I wrote a glowing review of the Witney Lakes Resort's restaurant - then known as Green's - shortly after its opening and ate there three or four times in the weeks following. For some reason - certainly nothing to do with the restaurant's quality or my tastes - I had not been back until last week, a gap of more than 12 years, as I discovered when I dug out the relevant cutting from our library. Smiling out from it, in his blue and white striped apron, was head chef Sean Parker. This is the same gentleman you can see today in the picture on the right. It is reassuring to see such loyalty, in a trade characterised by a high turnover of staff. In Sean's case, the long stay presumably has something to do with the fact that he is also a director of the business, which is run in conjunction with a golf course and leisure centre.

Sean's previous job was with Rules restaurant in London, a bastion of culinary tradition, famous for its impeccably sourced game, much of it shot on the estate of its owner, John Mayhew. At Witney Lakes he shows the same commendable determination to make clear the origin of much of what goes into the preparation of the dishes. (I must stress at once this does not include any of the many birds enjoying themselves beyond the restaurant's plate-glass windows.) You can read all about the cheeses, the chickens, the lamb and much else besides on blackboards dotted around the walls of this comfortable and stylish restaurant.

The pictures on this page say almost all that's necessary about the decor. What they do not reveal, though - and it's my one slight reservation about the design - is the curious stickiness of the floor as a consequence of some protective treatment applied to it. Making my way to the loo, I felt as if I'd stepped on chewing gum.

Rosemarie, her mother Olive and I made a lunchtime visit, the better to enjoy the views across the lake and golf course (on the west wide of Witney towards Minster Lovell). The day was Easter Monday, when snow and winds made it infinitely preferable to observe rather than experience the great outdoors. Bedraggled looking groups of golfers clearly differed in their opinion - but that's golfers for you.

Our table looked out on a pleasing vista, and what was placed upon it looked good, too, starting in my case with an elegantly laid out plate of home-cured gravadlax. There were three pieces, the shape and size of chicory leaves, served with a sweet cucumber and grain mustard dressing.

In contrast to this rather modest offering (in terms of size), my companions had starters of almost main course dimension. Rosemarie's was a bowl of pan-fried chorizo, with smoked bacon, new potato salad and a soft-poached free-range egg. Her mum had a huge chunk of dark-hued chicken liver terrine with pan-fried grapes, a sherry reduction and granary toast.

You will see from the panel on the right what good value all this was. The listings are as they appeared on the bill, although in fact the menu is priced at £11.95 for two courses and £14.50 for three - superb value for food of this quality, including home-baked bread and butter. Lest you are wondering, my roast pollack at £10.90 was a special and attracted a £1.50 surcharge. No worries about that, though, for an excellent piece of flavoursome, fresh-tasting fish, which was served with cheesy (and herby) pommes dauphinoises. The excellence of this dish showed how foolish we once were as a nation to disregard this humble fish.

Rosemarie had set her heart on beef and Guinness suet pudding, so was disappointed to find that supplies had run out (a deficiency which had not been explained by the courteous member of staff who presented the menu). She still had beef, but in burger form - 100 per cent ground meat, with smoked bacon, melted cheese, home-made relish and hand-cut chips.

Olive had rump of Oxfordshire lamb served in Mediterranean style, with a cumin and coriander seed crust, char-grilled peppers, aubergine puree and salsa verde. She continued with Brown Betty, a traditional variation on apple crumble incorporating breadcrumbs, while her daughter despatched a slice of classic lemon tart with an impeccable blackcurrant sorbet.

This was fine food at a very fair price. I will certainly not leave it 12 years before sampling some again.