DESCRIBING Red or White is proving a bit of a challenge the best I can say is that it is unique. Moving to Wiltshire from Cornwall just a couple of months ago, I thought I'd seen everything in the hip, minimalist category of restaurant.

But Red or White is in a league of its own. As you might have guessed from the name, a huge part of the whole set-up is wine.

Walking into the building, customers are greeted with 11,500 bottles of wine pure indulgence if you drink as much of the red stuff as we do.

The concept behind Red or White is three-fold. Use it entirely as a vintner's, buy your wine, go home and get sloshed; choose a bottle, pay £2.50 corkage and enjoy it in the comfort of Red and White's tasteful lounge; or do as we did and take your chosen bottle into the restaurant and drink it with a meal.

Now, if you wind through row upon row of wines, you will finally reach the restaurant hidden away at the back of the building.

Bright, spacious and stylish, it was a big change from its origins as a fish and chip shop.

I hope readers don't get the idea that the food wasn't worth mentioning until now it was. The menu changes each month and offers a variety of meat, fish and vegetarian options.

The December choice included duck, cod and aubergine salad for starter; guinea fowl, monkfish and tagliatelle in the middle and poached pear, a

classic sherry trifle or cheese and wafers for dessert.

As a fish-eating veggie I was spoilt for choice. For starter, I opted for the temptingly-named potted salmon and prawn rillettes served with melba toast while my other half chose the warm potato cakes with savoy and melted stilton.

Not what I expected but delicious all the same, the fish was a welcome change from the usual prawn cocktail or soup options and Tristan felt the same about his potato cakes.

We usually take eating out as an excuse to try something new, so Tristan went for the guinea fowl breast on pancetta and baby vegetables and chive cream. I took one glance at the Thai vegetable cakes with coriander chutney and knew they were the choice for me.

Both pleased with our selections, we just about managed to munch our way through the meal, including the tray of potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Although suffering slightly, we decided to share a selection of British cheeses with wheat wafers and chutney. If my 17-stone rugby-playing boyfriend wasn't full up by now, this was his chance.

We were brought a board with huge slabs of four different cheeses .

From the black olives and cashews left to welcome us at our table through to the fudge and mini-biscuits at the end, the finishing touches were what made Red or White stand out.

The meal, including wine, came to a moderate £43.39.

By Zoe Mills

Red or White

Castle Street, Trowbridge

(01225) 781666

Fact file

Children's menu

No smoking in restaurant but smoking in lounge

Open between 10am-10pm

Credit cards accepted

On-street parking or town car park

Booking advisable