Sunday afternoon lunch in Knutsford served as a treat and a romantic flashback for Emma Johnson

YOU know how some places, foods, smells just take you back to memories of certain times in your life? Well, Knutsford is my place.

The food is Italian and the smell is Thierry Mugler's Angel perfume, all of which take me back to the first dates with my now husband.
 
On one of our earliest meet-ups, he took me for a meal at Knutsford's Est Est Est. More than 11 years on, and as soon as I walk onto the narrow streets of Knutsford I am back there.
 
So it was in a haze of memories (if not Angel perfume, which I haven't worn in a while) we recently found ourselves looking for somewhere to enjoy a Sunday afternoon lunch in the town recently.
 
While I still love Est Est Est, we gave it a miss this time, deciding to take a walk up the high street and be won over by somewhere new.
 
Given its minute size, Knutsford must qualify as having more restaurants per square mile than anywhere else in Cheshire. I fancied trying the highly-acclaimed Belle Epoque restaurant but wouldn't you know it they had already stopped serving food.
 
So it was we stumbled upon Portofino next door. Tucked away behind the Tudor frontage of the 17th-century Rose and Crown Hotel, we almost missed it, but a quick perusal of the glass-encased menu outside had us grabbing at the door handle.
 
Like the aforementioned Est Est Est, Portofino is part of a chain but there is none of your painting by numbers interior design.
 
Instead, the Portofino restaurant has been carefully shoe-horned into the Rose and Crown which must be one of the oldest buildings in the village.
 
Taking our seats on banquettes at a table nestled in a corner under the exposed beams and wooden floors, we ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio and the ubiquitous Peroni before turning our attention to the menu.