I hailed the Lambert Arms at Aston Rowant "a worthwhile discovery" after a resolutely unromantic St Valentine's Night dinner last year (romance — at my age?). Pondering why I had never visited during my previous 35 years as a resident of the county, I concluded it was probably because it was out of the public domain for much of that time, as a training hotel owned by THF.

Last week, I returned to review the place again, it having very recently changed hands to become part of Merchant Inns' small stable of pubs and hotels. There are six of these in all, including the Black Boy Inn at Milton, near Banbury. The food here, as I discovered on a visit last year, is of a high enough quality to suggest this is a company that works hard to supply the best. Its menus are prepared under the guidance of the group's executive chef Rob Clayton, a Michelin-starred chef who made his name at the Bath Priory Hotel.

The Lambert Arms dates back to mid-Victorian times, though surprisingly little is known of its history. Such information as I was able to dig up about it has now been rehashed, I was amused to see, in Merchant Inns' press release about the place. Reading it gave me a strong sense of déjà vu. That the place once belonged to the Lambert family, which was given a baronetcy in 1711, is about the sum total of what anyone seems to know about it.

The company's boast is to offer "sensational food, stylish bedrooms and sensible prices". That is just as I like it. Bedrooms, of course, aren't so important to us locals, unless one is thinking of enjoying a well-lubricated dinner with bed to follow. Since I was driving, I was restricted to a glass of wine (of which more presently).

Only later did it occur to me that I could have encouraged Rosemarie and Olive to join me on a bus ride instead. Stagecoach's Tube service to London stops just around the corner at the Lewknor turn. It costs £5.30 for a return journey and would be an ideal way to enjoy a hassle-free outing to the hotel.

Worth a trip? Definitely. Ours was a thoroughly enjoyable dinner, with food from chef Adam Boutwell's kitchen that looked good and tasted better. It was served with reasonable despatch (for a busy Saturday night) by a personable and friendly front of house staff.

Since we were there during British Food Fortnight, I was able to enjoy items from the special £25 a head three-course menu designed to mark the event.

My starter was pan-seared Cirencester Park wood pigeon breast, with spiced pear tart and local cider vinaigrette. While not suited to the mightiest appetite, this was nonetheless a well-judged dish which offered a beguiling taste of autumn in the very rare (yet still tender) pigeon and the lightly cooked fruit.

To follow, there was a choice between Cornish lamb shoulder with creamed potatoes and roasted vegetables, and plaice with new potatoes, tenderstem and white wine and cream sauce. I went for the fish, and was delighted with its freshness and flavour. Again, it wasn't of the socking dimension a trencherperson would hope for. The tenderstem was slightly curiously named, since there was plenty of the flowery head but scarcely any stem.

To finish my meal, I had a first-class assortment of British cheeses — Barkham blue, tarragon washed Tornegus and organic washed rind Golden Cenarch (all from cow's milk), hard Ticklemoore (goat's milk) and the soft Olde York ewe's milk cheese from North Yorkshire. These came with a range of crispy biscuits and two types of pressed fruit — dates and apricots.

To drink, I had a 250ml glass of Mad Fish unoaked chardonnay from Western Australia. Since this was being sold at £21 a bottle, I considered I did rather well to get a third of a bottle for £6.10. I pointed this out to a member of the waiting staff. I fancy prices will now have been adjusted.

d=3,3,1My two companions were as pleased with their meals as I was. Both ordered from the carte. Rosemarie began with a substantial bowl of butternut squash soup and continued with steak and ale pie, which was packed with top-quality meat and capped with excellent puff pastry. Olive had slices of grilled black pudding, sauté new potatoes, smoked bacon and quails' eggs (a sort of mini-breakfast, we thought), followed by a gloriously tender (and remarkably fat-free) boned shoulder of lamb. Since sticky toffee pudding was available, she did not resist this, bringing a lavish dinner to a fitting conclusion.