In fact it was a while before she stopped sounding like a bit of a scratched record on the subject.

My other dinner companion managed to leave enough room for a spot of sticky toffee pudding with sauce Anglaise.

It must have been good because she emitted some sort of low growling noise whenever my spoon strayed in the direction of her plate.

"Many of my old customers have already found out that I've opened here," says Larry.

And if our evening at Lauro's Brasserie is anything to go by, it's likely he's about to gain himself quite a lot of loyal diners.

Reservations: 01329 234179.