THERE'S always a tingle of excitement when you go to a new restaurant for the first time; a sense of journeying into the unknown.
 If you haven't had a recommendation then the feeling is intensified. When you don't even know what type of food it offers... well, it's like opening a birthday present which doesn't have a gift tag on (bear with me) - will it be a box of delicious Belgian choccies from your best friend, or a packet of sickly sweet rhubarb-flavoured lollipops from your Aunt Mabel? By all accounts, the recentlyopened Julian's Restaurant in Hoylake is a fine box of chocolates. The restaurant is on the site of the former Spanish Tavern in a prime position on Hoylake's main drag, Birkenhead Road. A cosy place, it has large windows which means you can sit and watch the world go by without being over-looked or feel self-conscious when slurping your soup. The decor is bright and sunny, in blues and whites, with prints of Salvador Dali paintings on the walls, a black ceiling, homely curtains, proper tablecloths and - shock, horror - real napkins. Even though Julian's had only been open a matter of weeks when we went on a Friday evening, it was still fairly full, with two large parties taking up most of the small dining room. So, as word gets round, expect to book in advance. One other thing of note, before we get to the food itself, is that Julian's prides itself on being a non-smoking restaurant. Great news for us clean-livers (should that be clean-lungers?), not so for the lady behind us who stridently asked: "Where can I smoke then?" So to business. "Fine dining," it says on the window and so it proved to be. The restaurant offers a special two-course table d'hote menu, priced at £9.95 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday or £12.95 Saturday. There was an impressive choice for both carnivores (me) and vegetarians (my friend), including three different soups for starters (and not just the usual suspects of veg or tomato, either). I decided to start with the mush-room soup, which was delicious - warming, not too peppery, filled with mushrooms and accompanied by a warm, fresh bread roll and butter. Ruth decided to skip the starters so she could include a dessert on her table d'hote, so made do with a glass of water (no, I didn't feel guilty eating my soup in front of her, just satisfied). For the main course I chose chicken a la creme - sliced chicken breast in a rich cream and wine sauce. | 
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