The Fishes, North Hinksey, Oxford

10:31am Thursday 10th January 2008

An energetic bout of rock 'n' rolling at a party to see in the New Year helped stimulate a powerful appetite that demanded speedy satisfaction when I rose, not far short of noon, on January 1. Since modest quantities of alcohol had preceded - and, indeed, followed - the dancing, it hardly seemed prudent to drive in search of lunch. But who needed to, with a smashing pub like the Fishes a 15-minute stroll away at North Hinksey?

My steps were lightened along Willow Walk by the gin and tonic (Tanqueray, of course) enjoyed at the outset of the walk at our even more local local, the Waterman's Arms. Rosemarie and I had naturally wished to express our good wishes for 2008 to the landlord. Cynics might suggest, however, that this was no more than a demonstration of our inability to pass a pub without entering.

We arrived at the Fishes to find that the sunshine had brought others flocking, too - including many large family parties well supplied with young children. "Oh, for an hour of Herod!" - as novelist Anthony Hope said at the opening night of Peter Pan. In fact, all of the children present were models of good behaviour. So, too, were their parents - even though I could see many of them (dads especially) were enjoying rather more than the two drinks now being permitted to parents by one of Britain's best-known pub chains. The Fishes' enterprising owners Peach Pubs are, I would say, taking a rather more sensible approach than J D Wetherspoon (which, I predict, will soon be recanting on its daft policy).

Speaking of sense, I must confess my lack of it in failing to make a booking before this lunchtime jaunt. With the place packed to the rafters, manager Ben Matthews said there would be a bit of a wait before we could be accommodated. I quite understood this, though I was mildly surprised that I was not able to buy crisps (nuts only behind the bar) to calm my rumbling tummy.

It was perhaps no more than 15 minutes, however, before Ben showed us to our table. The deli board we had ordered during the wait was with us even as we settled into our seats. "What that?" some might ask, but only if they don't get out much. The provision of these large wooden boards, bearing the customer's personal choice from a big range of deli ingredients, has been widely copied in the five years since I first encountered them. This was at another Peach Pub, the Fleece on Witney's Church Green.

The Fishes' selection includes various cheeses (of which more later); various fish (ditto); pickles and dips (houmous, jerk squash dip and sun-dried tomatoes); fresh apples, grapes and cherry tomatoes; and cold cuts like beef, ham and salami. Specifically, these are Aberdeenshire beef, Kelmscott free-range ham and Milano salami.

This is in line with Peach's policy of identifying the source of its food. "We will only serve you food we'd be happy to be served ourselves," says a 'mission statement' (my term) at the head of the menu, "which is why all our chicken and eggs are free-range. So is our pork. Our steak is 28 day dry-aged Aberdeenshire beef. We avoid air-freighting fruit and vegetables by buying seasonal and British products wherever possible. Our cheeses come from artisan producers. Sourcing the best quality fresh ingredients from ethical producers costs us more, but we know that if we can trust our suppliers, then you can trust us."

In fact, it can hardly be said that any increase in cost is being swiftly passed to the customers. It seemed to me that £1.60 a throw was extremely fair for the selection of deli ingredients we had. (I was mentally measuring them as we ate against what you would pay for similar food at, say, Marks & Spencer.) With the exception of a splendid bowl of juicy olives, our choices were fish only. There was Bradon rost (hot-smoked salmon, a speciality of Loch Fyne restaurants), devilled whitebait that were hot both in temperature and taste, and marinated anchovies - all absolutely delicious. With them came four rolls - two black, two white with hard grains (careful with those fillings!).

For my main course, I decided on a (for me) very rare treat of red meat. This was a pink-cooked rack of lamb, looking exactly like the one pictured on this page. The taste was superb. The roast potatoes were another January 1 indulgence; these were compensated for in healthy doses of lovely fresh leeks and deep-green curly kale, which were served together in a little pot.

Rosemarie chose bangers and mustard mash. These attracted the meal's only real criticism since the three sausages were overcooked to the point of being black and tasted rather tired - thought admittedly flavoursome. They certainly didn't appear to have been freshly cooked. Had she followed her initial inclination, she would surely have done better with the bubble and squeak with poached egg and bacon that caught her eye on the specials board, or the roast beef also to be found there.

She was all smiles, however, as she took delivery of her hot chocolate brownie (packed with walnuts and chocky bits) and vanilla ice cream. I chose cheese - tasty (and not, happily, cold from the fridge) Ragstone goat's cheese (substituting for the usual Somerset brie), Westcombe mature cheddar and Quenby Hall Stilton. All these, I feel sure, were from Peach Pubs' Chipping Campden-based supplier which rejoices in the name Fromage to Age.

Appropriately cheesy, you might think.

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