Poor old Deason’s. Not only was it a victim of the harsh and unforgiving recession, but it also had to put up with the most imbecilic of wannabe Raymond Blanc's in The Restaurant and now it stands empty and neglected.

Deason’s on Whiteladies Road stood proud for many years as one of Clifton’s favourite restaurants, even if Jay Rayner described it as serving provincial food at London prices - as if everywhere outside of London should be serving chicken and chips for a fiver or something.

But it was hit by the force of recession like so many other places in Clifton, which is why it was so nice to see it brought back to life on the small screen with a starring role in BBC 2’s The Restaurant. The reality food talent show featured Raymond Blanc getting a handful of couples to try their hand at running a restaurant. First prize is going into business with him.

The last series was a real joy to watch because it was all filmed in Bristol during the summer, the days when the sun shone and the whole place looked great.

Deason’s was taken over by a couple of foppish idiot cocktail barmen whose idea of innovative cuisine was to serve up barbecue food with special cocktails on the side.

They were given the empty Deason’s for the run of the show and turned it into The Summer House and amazingly, despite the wannabe chef not being able to cook,( to the point that he served up ready made scotch eggs as a starter) they managed to win the show.

Raymond Blanc clearly knows what he is doing, you don’t get where he’s got in life without knowing a thing or two about chefs, Reggie. But honestly, that one threw me.

That all happened last summer. I was walking past Deason’s last week and the front gate was slightly open so I popped up to the front door to see if there was any sign of life but it all looks very quiet.

There was no sign of life beyond the locked front doors, just a note directing mail to a shop around the corner. One of the stained glass windows is cracked and the whole place feels generally sad and neglected.

There did appear to be a light on in the rooms above the restaurant, but nobody answered when I knocked on the door.

So what is next for this well-known and well-missed Whiteladies restaurant? I do hope that if we are about to come out of recession that somebody is standing by to drag this place out of the mire.