After travelling for some time along dark, winding and unlit roads, the White Horse stood out like a welcoming beacon with its white brick frontage. My husband and I entered the restaurant, owned by celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, and were greeted by a very pretty, smiling waitress who showed us to our table. In fact, looking around, all the staff were attractive and it made me wonder if that was one of the job requirements along with waiting skills.

Jean-Christophe Novelli took over the White Horse two years ago, and looking at the packed dining room, it seems to be a favourite with the locals.

There are three parts to the restaurant. The bar for those who want to have a drink and a snack; the lounge which has comfy sofas and modern art hanging on the walls where you can meet up with friends before and after your meal; and then there is the restaurant which has a conservatory feel to it with its soft olive coloured walls and pine beamed ceiling. The tables are quite close together, but far enough away so that other people's conversations are not intrusive.

The menu is devised by head chef Wesley Smalley who has been with Jean-Christophe for six years. He told me that Jean-Christophe goes through the menu with him putting his stamp on it before he presents it to the customers. A lot of the produce Wesley sources is local to the area. There's Aylesbury duck and Chiltern lamb, so there is a real feeling of being in the heart of country at the White Horse.

The menu is a little unusual without being pretentious and has something for everyone - a good selection of fish as well as meat dishes, and vegetarians are not forgotten about either.

I began with hand dived Scottish scallops which were pan seared and in a fennel, sweetcorn and thyme veloute. It was quite delicious although it was not piping hot. My husband went for the rillette of Aylesbury duck with prunes, Armangnac and toasted pistachio - an unusual combination but it got the thumbs up.

For our main course, my wild sea bass was very delicate and tasty and my husband's Chiltern lamb just melted in his mouth. We completed the meal with some divine desserts which were presented like a work of art on the white plates. I could not resists the baked fondant, Tonka bean ice cream. Not knowing what a Tonka bean was, maitre d' Philip Kelly brought out a pot of the little black beans to show us and explained it is used instead of vanilla. My husband went for his favourite dessert - traditional sticky toffee pudding and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We completed our meal with coffee in the lounge which made it all the more relaxing before we had to set off along the winding roads again.

White Horse Harpenden Telephone: 01582 713428

4:38pm Thursday 24th April 2008

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