BRANCA, WALTON STREET, OXFORD 01865 556111.

HOW hard is it to stay ahead of the game, once you’ve made it? And why is it that we expect standards to slip?

We chose one of Oxford’s landmark independents to prove that longevity needn’t mean complacency – and we needn’t have worried. In fact, the food and cocktails on offer at Branca suggest that maybe it’s the customer that is at risk of getting stuck in the comfort zone.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE?

We sipped a ‘G & T’ at the bar while we waited for our table – a choice my wife regretted after noticing the Pomegranate Cosmo, above, the ‘cocktail of the month’, that she’d missed out on.

This being a Saturday night, the restaurant was busy with a mixture of customers, young and old, and the atmosphere was lively with conversation.

The décor, with its grand chandelier in the entrance and beautiful Venetian mirrors interspersed with art works and old drinks posters, was cool and relaxed.

Much sooner than expected, we were shown to our seats – very welcome when you have an eye on the clock due to the time constraints familiar to anyone with babysitters’ deadlines to meet.

Complementary rosemary focaccia arrived immediately, which was indicative of the attentive and thoroughly efficient service that was to follow.

Both of us being ‘pescetarians’, we didn’t order meat. I started with the smoked haddock and parsley risotto, which was served with a neat poached egg on top.

It was a large helping, but moist, well seasoned, and cooked to perfection – and before I knew it, it was gone.

My wife had the fried calamari with lemon and chilli dressing – three great hunks, coated in a light crispy batter.

Not quite enough chilli dressing for the huge portion, but still very good.

I plumped for a main meal of rare grilled tuna with black olives, which arrived tender and worked well with the green beans and roasted tomatoes accompanying it.

The olives provided a pleasant salty edge – delicious. My wife asked for the char-grilled sea bream, a delicate piece of fish which melted in the mouth thanks to the lemon, shrimp and pine nut butter it was cooked in, and came with a good portion of spinach. And we couldn’t resist a bowl of triple-cooked chips to share – an absolute must if you’re at Branca and can find the room for them. They were, by far, the best chips I’ve tasted in a long time.

We washed all this down with a bottle of pinot grigio Veritiere da Veneto 2007, in the middle of the restaurant’s price range, and which turned out to be a fine, fresh dry white.

VERDICT: With great food and service – and a chic interior – Branca has all the right ingredients. It’s a true, trustworthy Oxford classic.

THE BILL Fried calamari £6.45 Smoked haddock risotto £7.45 Sea bream with spinach £14.75 Grilled tuna with green beans, roasted tomato and black olives £13.95 Bottle of pinot grigio, Veritiere da Veneto 2007 £16.45