CLOS du Marquis at Leckford Hutt is one of an increasingly rare breed of stand-alone restaurants that offers French cuisine in the traditional manner, in an understated and comfortable environment, complete with accoutrements such as starched white table cloths and napkins.

And I am pleased to say we had a highly rewarding ‘Gallic’ Sunday lunch with not a Yorkshire pudding or horseradish sauce in sight!

Matters got off to a good start with the most courteous of greetings from the ‘Front of House’ and a clear and concise explanation of how their menus worked.

My starter was foie gras and truffle baked in puff pastry, with a port sauce and my wife ordered crab bisque e n r i c h e d with brandy and cream.

With a drizzle of the slightly sweet sauce and warmed fig halves, the richness of the foie gras and the aromatic earthiness of the truffle were in balance and the pastry very light.

My wife’s bisque was a delight and came served with a little ‘patty’ of crab meat with a wonderful texture and not over-blitzed to a uniform ‘pap’.

For our mains I ordered the traditional cassoulet from Les Landes and my wife had braised rabbit with prunes and cider. Le cassoulet, authentic in every way, by way of duck, Toulouse sausage, lamb and white beans, was to me the ultimate in comfort food and came with a good portion size that just about left me with enough room to consider dessert.

By the recommendation of the front of house, I had a glass of red wine from near Les Landes that shared the same grape variety as my first wine and which partnered the cassoulet perfectly.

My wife enjoyed her braised rabbit and lamented that this animal does not feature more on restaurant menus – the flesh was tender and full of flavour and the sauce velvety and with its sweet note cues courtesy of the prunes and cider. A small portion of gratin dauphinois, charred sweet potato and haricot verts a la Française accompanied our mains and (unlike many establishments) was included in the price.

For dessert we were offered offmenu an assiette of desserts, which comprised a chocolate and almond cake (of astonishing chocolatiness and lightness), a bavarois of rhubarb (pleasantly ‘wobbly’ and not too sweet) and a sublime scoop of their prune and Armagnac ice cream.

Coffee, with gratis top-ups and a twirl of deeply chilled, soft, fine chocolate completed our lunch and I enjoyed an Armagnac which, rather like an Alsace eau-de-vie, was completely clear and wonderfully smooth.

With very fair pricing, both for food and wine, I see us beating a path to the Clos’ front door in the not too distant future.

DEREK KANE