Alice in Wonderland came to mind as we were led through winding corridors to the bistro at the Feathers Hotel, Woodstock. I half expected the White Rabbit to pop up and start muttering about being late, while glancing feverishly at his pocket watch.

We had booked to dine in the a la carte restaurant in the hotel and were dressed up to the nines - the men grumbling about having to wear a shirt and tie.

Our table was booked for 8.45pm, so we arrived early to have a drink while we waited, excited about dining in one of the country's most famous old-fashioned restaurants, now boasting a very young Gordon Ramsay protégé, Russell Bateman, as its new head chef.

But when we asked if we could have a drink, expecting to be led into a busy bar, complete with hunting prints, Chesterfield Sofas and a great array of whiskies, we were rather surprised to be ushered instead into a meeting room with as much soul as a James Brown tribute band.

We were sure it was only a matter of time before someone rushed in with a clipboard and started doing a Powerpoint presentation of this year's sales figures.

After a while the menus were brought through which helped relax the atmosphere a bit. The dishes sounded great, although there was a hefty £46 per person bill for three courses without wine.

There wasn't a vegetarian choice so, when we enquired, we were told we could have the ravioli starter and the collage of spring vegetables side plate as a main. For £46? You've got to be joking.

The vegetarian in question fumed until her husband went and investigated bringing back the bistro menu for her instead.

We didn't even know there was a bistro, so upon further discussion we left the business meeting room and enquired if we could sit in the bistro instead, while we waited to be shown to our table.

Talk about Mad Hatter's Tea party. But as with all good stories this has a happy ending.

Just down the corridor, hung with framed awards, including Time Out's best UK bistro 2007, was a charming, tiny gastro pub complete with National Trust colours and a glamorous clientele eating and chatting away happily.

We were sitting at the only spare table when the restaurant manager rushed over and said that the beef and lamb were off the a la carte menu. We all stared at him helplessly - there were only five mains and the rest were seafood or chicken and didn't appeal.

"I am sorry but we haven't sold anything but beef or lamb tonight" he said, rather unnecessarily.

So when a small plate of olives, cheese straws and baked almonds arrived, we looked at the bistro menu and agreed to stay put and eat there instead.

One member of our party sulked until the food arrived, saying that gammon steak wasn't what he'd had in mind when he had been cajoled into wearing a tie, but he soon shut up and stopped whining when his meal arrived - smoked haddock vichyssoise and ham hock terrine with sauce gribiche and granary toast, both of which were served in beautifully contemporary plates and bowls and tasted great - the ham cut coarsely and the portions being more than generous.

Our accompanying wine - there is a choice of eight house reds and whites -helped hugely.

Next up was the chicken, bacon, leek and rosemary pie where the chips and veg were extra, and the green olive and tomato risotto with parmesan and rocket.

The risotto sounded better on paper, the result being rather overcooked and mushy with the olives added afterwards and little sign of the aforementioned parmesan or rocket, but the pie was delicious and we were really enjoying the relaxed atmosphere.

The puddings won hands down though; two of us, including the sulker, asked to have the chocolate baked Cuban chocolate pudding with fresh lime and chocolate chip sorbet from the a la carte menu and it was superb, quite superb. The cheese plate was similarly good and we finished exhausted, happy and vowing to return.

This really is the kind of place you can go to with some great friends and have a relaxing evening, great food and leave without breaking the bank. As for what was going on with the Feathers' a la carte restaurant, we left the scene none the wiser - "curioser and curioser" as Alice would say.

The Feathers Hotel Market Street, Woodstock OX20 1SX, tel 01993 812291