Location, location, location. The mantra beloved of estate agents is also true for hotels and restaurants, and the Quod bar, in Oxford High Street, is a perfect example.

Bang opposite All Souls and the University Church of St Mary's, it must surely satisfy even the most critical visitor's desire to be in the heart of the university city. From the windows, there unfolds a tableau of Oxford life wobbly cyclists, argumentative motorists, students with their head in the clouds and scores of chattering tourists.

Of necessity, most diners arrive on foot, by bicycle or taxi. Quod is part of the Old Bank Hotel, and does have a car park, but it costs a swingeing £20 a price which must deter even the most determined motorist.

The food, on the other hand, is well within the price range of the average bistro-style lunch in Oxford, while the quality is well above average. In fact, if you wanted a quick lunch of soup and bread, it would set you back just £3.95.

On the day we visited, I had done a session of early-morning swimming and then cycled to the restaurant, so I was hoping for something a bit more filling. We arrived well after 1pm on a busy weekday and were quickly shown to one of the few remaining tables, underneath a striking oil painting modern art being one of the trademarks of owner Jeremy Mogford, an Oxfordshire entrepreneur who made his first few million by setting up, and then selling, the Browns restaurant chain.

Quod has been designed with a sure touch, epitomised by the dramatic arrangement of fresh flowers which greets customers as they arrive.

The restaurant was busy, but there was a fairly calm atmosphere, helped by the fact that there were plenty of staff on duty, plus a trouble-shooting manager who appeared to be walking around making sure all the customers were happy.

Our cheerful waitress, Marina, told us about the specials roast beef on the rare side' and carrot and coriander soup. We ordered two glasses of house wine, a South African chenin blanc described as a slight almond and honey flavour with a soft, gentle uplifted finish', plus a bottle of sparkling mineral water.

With the drink came a welcome, but small, warm baguette, with olive oil for dipping. It wasn't gourmet food, but we nibbled gratefully while we waited for our starters roasted Piedmontese peppers and tomatoes for me, and a salad of grilled goat's cheese on brioche for my guest.

Caponata

The peppers proved tasty and fairly substantial, while the goat's cheese was deliciously creamy', let down by a rather mealy' brioche, said my guest.

He was cheered by the appearance of his main course slow-roasted lamb shank with onion and mint pesto and Tuscan vegetable caponata. We had discussed what caponata' was I had a vague idea that it was a sauce with tomatoes, olives and capers, and possibly aubergines. We were not much wiser when the dish arrived, since we were both unable to identify some of the vegetables, though they tasted pretty good. We did discover some aubergine, as well as celery and carrot. I later discovered from my Italian cookery book that there are dozens of variations of caponata, and this was a pretty good one. We should probably have asked Marina, since she responded knowledgably when I asked if there was cream in the salmorigano dressing which was offered with the grilled tuna. Salmorigano is, I discovered, mainly oil and lemon I sometimes wonder whether menus should be rewritten by newspaper sub-editors trained to delete all obscure phrases and descriptions.

My guest was more interested in the meat, which was tender and had a fine flavour unlike my chicken, which was a little balnd. I had ordered hot chicken salad with peppers and mushrooms.

The vegetables were fine I can never eat too many peppers as was the mixed leaf salad. The chicken had been described as corn-fed and had a good colour, but I found it a little lacking in taste perhaps because I had just returned from a trip to Nicaragua, where chickens run free in the garden until they are needed for the table.

We were in complete accord about the shared pudding a simple but excellent lemon tart.

Space is obviously at a premium in such a central location and the tables are on the small side. However, there was plenty of room for our food, since there was no tiny vase of daisies to knock over. Indeed, the whole experience was surprisingly restful for such a bustling place.

One reason for the pleasant atmosphere was the well-trained staff. Marina was from the Ukraine, and, like many of the other waitresses, was speaking English as her second language.

Despite or perhaps because of this, she was easier to understand than many Oxonians, and perfectly charming.

Call 01865 205205..