Ambrosia, Loggerheads, Market Drayton

Reviewer's rating ***

I've driven past this restaurant at least eight times every week for the past three years, always admiring its pristine facade but never stopping to venture inside.

I do this probably because I'm a vegetarian and I don't want to end up with lettuce leaves as my main course.

This has happened to me once before at a Chinese restaurant in Hastings in 1998; they didn't have anything suitable on the menu.

But I have nothing to fear as the Ambrosia comes highly recommended. Taxi drivers tell my husband Michael how they enjoyed eating there last year and a former director of his (who apparently only eats at the finest places) said how it's nice for a small village like Loggerheads to have a good quality restaurant.

So I decided to face my fears and booked a table for two on Tuesday - the seventh anniversary of our first date.

We turned up at 6.30pm and were surprised the place was empty. I saw this as an opportunity to bag the best seat in the house - a table at the back next to the fire of the terracotta-coloured restaurant.

We sat down and the friendly waiter, who we later discovered was Jimmy, handed out the menus. My heart began to race as I opened the leathered document. I flicked through several sheets of the menu and as I was about to cry "where's the vegetarian option?" I found it on page five.

I had a choice of three starters as opposed to Michael's 20-odd, but that didn't stop me from opting for the lettuce wrapped vegetables (£4.40).

As the food started to arrive, Jimmy realised our table for two was too small and moved us to a larger one near the window. Michael missed his warm spot near the fire, but we both appreciated the extra space for our plates and drinks - table water and Tsingtao beer.

My starter came with a dip and several domed-shaped, fresh, blemish-free lettuce leaves. It smelled wonderful and I can honestly say it was one of the best dishes I have ever had, although it was way too much for me.

I also tried the tasty vegetables wrapped in one of Michael's pancakes, which I thought was a better combination.

Michael's starter "was not at all that greasy for duck" and he managed to finish most of it off. He said: "You can't get duck wrong and I simply had to have it."

For my main course (I had a choice of 10 options) I ordered the mixed mushrooms in mock oyster sauce (£6.90), consisting of three types of mushrooms: straw, Chinese and white. I also opted for a bowl of rainbow fried rice (£3.60), containing minute pieces of carrots, spring onions and mushrooms.

The rice was divine and a meal in itself for me. The mixed mushrooms - swimming in a rich, dark brown sauce - were fresh, delicious and beautifully presented.

Michael was recommended Jill Yuen chicken (£7.90), and he had this with boiled rice (£2). The chicken, coated with salt, pepper and dried chillies, came on a bed of finely sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and a serving of much-needed fresh pineapple chunks.

Apparently the spicy chicken was delicious and the pineapple went "very well to freshen up the tongue". Although another beer also helped to extinguish the fire in his mouth.

For afters, I ordered the toffee apple and ice cream (£4.40). It came highly recommended by Jimmy, who has been working at Ambrosia for 10 years. Michael opted for ice cream on a nest of meringue (£3.50).

As we waited for our desserts to arrive, we heard the other family dining in the quiet restaurant celebrating the dad's new job.

Apparently, he had been unemployed for the past three months and they obviously couldn't imagine a better place to mark the special occasion.

I preferred Michael's dessert to mine, but we both agreed the ice cream was delicious. Dessert was followed by refreshingly light China tea (£2.20).

Although the restaurant was quiet during our visit, we noticed takeaway orders were plentiful so it's clearly a hot favourite with regulars and they can add us to the list.

The Ambrosia sits in the heart of the village on the A53. The restaurant opens seven days a week, with reservations taken from 5pm until 11pm. It is a family-run business founded by Kee Lee and his wife Michelle Lee.

The couple bought the building in 1988. It underwent a "major refurbishment and remains in that state to the present day as host to Cantonese and Peking cuisine".

They opened a second restaurant a couple of years ago in Cheshire Street, Market Drayton, which also has been highly praised.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters - Peking spare ribs (£5.70); Chicken satay in skewers (£4.70)

Main courses - King prawn with green pepper in black bean sauce (£9.40); Roast pork with seasonal vegetables (£7.80)

Sides - Mixed vegetables (£3.90); Plain soft noodles (£3.20)

Desserts - Ice cream with waffle (£3.50); Apple fritter with ice cream (£3.90)

ATMOSPHERE

Inviting and quiet

SERVICE

Efficient and friendly

DISABLED FACILITIES

No

Contact

Ambrosia, Newcastle Road, Loggerheads, Market Drayton. Telephone (01630) 673609 (evening) or 07836 226 888 (daytime).