Unhyped fine dining

Here's the thing about Roussillon: I had barely heard of it. Harden's Guide calls it London's "most un-sung fine dining" - and it was on that basis that we booked, since I'd never met anyone who had actually eaten there, despite it being only about 10 minutes from where I live.

The fact that you can have a very good restaurant, packed and clearly thriving, and for it to be un-sung, unhyped, is a sign of a maturing restaurant culture.

As for the specifics, Roussillon feels like the airy front two rooms of somebody's house. Forty-five quid gets you three expertly rendered, vivid courses of contemporary, ie not too rich, French food.

One star of our meal was an unlikely but amazing starter contrasting the different sweetness of just-cooked langoustine and chicken livers. Another star was Pyrenean lamb - but what's wrong with Welsh lamb, which really is the best in the world? - cooked three ways, roast leg, grilled rack and tempuraed sweetbreads. It was lambtastic. Roast squab came with a fondant of potato and liver, and that, too, was superb.

Service is friendly and puts no foot wrong - the restaurant seems to be popular with Americans, who are particular about that. The wine waiter, Roberto Della Pietra, is a charmer, and his list is excellent, though with the usual hard-to-understand pricing. A world-class fancy red, Grange des Pères 2000, is £98 here, whereas it's £65 at the already not-cheap Tom Aikens. Why? No idea.

But let's not end on a downbeat note. Not so long ago, a restaurant of this quality would have been one of the best in England. Now, Roussillon is just a very good neighbourhood place. That's progress.

Roussillon
St. Barnabas Street, London, SW1W 8PE