Food Footle: Asia de Cuba, St. Martin's Lane Hotel

I'm far from being a food critic, so it's unusual that I would want to review a restaurant. But this was such an amazingly good evening that I feel duty bound to do so!

For Weasel Day celebrations (our first anniversary), my boyfriend decided to surprise me with the dinner venue, and in fact I'd never really noticed Asia de Cuba despite attending press events in the weirdly wonderful hotel before.

It sounds worrying at first - a mixture of Cuban and Asian cooking techniques is instinctively worrying to anyone even slightly conventional about their food. Asian, by the way, is the US definition; the restaurant gathers its influences mainly from China and especially Japan.

The menu is designed to be shared. We were seated in seconds and our friendly, well-informed waitress explained that it was best to get two starters, one main course and one dessert for two. This was exactly the right amount to be stuffed to the gills but pleasantly so.

We opted for seared scallops and two types of beef dumpling to begin with. A wonderful choice. Four fat, savoury-sweet scallops were elegantly arranged on a creamy but not overly rich sauce dotted with fruit. Mouthwateringly gorgeous. The six plump dumplings - three steamed in a bowl of sauce and three fried on a skewer - were rich, chewy mouthfuls of beautifully cooked soft beef and not a hint of oiliness or watery filling.

Our main course was an old favourite of mine: Miso cod. It was served on a pebbled bed of black bean and edamame salad and we ordered coconut rice to go with. This was served in generous blocks, perfectly balanced with the coconut, wrapped tightly in banana leaves. The cod was amazing, and a generous portion of three chunks, not burned round the edges as some places I've tried it have managed. The only possible criticism I could levy is that something a bit more exciting could be done with the black beans which are a bit bland and chalky, but it's a small point indeed.

Dessert was a vast basket of sugared doughnuts, dusted with cinnamon and with a small squirt of creamy butterscotch sauce in the centre. Further sauce is provided for dipping.

The setting was also rather nice. A weird but wonderful mix of modern design and bookshelves packed with old books (each of which is re-purposed to bring you your bill at the end of the meal), each table is dimly but romantically lit by a hanging bulb for a little oasis of calm in the bustle and noise, of which there's plenty.

Now, this is not a cheap restaurant. Already soused from pre-dinner drinks, we just went for a couple of bottles of still water and no after-dinner coffees, and the total, including their usual 15% service charge, was around £125. But here's how it earns this.

The service is amazing. We had at least four, if not five, waiting staff coming to the table. Not one made a single error, all were friendly, warm and well-informed and the speed of service was amazing. We had barely ordered and we received hot, perfectly cooked food. And yet at the end we were not even slightly hassled to pay up and get out, despite the fact that it was a busy night. You're served promptly and unobtrusively; how long you linger over your meal is up to you.

I can't praise this restaurant enough for the wonderful, memorable anniversary meal it provided. My other half emailed them the next morning to pass on his compliments and got not one, but two, replies thanking him profusely. We're so used to indifferent service now that we've forgotten what really excellent attention to detail is like.

Now, if only I could afford to go more often...