Our last restaurant experience was nothing short of a calamity at Hix (oh it's just won Time Out's top bars…hmmmm). This one was nothing short of culinary excellence. We have been to Chez Bruce over the years. My first experience must have been at least 10 years ago and more recent to that probably no closer than 5. There now seems to be no doubt in my mind that those tried and tested restaurants that quietly get on with the business of delivering expertly cooked food with attentive service and great ambiance are 99 times out of a 100 more likely to deliver your naturally and deservedly high expectations when you go to a restaurant where you know, even with the great value lunch time offers, are going to cost in excess of £100 for two.

This was my Father's Day treat and a chance for Lisa and I to have some time together after the last few weeks. Chez Bruce has a great lunch time offer of £19.95 for 2 courses or £25.95 for 3 – and it's a well thought through a la carte menu, not a collection of obviously cheap dishes. It was a Monday and yet there were plenty of fish dishes (fresh not frozen!) and that's what we chose as a main course but I am getting ahead of myself.

We ordered a bottle of Portuguese white wine. I am tightfisted at the best of times and have learnt that these wines are on the whole pretty good and undervalued. You can be confident that if the sommelier at Chez Bruce has put a wine on the list its going to be OK. We made a great choice, Planalto Branco Reserva 2008 Duoro – a ‘cheap’ wine compared to the rest of the list at £24, the cheapest Burgundy was £26. The first bottle was corked but not even presented at the table, the sommelier had checked, we were presented with this bottle and was duly tasted (I felt i had to! – it was the perfect temperature, a delicious wine, complex with huge fruit yet dry at the same time.

It was a good start, no, it was a great start, that and being served freshly made (still hot) parmesan biscuits and freshly baked bread… More