Gold star for Osborn

The restaurant Pied à Terre had a devastating fire last November caused, I was told when I ate there soon after the reopening last week, by a fault in the wiring of the ice machine on the top floor.

I don't understand this story either, but the result was closure for 11 months while the whole building, including the kitchen, was restructured and refitted. Key staff were kept on during the hiatus, the most important key, the front door key as it were, being chef Shane Osborn, who has been awarded two Michelin stars.

In what is surely a bid for an eventual three stars, the groundfloor dining area has been arranged to seat a maximum of only 40 customers and decorated with the sort of atrocious taste that Michelin seems to favour.

Sitting in what seemed like a padded room in the front section, denied a view of the seats at the back by a short curtain - as happens in aeroplanes - I studied decorative panels of internally splintered glass run through with daubs and dashes of red and cream.

Able to think about this at length, since my lunch companion had been delayed, I finally decided they symbolised the fire and perhaps some melting vanilla ice cream. On the tables were not one but two glass cover plates, the top one sporting a design of a large red daisy.

A waiter arrived with a tray. Did I want the salted or unsalted butter displayed in generous oblong pats. I took salted. I hoped my companion, who had not yet arrived, would agree with my choice. When he did turn up, the dilemma was forgotten in our rush to order.

We divvied up the two choices in the "du jour" menu at £24.50 for two courses. He chose what I secretly wanted - roasted teal (yum) with choucroute and wild mushroom purée followed by halibut with smoked bacon risotto - I took pepper-seared tuna with crushed potatoes followed by roasted loin of mid-Devon fallow venison with swede-and-potato gratin.

There is not space enough nor time to describe the delicacy, wit and accomplishment of these dishes nor to do justice to the plethora of canapés and the sort of mug tree of petits fours, but Australian Osborn is definitely back with brio.

A lunch such as ours is a veritable bargain - you could easily spend £24.50 at Café Rouge - and sommelier Mathieu Germond is your man when it comes to selecting interesting, reasonable wines by the glass.

Pied a Terre Restaurant
Charlotte Street, London, W1T 2NH