THE first time I visted Wimpennys restaurant it was a country pub called The Pheasant and I partook of a very pleasant Sunday lunch. In fact the headline on my review was The Pleasant Pheasant.

But it's all change at the pub in Ballinger Common.

Owners Pat and Nigel Wimpenny-Smith have enticed two hot young chefs to join the team and transform the establishment from a pub selling good grub into a restaurant serving rather special dishes.

The new chefs have impressive CVs and have between them worked at a number of top establishments, including Cliveden and L'Escargot.

So hubby Kim and I were looking forward to something special when we visited, just one week after the official changeover from The Pheasant to Wimpennys. And on the food front we were not disappointed.

Starters included scallop en-croute in vanilla beurre blanc, duck rillet and foie gras terrine, roasted quail with truffle confit potato and gazpachio soup with dill creme fraiche.

Kim chose the chilled crayfish salad with carrot vinaigrette. Surprisingly, for this country, this comprised three whole crayfish with shells nestling on a bed of salad leaves.

Also surprisingly he was given no little hammer or pliers for cracking the shells. Admittedly the bodies were shelled, but there's meat in them there claws and a knife and fork aren't the best implements for getting to it. Still, with perseverance he managed.

I had chosen the salmon and langostine ravioli with sauce jaqualine. This was a fair-sized pillow of pasta stuffed with a lovely salmon and langostine mousse, settled on a puddle of the most delicious buttery sauce. It was quite superb.

Main courses included saddle of rabbit, parmentier potatoes and roast salsify Armagnac jus; roast monkfish tail, mussel and clam mocalade and pomme fondant; fillet of brill with a potato crust, etuvee of baby leeks and cepe cappachino; and millefeuille of seabass, aubergine caviar and sauce vierge. For vegetarians there was risotto of roquefort with pear chutney.

Kim went for the entrecote steak with artichoke pure, pan-fried foie gras and bourdelaise jus. The steak was thick, lean and incredibly tender more like a fillet than an entrecote and apart from the foie gras (which neither of us like on taste, texture and moral grounds) the elements on the plate fused beautifully and satisfied a usually very fussy steak eater.

I chose the breast of Aylesbury duck which came with scrumptious Lyonnaise potato, tiny sweet honey-glazed carrots and a rich red wine jus. The duck was superbly tender and the skin crispy just as it should be.

There is a fine selection of desserts at Wimpennys including chocolate and orange mousse with Grand Marnier syrup; sticky toffee pudding with rum and raisin mascarpone; banana parfait in chocolate sauce and strawberry sable with raspberry coulis.

I couldn't resist the vanilla creme brule with blueberry crumble icecream. The brule was perfect and the icecream a wonderful concoction of rich icecream and surprising crunchy lumps of biscuit. Kim settled for an espresso coffee.

The meal could really not be faulted and, as I said earlier, despite our high expectations the food did not disappoint.

I was however disappointed that the decor at Wimpennys is exactly as it was for The Pheasant. Personally I think if you are taking the dining experience up several gears you should improve the setting to match. Maybe I visited too soon and that is all planned for the future. Certainly they should be considering linen tablecloths instead of bare wooden pub tables with mats, mouthwatering canaps or a selection of homemade breads instead of nothing at all when you arrive, and perhaps some more luxurious drapes or blinds in the conservatory part of the restaurant. The decor does not do justice to the food.

But it is very early days and most people reading this would probably rather have delicious food in average surroundings than average food in sumptuous surroundings. Wouldn't they?

This Taste Test is taken from the August issue of Limited Edition Magazine