Sugarvine

For much of the year, Bath positively heaves with tourists. Try walking through the Abbey precinct and you're forced to elbow your way through crowds gawping at jugglers or unicyclists. But if you're looking for somewhere for lunch, rest assured; few of these people will know much about the many choice restaurants in the city. From a charming courtyard restaurant to an authentic French bistro, from a converted police station to a stylish modern Italian restaurant by the river, Bath caters for most tastes when it comes to a good lunch.

Summer, of course, is the time of year for al fresco eating, and on a sunny day it's hard to beat sitting in the quiet and secluded courtyard of the Moon and Sixpence (pictured above), housed in a converted warehouse up a cobbled passageway off Broad Street. The cuisine at the Moon and Sixpence is described as Modern International, with starters like gorgonzola, watercress, pear and endive salad with a walnut oil and honey dressing, and main courses like fillet of salmon with fettucini, cherry tomatoes, rocket, baby spinach and pecorino cheese. Each main course has its own recommended wine, so if you're having the salmon, for instance, they recommend an Australian wine, Zoe's Unoaked Chardonnay 2001. There's also a two-course set lunch for £8.50.

Up the hill from here, in a quiet pedestrianised street between the Circus and the Royal Crescent, is Bistro Papillon (pictured on home page), where if the weather's fine you can sit outside at tables on the pavement. Bistro Papillon is the kind of simple but sophisticated restaurant which is common in most French towns but all too rare in this country, serving delicious food and fine wine in a relaxed atmosphere. It's deservedly popular, so it's best to book in advance if you want to be sure of a table. Here too there's a two-course lunch menu for £8.50 which includes dishes like, as a starter, duck and juniper rillettes with cornichons and baby onions, followed by chicken couscous and grilled merguez with harissa sauce; there are additional choices on the blackboard too.

Browns, in Orange Grove on the north side of the Abbey, has an extensive al fresco seating area at the front. Like other branches of this high-quality chain, Browns in Bath is housed in an impressive building, in this case a former police station and magistrates court, stylishly converted in 1999 into a 160-seater restaurant with separate bar. The two-course express lunch costs £10. Why not try the tiger prawn and baby leek gratin for starters, followed by the Browns steak, mushroom and guinness pie.

Over the river from the Abbey, overlooking the weir below Pulteney Bridge, is one of Bath's newest restaurants, Il Tocco D'Italia. In a city where new building is carefully regulated, Il Tocco D'Italia is a charming example of good modern architecture, a wooden building given a classical air by a central pediment. The exterior walls are an elegant blue with large glass windows, and inside the restaurant is light and spacious with a fine sweeping roof. Il Tocco D'Italia always uses fresh ingredients sourced locally, and each month the restaurant specialises in a different region of Italy, which has a thriving tradition of regional cuisine. In August the focus is on Campagna, Calabria and Basilicata, with dishes such as Baccala alla Napoletana (salt cod with tomato, olive, sultana, pine nuts and capers), and Costolette D'Angello alla Calatrese (lamb chop roast with fresh tomato, parsley, onion, fresh pepper and green olives).

Returning to the city centre, in a passage to the south of the Abbey is Demuths, a vegetarian restaurant which in its 18 years has become somewhat of a Bath institution. Bright and cheery, with a selection of modern art on the walls, Demuths serves delicious vegetarian food in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The cuisine is innovative and international, and your lunch might start with sundried tomato, lentil and olive pate served with rosemary focaccia, followed by a salad of roasted sweet potato and basil marinated tomatoes served on a bed of puy lentils and mixed spring leaves, topped with avocado and pan-fried hallumi, toasted seeds and alfalfa sprouts; and then for dessert strawberry and balsamic cheesecake with ricotta and mascarpone and strawberries marinated in balsamic and black pepper, served with a summer fruit coulis.

Another old-established and family-run restaurant is the Walrus and Carpenter, just above the Theatre Royal. The Wally, as it's also known, is a charming bistro and cocktail bar on three floors full of small interconnecting rooms, all decorated in bright colours and with posters covering the walls. The effect is friendly and intimate. The Walrus and Carpenter is best known for its vegetarian food, but there are meat dishes on offer too, notably the homemade beefburgers, a revelation to those of us with dire memories of fast food burgers. The restaurant makes a point too of only using locally produced, organic and free-range ingredients. A typical lunch might consist of homemade soup of the day with side salad and granary bread, followed by a Walrus steak kebab served with fries, salad and pitta bread, followed by apple pie with ice cream.

Not far from here, in John Street, is the Firehouse Rotisserie, a stylish restaurant well known for its gourmet pizzas and Californian cuisine - flame-roasted meats, grills and vegetarian dishes. Specialities include Chinese chicken salad, Pacific crab cakes and rotisserie herb chicken, and there's a wide selection of new world wines and beers. The atmosphere is lively, and, as is often the trend these days, the kitchen is in full view so that you can watch the chefs beavering away preparing your dishes.

Finally, if you feel like escaping from the city why not try the Boat House, an attractive pub which, with its white-painted woodwork, looks a bit like an American colonial mansion. It's situated in an idyllic location by the river, just two miles outside Bath on Newbridge Road. You can either choose from the snacks in the bar or eat in the restaurant (with specials like cod loin), or the carvery which opens on Sundays. Perhaps best of all, if it's a fine day, you can sit in the large garden right on the riverbank.