IT's not that I had purposefully avoided ASK in George Street until now, but, like that dress in your wardrobe with the price tag still on it, I had aways favoured wearing something else, or maybe the right occasion had never come up.

But either way, I’d never been there.

Perhaps it’s because, having peered into the white-walled interior at the identikit furniture, I’d already imagined what it would be like. And as I’m always after something new and exciting it didn’t tickle my fancy.

But I think ASK realised that with Oxford having an Italian restaurant bonanza at the moment, only the brave will remain standing. And the one thing it wasn’t was brave. Safe and predictable maybe, but brave no. And with Italians popping up on every corner, it’s like Goodfellas all over again.

I have nightmares that I’ll wake up and find the landscape has been slowly covered in buffalo mozarella and proscuitto ham. And call me a cynic, but it can’t be a coincidence that ASK, now called Ask Italian (like Jamie’s Italian, but with ASK instead of Jamie), has had a massive redecoration and menu revamp weeks after Fire And Stone opened on the other side of the street, selling pizzas faster than you can say Mamma Mia.

And since the gorgeous Medeitarranean styled Coco’s Royal up the road announced profits for the first time, the upstarts were making the godfathers uncomfortable. In these days of belt-tightening, it was either a case of moving with the times or going under. Pizza Express fought back by bringing Francesco Mazzei into the equation – the new Italian celebrity chef who sexed up their offerings with some of ‘his childhood Calabrian dishes.

And now, to it’s eternal credit, ASK has stepped up to the mark and come out of its corner fighting. But whatever the catalyst, it’s been a fabulous metamorphosis, because ASK Italian has been transformed from being somewhere utterly predictable into somewhere really enticing. And I loved it. Judging by the queue coming out the door, we weren’t the only ones – the place was packed, so it was lucky we’d booked.

It’s not just the light, colourful, airy, spacious restaurant that takes you by surprise but the finishing touches - the colourful glasses, trendy wooden tables, kids corner, specials board and interesting menu. But it’s also the way they have worked on the classics.

The stuffed mushrooms for example, deep-fried, rubbery offerings in the 80s, have been replaced with resplendent Mushrooms al Forno (£5.25) which come baked on a wooden platter and stuffed with mozzarella and Grana Padano cheese, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs, served with a garlic mayo dip. They are huge, fresh and succulent, like a plate of French snails, and went down a treat.

Next up – pizza of course, but the new Prima Four Seasons pizza (£9.95) came on a rectangular board with a small metal jug of chilli oil, like a genie’s lamp, on a thin crispy base and divided into sections – artichoke and Fontal cheese, spinach, prosciutto and Grana Padano cheese, autumnal fire-roasted red peppers with caramelised onion, anchovy and capers, then mushrooms with Grana Padano cheese, another fresh take on a menu staple.

The Risotto Pollo e Funghi (10.95) was another winner, but a bit gritty, as if the mushrooms hadn’t been wiped properly. The service was keen – keen to get our orders, but not so keen to take away our empty plates once we’d finished each course, which was a shame.

But we still moved on to Tiramasu (£4.95), which was lovely. I had the almond and plum tarte from the specials board, which was heavenly, and then a good strong latte.

The meal came to £35 with a voucher, as seems to be the way these days, so next time you are in George Street and are panicking over where to go and what to have, try ASK Italian, it’s worth rediscovering.