Simply Fish is the brainchild of Stokey's super chef Neil Churchill. Located in Bar 98, its guiding principle is that the basics of good cooking is the intelligent use of quality raw ingredients. Neil has cooked in many classy joints and, although he has recently moved on, his legacy continues.

My dining companion and I were fazed by what the evening might hold in store for us, but we were soon put at ease by a customer-friendly waitress who could not only describe each dish in detail on the menu, but was also informative about the wine on offer. 

For starters, my companion opted for marinated buffalo mozzarella, English tomatoes with home-made pesto and dressed leaves, while I went for smoked salmon from Formans & Sons, wild leaves, cracked pepper corns, horseradish cream and locally-baked whole meal bread. Naturally, we shared the two starters, which created no problem for the waitress who without any fuss brought us two extra plates.
The smoked salmon was simply fish heaven and, much to my surprise, the mozzarella melted on contact with the tongue, in sharp contrast to the condom texture of mozzarella dishes served up in some establishments. We washed this first offering down with a Pascal Thomas Sancerre. I have never been a great fan of Sancerre as I have always found it to have a sickly aftertaste. But this was spot on, pleasantly dry with a long, mouth-cleansing finish.

For mains, we went for whole sea bream with samphire, warm potato, spring onion and coriander salad with salmoriglio, and baked fresh river trout with Dijon mustard, crème fraiche and crushed new potatoes with cucumber cornichons and parsley. My companion bit into the trout and her eyes rolled with succulent pleasure. She muttered 'my father 's carp cooked in onions will never be the same' and she is used to eating good fish.
Ironically, as an environmental scientist she usually examines the guts first to determine the microenvironment of the lake the fish were caught in. I resisted asking the kitchen for an unusual carry-out.

The sea bream was excellent, although I felt deprived after trying the trout. But, hey ho, what's wrong with being spoilt for choice? The mains were washed down with a bottle of Atlas Cumbres Vioginers from Argentina, which was recommended to us by the attentive waitress and a real snip at £15. It makes a pleasant change to be recommended a wine that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and leaves you feeling you want to expel some alien from your innards. This particular offering had a huge blast of fruit and more nose than Pinocchio.

We had a choice of three deserts, including a mouth-watering apple and almond pie. But, no problem, the management gave us the third dessert on the house. The chocolate cake was a revelation. Light and not sickly and, contrary to popular opinion, it did not ruin the taste of the remnants of our wine.

For you poor souls who are not keen on fish, other starters include a warm salad of mushrooms, sautéed potatoes, English bobby beans with a soft poached egg and red wine vinaigrette, and herb-baked goats cheese crottin, baby salad leaves with balsamic raisin, pine nuts and tomato salsa.

Other mains on offer include Scotch rib-eye steak with garlic and herb butter, home-cut chips (the best, marinated first in chicken stock) and dressed salad leaves or buffalo mozzarella and sun-blushed tomato risotto with home-made pesto and garlic bread.

Over coffee, I was dreading the finale of the evening - the bill. But, at £40 a head for three special courses and two excellent wines, it was real value for money. Nothing more to say except 'enjoy'.