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Sometimes, it seems, all the emphasis is on the mass catering required for conferences or weddings and the ordinary diner is left somewhat overlooked.

So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that this food critic decided to check out the fine dining restaurant at Leeds's only five-star hotel.

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On paper the Calverley Grill looks and sounds spectacular and Oliver so didn't want it to disappoint.

Unfortunately, our experience did not start well.

It took Oliver more than 10 minutes of hanging on the phone to get through to the restaurant to make the initial booking and a further 20 minutes the next day to change our reservation by half an hour.
So far, then, so unimpressed.

But when we did finally arrive at Oulton on a Bank Holiday lunchtime, things quickly started to pick up.

There is no denying this restaurant has one of the most picturesque settings to be found in or around Leeds.
The grounds at Oulton are so meticulously kept, so green and perfect you can imagine vast teams of gardeners trimming the borders with pairs of nailclippers and pulling weeds with tweezers.

The restaurant itself is of a similarly high standard.

Having recently undergone an expensive refurbishment, it is now a picture of decadent but classic chic.
Around the sides of the room, there are sumptuous banquettes of black leather and suede.

The tables are topped with starched white linen and the walls are adorned with paintings that wouldn't have looked out of place in the recent series of Hell's Kitchen.

We are shown to our seats and offered drinks while we peruse the menu.
It didn't take too long because a short while ago, the Calverley Grill opted to cut down its usual à la carte lunch menu for a special two- or three-course fixed price offering.

Two courses can be yours for £17.50 while an extra £2 will buy you all three.

There are only three starters, mains and desserts, but the menu is changed daily so there is always something new to try.
To start I chose the smoked haddock and potato broth, while my partner went for the classic prawn cocktail. The other option when we dined was a farmhouse pate with chutney.

The smoked haddock broth was a hearty serving but was deliciously light and fresh and very moreish. The thickened stock was dappled with flaked fish and the bite-sized potatoes were still crunchy. A good start.
My partner's prawn cocktail was exactly that – only there was masses of it. Plump prawns were served atop a mound of crispy lettuce (not that watery iceberg variety that looks and tastes like it has been left on the side too long) and coated in Marie Rose sauce. It also came with a dainty side-serving of buttered brown bread and a muslin-wrapped half lemon.

It looked and tasted great and disappeared at an alarming rate.
For my main I selected the roast loin of pork with caramelised apples and creamed potatoes. If I'm not mistaken it actually turned out to be the fillet of pork, but no complaints there. It was beautifully moist – something tricky to pull off as in the wrong hands pork can end up terribly dry – and the sauce was to die for.

The creamed potatoes were super-smooth and well seasoned. Another fault-free dish.

From the other selections of poached salmon or polenta cake, my partner opted for the fish.

It was a decent bit of salmon swathed in a creamy dill sauce.
The meals came without accompaniments so we shared a side order of mixed vegetables which was essentially a tiny helping of fine green beans and a few tired-looking carrots.

For £2.95 they ought to have been better. (And in any case, should a restaurant offering a fixed price lunch deal be tapping you up for "extras" like veg? I think not.)

The dessert choice included a baked egg custard with rhubarb, a chocolate mousse or cheese and biscuits. Which was a bit odd as I'm used to restaurants with set menu deals wanting a supplement for cheese. Yet here it was included and I instead had to stump up for veg. Strange.

Taking advantage, I went for the cheese, which was a nice plateful of Stilton, cheddar and a British Brie. It came with a tangy home-made chutney which livened it up nicely.

My partner picked the chocolate mousse – stylishly presented in a dessert glass with a quenelle of cream atop and a chewy cookie on the side. It was simple but delicious and definitely the dessert winner.
Along with a bottle of Australian Olive Grove Chardonnay at £30 (the wine list here would have any bon viveur watering at the mouth), a couple of waters and the "extra" veg, our bill came to just over £85 – including the seemingly now-compulsory 10 per cent service charge.

It was not cheap for lunch – and a set menu at that. But, on the whole, the food was of a very high standard, the service was excellent and the surroundings were divine.

If there were a living embodiment of the old adage, you get what you pay for, the Calverley Grill would be it.

So much so that Oliver will be returning and this time he might just bring his notoriously hard-to-please in-laws. And that's high praise indeed.