Last week we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out at a top London restaurant in Kew, The Glasshouse.

Upon arrival you are greeted by a warm and friendly team who offer to take your coats before seating you. The service is very much first class, and frankly it has to be in order to remain in line with the quality of food on offer.

The menu is neatly presented and placed in your hand as and when you are comfortably seated. Whilst pondering which of the delicately delicious cuisines to choose from you are offered a selection of delightful, freshly baked, breads to eat while you read your menu. The wine list is also extensive, and being a French restaurant, there are some impeccable wines on the list that cater to a whole range of different budgets. I chose the ‘Lagar de Cervera’ whilst my colleague chose the ‘Pouilly Fumé’. Both were incredible, and I can safely say they were amongst the finest wines I had ever tasted.

Once we had chosen our particular dishes we did not have to wait long to receive our starters. I went for the paupiette of plaice, whilst my colleague chose the smoked eel. Both were absolutely exquisite! With fish you always worry that the smell and taste can become a little over powering, however, with these two starters they were just right and you could really taste the other flavours of the dish coming through.

Once our starters were out the way it was only a short wait until our main course was presented to us. Presentation it seems is a bit of a keyword at The Glasshouse as each dish was brought out beautifully arranged abed an immaculately clean, and shiny, plate. I had chosen the raw spicy beef, while my colleague went for the crisp pollock.

The main courses had big shoes to fill following one of the best starters I had ever eaten, and it must be said, the standard, at this point, just slightly dipped. The main course was still fantastic and well worth the money, however I just found myself wanting more of the starter instead.

With the first two dishes out the way, we found ourselves struggling to pick a dessert as we were so full up. However, with the first two dishes being resounding successes, we just had to sample the dessert menu! My colleague made a fantastic choice and went for the crème brûlée, which I then had to taste as it looked amazing, and it was! The caramelised top was beautifully sweet whilst the actual dessert was wonderfully creamy and actually very light and easy to eat.

I went for the strawberry and custard pie which was delightfully fresh and tasted like it had been made with real strawberries, which I am confident it was. After a slightly disappointing main course following such an impressive, and flavoursome starter, the desserts really did confirm The Glasshouse as one of the finest restaurants I had ever visited.

In a financially difficult time, when people are less inclined to dine out, and businesses are having to cut costs, we should hope The Glasshouse does not feel the need to close its doors to business, and instead continue paying its fine array of staff, along with its restaurant insurance and other overheads, in order for them to continue to produce beautifully exquisite food and top notch service. I couldn’t recommend this place enough, and I am confident you will also love the delicate flavours they have on offer. Little surprise really that it was awarded a Michelin Star.