Want to dine out in London? Go to Teddington!

Teddington is about 4o minutes outside London, and worth every moment of the trip once you find Brasserie Gérard. We ate there tonight, and were both of us - and we're not exactly unfamiliar with good restaurants - stunned by the level of the food and service.

The evening started looking promising when our waiter, Sebastian, asked for particulars about Bernhard's Bloody Mary - heavy on the spice? how much Worcester? - and when we looked at the menu, which contained no less than three versions of mussles: mariniéres, provencal, bretonne. In the end, however, we went with the chateaubriand with new potatoes and bearnaise.

The meat was tender, rosy, and tasted of meat and a touch of charcoal (yes, I'm difficult that way - I don't like my meat ruined with too much spice). The bearnaise was possibly the best I've ever had, and definitely the best I ever had in a restaurant: tarragony, not overly fatty, distinctly onion-y. The salad was nicely varied and subtly flavoured, the beans plain and very well cooked. We choose a red Saint-Emilion to go with it, which complemented the meat very nicely.

For dessert, Bernhard had the cheese platter, which had a spectacular goat's cheese (where are all the subtle goat's cheeses when I go shopping?), and I had the Crépes Suzette, which were orange-flavoured to end all orange-flavour.

Service was attentive, friendly, and very personal. We like this modern-style service where you're actually made to feel like a guest. And we will definitely be back - there's still the mussels to try. And the tajines. And the sole meunière. And the rest of the menu.