AT Taplow House Hotel every course lived up to the last resulting in an all round fantastic dinner, with innovative touches to each delightful dish.

Driving up the sweeping drive the four star hotel looks majestic at the top of well cared for lawns.

Berry's restaurant is located on the ground floor overlooking the lovely grounds, where I even saw a deer wandering around during the evening.

It is open to non residents and the changing seasonal menu offers two courses for £24.95 and three courses for £28.95.

The intimate and resplendent dining area is decorated in understated gold and red hues with large comfortable chairs and fresh flowers adorning the tables.

There are about five choices for each of the courses, and even that had me spoiled for choice.

After being served warm, fresh bread rolls we were given an amuse-bouche of crab with green gazpacho.

The white crab meat had fresh, clean flavours with an added zest and hint of chilli- it was refreshing and delicious.

My expectations were now high and the starters did not disappoint.

I opted for the pressed terrine of confit chicken leg and cabbage with pickled mushrooms, baby carrot and tarragon emulsion.

The presentation was superb with a generous portion of terrine surrounded by slivers of carrot, tiny pickled mushrooms and beautiful purple micro leaves.

The flavours in the terrine were simply awesome- with the roasted, tender chicken meat and layers of cabbage running throughout.

The mushrooms added a slight tartness to the dish which married well with the terrine, and I loved the freshness of the carrots and creamy emulsion.

It was served with the thinnest melba toast I have seen, and the best.

My boyfriend, Tom, went for the seared scallops (£4 supplement).

The two scallops were served with charred courgette purée, black pudding crumble and crispy chicken skin.

The tender, delicately sweet scallops went well with the equally mild puree. Tom loved the addition of the incredibly crisp chicken skin and the black pudding crumble was an unusual but welcome touch.

The other starters included a green pea velouté, whipped goats cheese mousse and poached asparagus with duck egg.

For the main course I went for the seared breast of Gressingham duck with pearl barley, cauliflower textures, shimeji mushrooms and pickled fennel.

This was a great recommendation- the duck was served pink in two pieces and was tender and easy to cut through.

The pearl barley is my new favourite accompaniment to duck- it was smooth and tasty, with a slightly nutty taste.

Along with the beautiful slivers of slightly tart cauliflower textures and delicious, buttery mushrooms it made a very special dish.

And as for the fennel- I never knew it could taste like that. It was slightly sweet with a bit of a crunch.

Tom had the slow braised and seared pork belly and loin, girolle mushrooms, charred baby leek, smoked celeriac and green peas.

The tender pork belly was served in a compact rectangle with a crispy crackling top, along with two small circles of moist pork loin.

The charred baby leek was delicately placed on top of it all and the smoked celeriac really rounded it off well.

The other options were seared Cornish cod, sirloin steak (£4 supplement) and mushroom wild risotto.

Then for dessert I had the warm chocolate fondant with orange sorbet, mango coulis, brandy snap.

Many of you may have already thought of this but I thought it as a genius idea to serve the rich chocolate, liquid centred fondant with the cooling, refreshing sorbet.

It just took away that richness and dare I say it, made it perfect.

Tom had the banana sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, honeycomb brittle and vanilla ice cream.

Again, another innovative dish. The pudding was light and moist with a hint of banana, and the salted caramel makes me think all sticky toffee puddings should be served this way.

There was also a pannacotta on offer and the British cheese board (£2.50 supplement).

Head chef Roman Zalaba only joined the team two weeks before, but if tonight was anything to go by the hotel is very lucky to have acquired such a talented chef.

Every course was brilliant- there was nothing here which brought the experience down. His emphasis is on British and classic European flavours, utilising the fresh produce from the surrounding area.

Innovative and packed full of good, clean flavours- the menu at Taplow House Hotel is one to try.

Go to www.taplowhouse.com for more details.