HAVE you been to Swindon's newest restaurant yet? TV presenter (and Robbie Williams' best friend) Jonathan Wilkes has - and he liked it so much he's going to take his pals Ant and Dec along when they visit him at his Wootton Bassett home.

A former workingmen's club isn't the first place you might think of taking showbiz friends to for a good meal.

But after a complete makeover the Haydon Street establishment is now no ordinary place for a rendezvous it's Le Rendezvous.

It's a sister restaurant to the Swindon Rendezvous in Theatre Square and has the same menu and offers.

Although a hugely popular spot - that's why they've opened another one - I always found the original a little dark and claustrophobic.

It wasn't the size of the place (it's very spacious), but the fact that it is located below street level, with no windows.

There's no such problem with the newly opened Le Rendezvous; large windows and glass doors give it a more open feel.

The decor is classy and plush, with lots of deep red and wood, and although the lighting is subdued, there are nice illuminated features (I particularly liked the large green Buddha) and twinkling lights on the ceiling.

The view isn't the greatest - it looks out on George White Supercars on the corner of Corporation Street and Manchester Road. But inside you could be in an upmarket Oriental eatery anywhere in the world.

And besides, if you want to look out of the window, you can keep an eye on your own car, as Le Rendezvous has a deal whereby customers can leave their motors in the George White car park.

We ate on a Monday evening, traditionally a slow night in the restaurant trade, and one on which we have found ourselves the only diners at other venues. Here we found a warm and welcoming atmosphere and a good mix of customers. There were couples, friends, families and groups who looked like they had come straight from the office.

Service was attentive and patient. We took ages to decide whether to order a la carte or take the £16 all-you-can-eat option (available Sunday to Thursday, £19 Fridays and Saturdays), let alone chose what we were going to eat.

In the end, my daughter and I went for the all you can eat deal, where you get a choice of more than 100 items from the menu and - as long as you finish your plate each time - you can order as many times as you like. My son, meanwhile, had crispy duck rolls (£4.50) and chicken fried noodles (£4.60). Had he been under 10 he could have had the all-you-can-eat deal at half price.

To start we shared the Thai mixed hors d'oeuvres (£7 per person a la carte, minimum order of two) which included spare ribs, fishcakes, chicken skewers and spring rolls, with an extra portion of sesame prawn toast (£6.90) and a quarter aromatic crispy duck (£8).

As you can tell, we like our starters, so asked for small portions of our main dishes - plain fried noodles (£3.90), stir fried chicken with chilli and basil (£6.90) and sweet and sour king prawns Hong Kong style (£7.20).

All the food was fresh, tasty and beautifully presented - the only drawback to the all-you-can-eat meal is that there are no leftovers to take home!

Ant and Dec are in for a treat.

Le Rendezvous

36-39 Haydon Street, Swindon SN1 1DT

Tel: 01793 526111

Website: www.swindonrendezvous.co.uk

Lunch: Every day noon to 2pm (except Saturday); 6pm to 11pm weekdays and 6pm to 11.30 (last orders) Friday and Saturday.

Takeaway service (collection only) is available with 20 per cent off menu prices.