DON'T EAT THE GRASS

Perhaps it’s because the first asparagus crop gives us a tantalising glimpse of spring, something to hold onto as the hail, snow and ice batter us this week and the wintery conditions continue with no sign of abating.

And yet the green, knobbly spears push up through the earth regardless, signalling that a warmer, sunnier climate beckons.

And like cockerels in a farmyard waking us up from our slumberous winter sleep, The Fishes is always the first to shout about it, peppering their menu with the local green fronds for us to enjoy.

For those of us who use it as a date benchmark, like say May Day or Henley, the spears are served in a flower pot with a hollandaise sauce on one side and finely chopped egg with parmesan (£6.75) on the other, so that you can dip, dunk and drape.

A grilled version served with a poached egg, toasted sour dough and truffle mayo is also on offer, but so pretty is the Dip Your Own that they are impossible to resist, appearing with a layer of aesthetic grass to complete the dish’s decolletage.

My dining companions however were first-timers and when the charming starter arrived asked the waitress if they could eat the turf. "No it’s artificial," came the answer. “A bit like my lawn then,” came the reply.

It’s a lovely menu actually at The Fishes, light, refreshing, inventive and universally appealing so took us ages to order.

And the house G&Ts which arrive complete with juniper berries in a goldfish bowl of a glass, set the magical scene perfectly.

The hollandaise could have been deeper in strength and flavour but it was a fun and novel way to start a meal and we enjoyed it.

The chicken, pork and pistachio ballotine with piccalilli and toasted sourdough (£7) was beautifully presented and tasted lip-smackingly good judging by the rate it disappeared.

We threw in a portion of the deep-fried and stuffed olive and sundried tomato artichoke hearts with a rocket and pesto salad (£6.50) because they sounded so amazing we couldn’t resist and weren’t disappointed, although nothing was quite as crispy as we’d have liked.

This was certainly true of my broad bean, courgette and ricotta Wellington with tomato couscous and crispy egg (£13.50) as recommended by our waitress as 'the' dish to try.

The filo parcel was greasy rather than crisp and dry and the accompanying couscous, far too stodgy. A nice piquant sauce and a salad would have done better.

The pan-fried native scallops with beef croquettes, shallot sauce and bordelaise sauce was much better, however unlikely the food combinations sounded, and the more traditional grilled salmon with minted new potatoes, tenderstem broccoli, confit tomatoes and horseradish yoghurt (£15.50) beautifully cooked and a big hit all round.

This slightly hit and miss approach continued into the desserts. The warm poached pear and ricotta donuts with a pomegranate and mint salsa, instead of being crisp light balls of sugary fun, were dense and oily, the ricotta too bland and I left the dish almost intact. The baked vanilla custard tart with a rhubarb compote (£5.75) needed more of a vanillary tang, tasting almost purely of egg, and the pastry wasn’t up to much, but the Valrhona chocolate mousse with hazelnut shortbread and banana ice cream (£6) was the all-round winner, and the recipient had to guard it like a Doberman - growling and snapping at the marauding spoons as she let us try a delicious light, mouthful.

So there we are, a mixed bag, but in that wonderful setting with the light trying to shine through the large conservatory and the garden just waiting to be filled with sunshine, laughter, children, picnics and parties, summer is definitely on its way.

The Fishes, North Hinksey Village, Oxford OX2 0NA. www.fishesoxford.co.uk/