Rating ***** Neil Thomas dines in a franchise that concentrates on what it does best and does it well.

The previous time my wife Vanessa and I visited Loch Fyne in Shrewsbury, we were one of very few couples among a restaurant packed with foursomes and larger parties.

We’re fortunate that our conversation rarely flags and is generally stimulating, though heaven knows after 15 years together what we find to talk about.

You can’t help but notice, however, that many dining out couples dry up all too soon and are reduced to gazing around the restaurant or out of the window or striking up lng conversations with the sommelier.

On our latest visit to Loch Fyne, though, we decided on safety in numbers and took our friends Rob and Suzanne – only to find that virtually every other table was occupied by couples. I suppose that’s what happens when it’s a Valentine’s promotion.

We weren’t entirely conspicuous – there were one or two other foursomes and one raucous party of 10 who’d clearly completely missed the point.

There were, though, whispering lovelorn couples aplenty with starry-eyes only for one another. I even had a camera thrust in my hand by a chap at the next table who asked if I’d take a photograph of him and the girl of his dreams on their romantic diner a deux.

While love was obviously in the air on our table too, we were, I must confess, primarily attracted by the special occasion menu and the company of two of our more entertaining friends – the last dinner party we attended at their home, Rob, umpteenth glass of red wine in hand, relaxed back in his chair into a scented window candle and accidently set his hair alight, a form of after-dinner diversion I must confess I’d never encountered before.

While there was never the likelihood of a repeat of the smouldering locks trick at Loch Fyne, we still enjoyed an evening of mirth and the food lived up to expectations.

After a glass of beautifully chilled Joseph Perrier champagne on arrival – part of the menu package – the girls and I started with the wonderful lobster bisque. They must be boiling fish scales and heads all daylong to get such a richly-flavoured stock. Garlic aioli added yet stronger flavour, balanced by toasted crusty bread. Old ‘Burning Bonce’ had to be different, of course, and tucked into chilli prawns, which he said were meaty with a delightful spicy kick.

Inside Loch Fyne, Shrewsbury

The seabass main was superb – fried to perfection with a beautifully crispy skin and soft flesh that oozed flavour. They were complemented by delicious seared scallops and braised fennel and we also had side orders of spinach and chips. Three of us enjoyed that, while Rob tucked into fish and chips that were a real cut above, with light crispy batter encasing a thick steak of pristine white fish flesh and excellent thick cut fries.

Desserts – poached pears with passion fruit sabayon, rhubarb crème brulee with shortbread and hot chocolate pudding with chocolate ice cream – were excellent.

We washed it all down with beers and a refreshing Muscadet and rounded off the meal with great coffee and chocolates.

The Valentine’s menu represented first class value at £34.95 per head. This may not seem particularly useful information to you, with the red roses having long since wilted and the mushy cards been despatched to the recycling plant. However, Loch Fyne does have other such promotions throughout the calendar, which are well worth looking out for.

Promotion, or not, it is a great place to dine. Since it opened two-and-a-half years ago, Shrewsbury’s Loch Fyne has proved a popular addition to the town’s ‘foodscape’.

As with other franchises, such as Pizza Express, for instance, Loch Fyne works to a tried-and-tested formula. It sticks to what it does best and does it very well, with a brand ethos that ensures that in whichever of its 45 outlets you eat you are ensured of the same high values, which include an ethical approach to provenance.

Shrewsbury’s Loch Fyne is in the old TSB bank building. Architecturally the place is superb but then if there’s one thing we’ve learnt about bankers over the past three years it’s that they know how to look after themselves. Actually, I’d advocate turning more banks into restaurants as a way of boosting the nation’s morale. Loch Fyne is the perfect model for this – for a fun experience it knocks queueing in the HSBC into a cocked hat.

Every time we visit, the service is excellent (Loch Fyne, not HSBC). Again it was friendly, efficient and swift. Courses are certainly pushed through, though there is no sense of any pressure on you to rush your meal.

Once you have finished, though, you are certainly not kept waiting for the next course, which, I suspect, many diners – particularly those gazing at the wall after the domestic small-talk has run out – probably welcome.

ADDRESS
Loch Fyne, Market Street, Shrewsbury SY1 1LG
Tel: 01743 277140

MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Oak smoked salmon with baby capers £5.95; Coarse peppered mackerel pâté with oatcakes £4.50

MAINS
Crab cakes served with chilli and garlic green beans £11.95; Seafood selection – grilled salmon, sea bass and king prawn with seared scallops, served with lemon parsley butter, spinach and new potatoes £16.50

DESSERTS
Rhubarb crème brulée with shortbread; Poached pears with passion fruit sabayon

ATMOSPHERE
Lively and convivial

SERVICE
Friendly and efficient

DISABLED FACILITIES
Wide doors and plenty of space between tables. Easy access to toilets.