NONE of the other customers had got the memo it seemed. We were both in full Breton stripes, and the waitress had adhered to the dress code as well, but no one else had dressed appropriately to attend Jacobs Brasserie in Headington.

Doesn’t everyone when attending a French restaurant? We decided to take cover, hiding inside in the warm and welcoming interior.

Recently renamed and rebranded, Jacobs Brasserie used to be Jacobs Chop House, but perhaps the carnivorous community wasn’t as vociferous as expected, or the Atkins diet mentality had had its day? Maybe it wasn’t inclusive or diversive enough?

But for whatever reason, The House Of Jacob experienced a rare misfire, considering their fellow restaurants (Jacobs Inn, Jacobs & Field, Woodstock Arms and the new Plough in Bicester) are all roaring successes.

However, instead of licking their wounds and closing up shop, Johnny and Damian just rethought, refurbished and reopened, looking towards our striped cousins over the channel for inspiration.

More French ski lodge than beach, you can expect French onion soup, baked Camembert, mussels, wild boar burgers, duck leg and steak. My kind of food.

In fact, so enticing was the menu, we kept reordering as wonderful smelling dishes wafted past, experiencing serious food envy every time the kitchen doors opened.

Stopping short of gingham tablecloths; bare brick walls, mirrors, leather banquets, blackboards and French road signs adorn the interior, creating an intimate, fun and buzzing atmosphere, and the brasserie was full when we arrived for Friday lunch.

I had to have the French onion soup, it being an absolute favourite, hoping for the deep brown potage with little globules of oil floating on the top, a crouton with cheese circling on the surface. Instead, the sweeter onion version arrived, which is much paler and thicker. The croutons were actually slices of cheese on toast and served on the side.

‘Zut Alor’. I could hear the cries of protest all the way from Calais.

So I ordered the camembert, which arrived warm, crispy and wonderfully untriangular – served with a cranberry and fig relish. Hot to trot. Finally we were on the right rue.

The sauteed mushrooms on toasted brioche with parmesan, cream and thyme sauce (£6.50) was another hit, the soft brioche soaking up all the lovely herby juices.

Tartiflette, another firm favourite (potatoes, garlic, and onion baked in a Reblochon cheese sauce served with house salad (£12) wasn’t exactly a bikini diet dish, but arrived so sizzling and oozy I beg anyone not to dive into its heady contents with relish, the side salad providing a fresh, green contrast to this carb fest of a dish.

Continuing with the French theme, we moved on to dessert, namely the creme caramel (set vanilla pod custard and praline) for £6.50, and that well known French delicacy – sticky toffee pudding with Jude’s vanilla ice-cream, which couldn’t be more English if it put on a bowler hat and called me madam.

Again both were delicious.

With a £10 for two courses fixed price lunch menu, which includes baby Caesar salad with garlic croutons and parmesan or chicken liver parfait with caramelised red onion, mains such as salmon and smoked haddock fishcakes with baby spinach, sorrel sauce, or the Jacobs Brasserie burger completed by a peanut butter parfait or lemon posset with cookie crumble for afters, it’s winners all round.

If you don’t wear stripes simultaneously you can even sit outside at the pink tables and watch the world go by.

Or be proud like us and brazen it out.

Either way, Jacobs Brasserie is a good place to start.