The Cherwell Boathouse has got it all — a beautiful setting on the river with Oxford’s famous punts framing the scene, a menu which offers original dishes, and very attentive staff.

Not a bad formula and one that certainly worked for us. But what was really clever was that the meal improved with each course, the desserts were sublime — and we left on a high.

There were four of us for dinner and we managed to eat a bit of everything, and for the first time ever even considered ordering extra courses because it all sounded so mouthwatering.

First up was a complementary shot glass of tomato soup with a basil oil purée, waking up our tasatebuds on a wet Tuesday night.

The starters were delicious, but the chorizo and heritage tomato tart, red pepper salsa and Greek basil was a bit clumpy under its topping, the summer vegetable ravioli too subtly seasoned and the parmesan crisp rather overpowering.

But the Cornish squid with mango, cucumber, lime and salsa was much appreciated, as was the marinated line-caught mackerel, carrot and ginger broth with a tempura of crayfish.

It is hard to describe the mains, simply because they were eaten so fast, leaving us with glazed smiles.

What was obvious was that the chef here has deconstructed the classics and then put them back together with the passion of someone who really cares about food and wants to make his mark.

It was so specially and carefully planned — the mains being a sum of their parts as well as allowing the individual flavours to stand out.

The oven-roasted rump of Hereford beef perfectly matched the shallot tart tatin, Hook Norton battered marrow and gremolata — and not a potato in sight.

Similarly, the baked saffron risotto cake, aubergine cannelloni, roasted summer squash, tomato and basil sauce with Greek cress and red stem radish salad was elegant, delicate and beautifully put together.

We also sampled the cannon of local lamb, minted pea mousse, grilled fennel and smoked potato puree with a sauce Vierge, and the crisp belly of pork, white bean puree and apple croquette potatoes.

I bet your mouth is watering just reading about this kind of food. But it was the puddings which took the biscuit, no pun intended, because they were silly, fun and utterly delicious.

The New York cheesecake, popping candy and strawberry milkshake sounded like Barbie’s tea-party fodder, but was actually fantastic. The chocolate sorbet fondant’s twist was that it was cold and oozing in the middle with crumbs of honeycomb and strawberry dotted about its rim, but the piece de resistance was the pineapple tart, coconut pastry and pineapple relish, made like a French apple pie and quite, quite stunning.

Short of licking our plates, we couldn’t have been more blatant in our appreciation of the meal if we had tried — except for the yelps of excitement as each course was served. At £40 a head, we won’t need any further enticement to visit again very soon.

Call The Cherwell Boathouse on 01865 552746