INTERNATIONAL cuisine might be all the rage in cosmopolitan London, but if, like me, you were brought up on steak and kidney pie and roast dinners with all the trimmings, nothing compares to traditional English cooking.

Edwinns in Harefield caters for those with an old-fashioned, but adventurous tooth, combining filling, meat-heavy ingredients with exotic flavourings and attractive presentation.

A beautiful view of the Grand Union Canal can be enjoyed from the restaurant terrace or, when the weather isn't so clement, diners can retire to the main body of the restaurant, a cross between an old-fashioned pub and a grand hotel. Service is prompt and polite, and a daily specials board provides variety for those who become addicted to Edwinns' sophisticated take on our hearty national cuisine.

Three set menus of two courses are available Monday to Friday, ranging in price from £15 to £20. Vegetarians will have no trouble finding something to tempt them, while a varied selection of fish and meat (from chicken to venison) will whet the appetite of the fussiest diner.

I chose a starter from the specials board, the pressed terrine of pork with peppercorns, madeira and apricots, served with grape chutney and granary toast, while my friend settled on the more unusual option of smoked haddock kedgeree with cardamon rice and curry sauce.

The terrine, a large slice of chunky, succulent pork and sweet apricots, was delicately served with salad, two hearty slices of toast and a delicious helping of chutney, a kind of ploughman's lunch for a Mercedes driver. The kedgeree had a delicate curry flavour, giving an eastern twist to this traditional Scottish breakfast dish, and making it hard not to finish every last grain of rice and wish for a bigger portion.

The marinated venison with potatoes, spiced apple and red wine jus for main course was almost too rich: the full-flavoured meat, cooked medium-rare with delicate pink flesh, was soaked in a rich red wine gravy and served with a tower of finely-chopped potatoes and chunky, slightly spicy apple sauce.

The baked loin of lamb, another choice from the specials board, came snugly wrapped in puff pastry with mint, shallots and smoked bacon, while a creamy gravy completed the indulgent dish. Both dishes came with fresh vegetables, new potatoes and a deliciously rich casserole of thinly sliced potatoes baked with butter and cream.

If two courses of Edwinns hearty cooking is not enough, the dessert menu will surely satisfy your appetite. Traditional favourites, such as sticky toffee pudding and shortbread with strawberries and cream, are the sort of foods you yearn for during our long miserable winters, but even at the height of summer, it is hard to say no to one of these tempting treats.

Summer fruit pudding, a simple dish of bread, fresh berries and sugar, is far more enjoyable than it sounds, with juicy red summer fruits bursting from a pie crust made of bread, served with ice cream.

Edwinns shortbread, on the other hand, is a slightly more indulgent affair of crisp golden shortbread sandwiched with whipped cream and fresh strawberries in syrup delightfully decadent.

Creamy cappuccinos and petit fours completed the meal, a perfect marriage of English comfort food and the sort of high-class cooking Mrs Beeton would have espoused. - AH

Edwinns, The Old Orchard, Park Lane, Harefield

Telephone: 01895 822631

Reproduced from Limited Edition magazine, exclusive guides to living in Hertfordshire, Middlesex and the London Borough of Barnet (01923 216295)