Brook's restaurant in Brighouse has been open the same number of years we’ve been married ... and that’s a long time.

Since 1989 when Darrell Brook served his first customers the restaurant has forged a phenomenal reputation among lovers of fine dining.

It’s somewhere special to go. It’s one for a treat, a birthday, an anniversary.

Not that it was our anniversary but it was our friend Jane’s birthday which was the perfect reason so four of us went – me, wife Ruth, Jane and husband Dave.

The restaurant building has undergone a revamp this year and was closed for six months.

Was it radically different? Had Brook’s changed forever from the cosy, candlelit setting – a calming bistro that’s an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of daily life?

Those who loved Brook’s the way it was need have no fear.

All that’s happened is the roomy upstairs lounges where the coffee was served have gone, replaced by three apartments so everything is now condensed to the restaurant itself.

It’s just the same – lovely polished wooden floor, flickering candle-effect lights, tablecloths you can draw on with crayons – and you certainly don’t have to be a child to do that although our drawings were probably not quite up to infant school standard – and walls covered in paintings.

Yes, it’s Brook’s as you’ve always known it.

And one of the all-time favourites is still on the menu – the starter filo moneybag filled with garlic mushrooms and cheese (£6.95). So-called a moneybag probably because it’s a rich dish surrounded by a pool of even richer sauce.

At Brook’s presentation is as important as the food. Each plate is a creation, a culinary experience – almost art – with the ingredients carefully selected to bring out the most in each one. It’s about being subtle, not full-on. We were served bread at first – basil and tomato which turned out to be green – yes, green – and garlic and ash which turned out to be a mini loaf that wasn’t green. Apart from the colour, the flavours in both were understated.

Our other starters were oriental fishcake, pickled radish with soy dressing (£6.95), Moroccan spiced seared king scallops, almonds, preserved lemon, merguez sausage and coriander oil (£9.95) and twice baked charcoal cheddar souffle with wild mushrooms and beetroot (£7.50).

It was a more than decent-sized fishcake, delicately flavoured but the tiny strips of pickled radish belied the intensity of their flavour and gave the dish a lift. The cheddar souffle arrived a blackened green colour but don’t be put off. It was another off-beat number that caught the eye and then caught the tastebuds.

Basil and tomato bread at Brook's restaurant in Brighouse

The scallops came with the tiniest slices of sausage and the dish was designed to take a bit of each ingredient on the fork at the same time. All the starters can also be served as mains.

Mains were six-hour slow braised beef, dripping crumble with leek cream sauce (£15.95); fillet of turbot, caramelised shallots, sauté sweet potatoes with a red wine vinaigrette jus (£18.50); wild sea trout fillet, butternut squash with chorizo and bacon powder (£16.95) and pan fried wood pigeon breasts, pomegranate, molasses and thyme mash (£15.95) which had a warning the meat could contain shot. Fair to say it was pretty much free range then.

Ruth’s braised beef was a huge chunk which quickly outstripped the amount of sauce. The six hours showed their worth to make it so incredibly tender yet moist.

The shallots and red wine vinaigrette brought out the most of the turbot’s oh-so fragile flavour. The sea trout came with a blackened skin – what a crunch factor that turned out to be – and had phenomenal flavour. So many other fish dishes pale alongside sea trout. The chorizo and bacon powder was something else. It looked like tiny grated cheese – possibly even sherbert – but pop it in and then it gives the tongue a tingle as it seems to expand. Surely this is the kind of weird taste they’d serve at a Harry Potter banquet.

Dave loved his wood pigeon – cooked rare – and this game has a really earthy taste. It feels like something special because it is something special – and the presentation certainly had the wow factor. He said it was one of the best mains dishes he’d had for ages. High praise indeed.

Restaurant review. Brook's resturant, Bradford Road, Brighouse.

The vegetables were fine – perfectly cooked broccoli and soft roasted potatoes – and we also treated ourselves to some gratin Dauphinoise (£2.95) to add a touch of class.

We shared two puddings (both £5.95) – warm parkin sponge, ginger syrup and ginger ice-cream and pear and pistachio tart with bonfire toffee sauce and pistachio ice-cream. The sponge oozed the syrup out with the ginger coming across as more a hint than a slap round the tastebuds and the same went for the pistachio.

So Brook’s delivers what it’s always done. A memorable, fine dining experience.

And with Brighouse so quiet on an evening you’ll never have trouble parking.

6/8 Bradford Road, Brighouse, HD6 1RW

Phone: 01484 715284

Website: www.brooks-restaurant.co.uk

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm and there is a fixed price early bird menu, Tuesday to Friday, before 7.15pm

Disabled: Access okay but quite a compact restaurant inside and the toilets are downstairs

Children: Yes but to be fair this is more a restaurant for adults

The bill: £145.25 for four including drinks.

Would you go back: For a special occasion.