I wrote enthusiastically about Gee’s on this page after a memorable birthday dinner there last summer. There need be no apology, however, for my returning so soon to sing its praises once again. With a new chef in charge of the kitchen since December, and appealing new menus introduced under his guidance, this admirable establishment – by some way my favourite upmarket Oxford restaurant – is on a real high at present.

Mark Constable arrived at Gee’s with an impeccable background in the catering industry. One of his first jobs was under Anton Edelmann at The Savoy, where he specialised in fish. Since then he has worked with a number of other big-name chefs, including Phil Vickery at The Castle in Taunton, Dean Timpson at The Compleat Angler in Marlow and, in London, with Angela Hartnett (of Hell’s Kitchen fame) with whom (as with Vickery) he shares a Kentish background.

I met him after a delicious dinner at Gee’s a couple of months ago (the first of three meals I have eaten there recently). His enthusiasm for food and enjoyment of his job were obvious in his every utterance. The restaurant’s owner Jeremy Mogford must feel fortunate to have hired such talent – though the ongoing success of his other restaurants, Quod and The Old Parsonage, suggests that his own skills as the spotter of such talent should not be underestimated.

In this connection it is worth mentioning that Gee’s has recently secured the services of Frenchwoman Sophie Vienney, the former sommelier at the two Michelin-starred Vineyard, at Stockcroft, near Newbury, who has recently undertaken a major revamp of the wine list (not too strong a Gallic bias, she assures me). With manager Laura Crampton on a week’s leave, she was in charge front of house when Rosemarie and I went for dinner last Wednesday. She and the rest of the staff offered exemplary service on what was clearly not the easiest evening for them, there being two large parties lining each side of this lovely conservatory restaurant (recently Grade II listed).

In ordering our food, we made a point of avoiding dishes we had tried on our first sampling of the new dinner menu. This meant, for me, no further taste (for the moment!) of Mark’s classic fish soup with rouille or the main course of halibut with hollandaise and crushed new potatoes and, for Rosemarie, no Bayonne ham with celeriac remoulade or pork belly.

There were still plenty of other things to tempt, however. These certainly included for me the starter of risotto milenese. My desire, however, for a cheesy end rather than beginning to the meal (the dish is packed with Parmesan) led me to switch as our order was taken to the chicory and anchovy salad. This was a simple but effective dish of well-dressed mixed green leaves (humble cress among them) and marinated anchovy fillets, with a scattering of freshly cooked croutons.

Rosemarie ordered the crab mayonnaise, which brought a beautifully fresh taste of the sea, as might have been expected in a restaurant whose seafood and fish is air freighted in twice a week from Jersey. (The meat is sourced with similar care, some of it from Mr Mogford’s own farm.) Offered a generous taste of it myself, I found (others take note) it was a perfect accompaniment to my salad – as was the still-warm home-cooked bread brought to the table before the meal to be enjoyed with extra virgin Italian olive oil and (after we had asked for it) superb French butter.

Chef Mark’s respect for traditional flavours was evident in my main course of rabbit cottage pie. This brought glorious chunks of tender white-fleshed bunny, utterly free of bones, beneath a topping of creamy mash. It came with buttered Savoy cabbage and I also ordered creamed leeks.

Rosemarie had a perfect plate of fish and chips with mushy peas and warm caper sauce. The batter was beautifully crisp, encasing a generous portion of fish that we rightly identified as pollack – a favourite of mine at Quod, from the same Jersey source. There is, incidentally, to be a three-course menu of food exclusively from Jersey served in all three Mogford restaurants throughout May. She completed her meal with a gooey chocolate tart, while I savoured a trio of beautifully kept English cheeses with oat biscuits, walnuts and pear chutney. There was a white creamy cow’s cheese which I heard as ‘Tamworth’ but which must have been Tunworth, the lovely gooey goat’s cheese, Bosworth Ash, and Devon Blue (cow’s milk again). We drank Chateau de Tariquey, a crisp blend of Ugni Blanc (70 per cent) and Colombard from Gascony. I also enjoyed a glass of gutsy Chilean merlot.