The White Oak, Cookham

Eating out has been something of a rare treat in these credit crunch times, so a trip to the White Oak (http://www.thewhiteoak.co.uk/) with McFoodie's dad and step mum was a real treat. It's a regular watering hole for us and we'd eaten there once before and really enjoyed it.

We met my parents for a drink in the bar before dinner and were left to enjoy ourselves with no pressure to move through to the dining room, even though it was a busy Friday night. The White Oak has a great selection of wines - I particularly recommend the Chilean sauvignon blanc - plus a good selection of beers. The atmosphere is spot-on - relaxed and informal yet smart, friendly and genuinely welcoming.

On moving through to the dining room, we were sat in the calm and well-lit dining room and given bread and menus very efficiently. In most cases, the staff really know the menu, although there was one dish that the waitress could not comment on as she'd not tried it (on a later visit, we overheard that the new menu had just been introduced and that all the staff had been tasting it). To start, McFoodie chose the chicken liver parfait and I had the goat's cheese salad. Both were great dishes with a big chunk of parfait that had a wonderful texture - the usual comment about not quite enough toast was made but bread was easily obtained to make up for it. The goat's cheese was beautifully nut-crusted with a lovely dressed salad of green leaves and beetroot - you get a lot of cheese for your money at the White Oak and the dish was very well-balanced and enjoyable - the only slight criticism was that there could have been more beetroot, which was specifically mentioned on the menu. Still, at least I'm not moaning about a lack of cheese!

The main courses really were sublime and McFoodie and I both thought them to be the best things we'd eaten in ages. Duck breast with a spiced honey sauce and gnocchi was the perfect choice for my husband, for who only a small number of potato dishes are acceptable. The duck was perfectly cooked and full of flavour and the spicing was just right. For me, lamb cutlets with gratin dauphinoise was impeccable - it was served with roasted carrot and parsnip and the kind of jus that you want to ask for in a pint glass. The lamb was so well-cooked, beautifully pink and incredibly flavoursome. The meal was washed down with a very enjoyable Marlborough sauvignon blanc (yes, white wine with lamb and duck!).

Once main meals were done, I couldn't even consider eating anything more for fear of bursting at the seams but McFoodie chose a selection of Salcombe Dairy ice creams - staying true to our shared love of Devon.

Overall this was an incredibly enjoyable experience - great food, lovely surroundings and very good staff in both the restaurant and the bar. I can't recommend this place highly enough and between that visit and writing this, not only have we returned for many a glass of wine but also shared a starter platter one evening - wonderful honeyed sweet potato soup, that amazing chicken liver parfait, the best breaded king prawns I've ever had and a ham hock terrine that, on reading the menu left me unmoved, but proved to be the jewel in the crown.

Bottom line - if you're going to eat in the Berkshire/South Buckinghamshire area, this is a real must. I can't tell you how much the bill was as McFoodie's father payed (thanks pa-in-law!) but I can say that it's worth every penny!