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Have you ever been in that awkward situation when you bump into your waitress later that night, while letting your hair down?

It could have been worse – I wasn’t exiting the STD clinic or wearing the same dress at a cocktail party, but it was still disconcerting nonetheless, because how are you supposed to behave in those situations?

They didn’t teach us about that at school did they? All that education and for what, a stilted conversation at the bar with the gorgeous girl who was pouring my wine half an hour before.

And yet, there I was, several hours after our stupendous meal at Branca in a well-known hostelry in St Clements, when lo and behold, there’s my waitress. Not her fault of course, I’m sure she more than deserved a good night out after having to pander to the likes of me all night.

Of course said waitress, who was naturally uber competent, as they all are in Branca, with their cool jeans and long, white pinny vibe, was as always the professional, smiled and went to join her friends. I snuck back to mine feeling like a naughty schoolgirl.

But then Branca is a perfect place to start a good night out, and with everyone moaning on about how hard it is for independent businesses and restaurants in Oxford at the moment, here is a beaming example of how to get it right, and keep it going.

It’s something about Branca’s curved glass walls, round bar, mezzanine lay-out, sexy clientele, even sexier barmen, uber waitresses and indulgent comfort food, that means it’s always a somewhere place and has never lost it’s magic touch.

You have heard me waxing lyrical about the fabulous cocktails here before – so I won’t bore you with those.

But suffice to say this Walton Street bar was made for sipping. And when we’d sipped a cosmo and a caipirinha, we went and sat down for a fabulous meal in the buzzing atmosphere that always prevails at Branca. And it was all good. The seared smoked salmon with new potato, rocket and horseradish crème frâiche (£7.65), the herb crumbed goats cheese with mixed leaves, roasted butternut squash and pinenuts (6.90), the rare grilled tuna with a salad of cannellini beans, roasted red peppers, olives, anchovies and rocket (£14.25) and the smoked haddock and pea risotto with lemon and parsley gremolata (£7.75), washed down with the house red and rose respectively.

Our only complaint was that the hoseradish lacked bite, but all-in-all, the rest was superb.

The grilled tuna was perfectly cooked and the risotto’s smoky fish perfectly offset by the sharp freshness of the gremolata.

Dessert blended in seamlessly, with a few utterings and moans thrown in for good measure. The rich chocolate torta with pistachio ice cream (£5.85) was too delicious for words and the crème brûlée (£5.95) had seasonal berries and a perfect crisp top.

Coffee, cognac. Gone. Away into the night to try out the new Bottega wine bar on Walton Street and have a quickie in Raoul’s, which I have to say paled into insignificance compared to the delicacies on offer at Branca.

And then on to St Clements. But on writing this I realised in hindsight that what I should have done is shake my waitress by the hand and applaud her efforts, because Branca stays right up there on my favourite restaurant list and never lets me down. Good job we left her a tip then!

* Branca is at 111 Walton Street, Oxford.

01865 556111