The room, as many have already rather sniffily remarked, is a bit odd. It’s reminiscent of attempts to recreate a Georgian sitting room in a Barrett’s home. Of course the fireplaces here are the real thing, not made of plastic, and yet the impression lingers. It’s not unpleasant, far from it, but it does strike a slightly wrong note. Thankfully the food is good enough to distract you from the décor.

Yorkshire-born chef Rob Wilkinson has set up his restaurant Juniper in Highbury to please his Arsenal-loving wife. Having worked through a clutch of Manchester restaurants before a stint at Boisdale Bishopsgate, Wilkinson now heads Juniper’s kitchen while his father-in-law does the accounts – a true family-run restaurant.

Made in Camden sits neatly between west London me and several north London friends and I will be steering them swiftly into it. A very short walk from Chalk Farm tube station, it’s the new bar and dining room at The Roundhouse. No, it doesn’t have that sterile, safe, tacked-on-to-something-corporate feel so typical of in-theatre restaurants and bars.

The Basement is one of those places where you want to hover in the kitchen and taste everything that hits the pass. As you clock every dish heading for nearby tables it is easy to dither and even harder not to trawl the other tables asking for a forkful as it all looks so good.