THIRTY years ago, Beefeater hit the restaurant scene with its signature dish of steak, chips and peas. And now? It's still going strong on a theme of steak, chips and salad. That's the brief summary. The reality is rather more complex.

Your steak now comes with an array of cuts, styles, flavours, sauces and partnerships to make it a unique combination just for you.

That's the general idea anyway, as Julian Jackson explained to me as he showed me round his new-look Beefeater at The Royal Saracens Head, Old Beaconsfield.

They've just spent £450,000 doing up the famous old inn on the town crossroads.

I love the interior design, which succeeds in treading that fine line between die-hard traditional and wackily trendy.

This is contemporary but warm and comfortable, with carpets (I still think they're better than bare in a noisy eaterie), leather armchairs and lots of accessible art. And no horse brasses.

The seating is completely different with leather-look booths round each table, giving each set of diners the feeling of having their own space.

The lighting is computerised, if you please, so that it dims gradually during the evening. And wheelchair users will be glad to know it's now fully accessible, with disabled toilet facilities and two tables that are designed for use with a wheelchair.

Julian says locals were very worried when they saw building work taking place, as The Old Hare had just been lost to the town and they feared the old inn would be ruined. "I told them I'd leave if we ruined it," he says, confident that the new look will be welcomed.

Now those steaks. The buzzword is flame grilling, and almost all dishes are freshly cooked to order on the newly installed flame grill. You can even watch your steak as it cooks.

But it's not just steaks. There's fish skewers and fillets, chicken, lamb chops, duck breast, ribs, and a very popular vegetable skewer with grilled halloumi cheese.

You like it plain? You like it a bit spicy but not too much? You like it fiery?

Your dinner can come any which way. There are three dustings of varying spiciness as the meat is grilled. You can add extra sauce (creamy peppercorn, kashmiri or mascarpone and smoked salmon). Varying strengths of mustard are brought to your table, where there is a jar of Tabasco flavoured salt to shake over your chips.

You can even have curried sirloin kashmiri with rice or chips.

But before deciding on flavour you must choose your meat. Steaks come as sirloin, fillet, rump, rib-eye and T-bone in various sizes. Or have a combo or steak, gammon, sausage and chicken, or chicken and ribs, or chicken and prawns. Whatever.

We shared a starter of tasty grilled Thai bites (like a hot and spicy version of onion bhaji). Chef Phil Smith had explained that if you like steak medium-to-well-done, go for rib-eye because the marbling keeps the meat moist. It's the wrong choice if you like it rare. So my friend upgraded to rib-eye for her steak feast (£12.45 plus £1.50) which came with onion rings, deep-fried mushrooms, chips and garlic bread topped with mozzarella and cheddar, which she said was the best garlic bread ever.

My fillet steak (£12.95) was perfectly tender. I chose jacket potato instead of chips or rice. The salad was the only disappointment of the evening, just salad leaves with one slice of tomato and onion. You can have a side order of vegetables if you wish. Puds? Great choice here too, from sundaes to pavlovas and apple pudding and more.

One last thing. The service when we visited was impeccably smiley. It is, says Julian, all about giving you what you like, how you like it.