A Sunday stroll down the canal took us on an impromptu hunt for a roast to warm the cockles and silence the cries of ‘we’re starving’ from the little people. Bistrot Pierre put in a strong bid for our business looking all handsome and like it would give us a warm Brummie welcome.

It was rammed and we hadn’t booked, but the staff couldn’t have been more charming. A table was rustled up and we ordered a round of lemonade for the kids and a carafe of excellent pinot grigio for the grown-ups. While the restaurant is large set out over numerous floors, the place is packed with enough character to feel cosy and warm. Views over the canal were pretty special too.

The menu is seriously good value at £15.95 for two courses. All the Sunday favourites featured along with some more off-piste dishes. The children are in that stage of being slightly too big for children’s menus but not quite managing grown up portions, however they devoured man-sized roast pork with all trimmings hungrily. It was utterly delicious with top-notch gravy.

There was a terrific pink 21-day aged rump steak with awesome crunchy fries, but the stand-out dish wasn’t your average Sunday lunch fodder – sea bass with creamy saffron curried mussels and samphire. Cooked to perfection and full of flavour, it was just beautiful.

Puds were all appealing but we went in hard with a gooey chocolate brownie with a warm chocolate sauce and salted caramel ice cream, a perfectly balanced tarte au citron and classic crème brûlée done blooming well.

It goes without saying that we were thoroughly impressed. We were probably lucky to bag a table, so would recommend booking rather than risk winging it like us.