Ambience: casual, intimate and friendly. Tables are well spaced with comfortable chairs. There's a small open kitchen crowded with a chef and four cooks (right).

Pros: there were at least as many waiters as cooks, so service was attentive and eager to please. When our waiter noticed that my guest hadn't finished one of his courses, he asked if there was anything wrong, and then told us the chef could adapt the dishes if there was something we disliked. The wine list is very short, but beautifully selected to match the food, and fairly priced. The menu prices are also fair, especially considering the quality of cooking and ingredients.

Cons: the executive chef, Jeremy Biasiol, worked with top chefs, including Alain Ducasse and Paul Bocuse. He is obviously very talented and his dishes have a lovely lightness, despite being served in large portions. But some of the dishes lacked spark, and this avid food lover wishes the chef would just relax and let his creativity rise to the level of his superb technique. The two soups we tasted - Jerusalem artichoke veloute with eel and ricotta (from the signature menu) and mussels bouchot soup (from the degustation menu) were smooth and ethereal in texture, but lacked flavour.

Recommended dishes: I ate a combination of dishes from the menu degustation and the dishes from the degustation selection that my picky guest wouldn't eat. Frog legs with garlic cream and watercress sauce (above) was a lovely combination that was beautifully rendered. From the degustation menu, sweet raw scallops were topped with black truffles (not as flavourful as most I've tasted) and light, refreshing lemon condiment. The savoury dish that I loved the most was the succulent, tender, roast pigeon with red wine sauce and macaroni gratin with truffles and comte (above). Desserts of 'Mirror style' pear Belle Helene and molten chocolate cake with wood strawberries were very well done.

What else? The menu changes at least once a month. Advance bookings are absolutely necessary.