THERE’S fine dining and then there’s fine dining with an expertly glazed cherry on top.

The four-star Haven Hotel at Sandbanks – where else?! – is just the place for fancy, frivolous and absolutely fabulous food.

Its two AA red Rosette glass-fronted restaurant La Roche is perched on the edge of Poole Harbour with spectacular views of Poole Harbour and the Purbecks.

Although it was dark, we could see the lights from the passing boats. It felt as though we were aboard a luxury cruise ship with the water shimmering just a few feet away.

The hotel, which is part of the FJB Hotels Group, has recently appointed a new head chef, Jason Hornbuckle, who is clearly making an impact on the place already. (Our waitress was almost gushing when I asked how he was settling in.) Although it’s been a few years since I ate here, the menu seemed more elaborate than I remembered. (The brasserie menu at its sister hotel The Sandbanks is quite simple). And some of the a la carte dishes are expensive.

But there is also a fixed priced menu.

You can have two courses for £21 or three courses for £27.50. We were joined by a couple of friends who tried the set menu which included curried parsnip soup and calamari for starters and pan fried pollock fillet and roast rump of lamb which were all excellent.

I had the Crab Spring Roll with Sautéed Scallops (£12.95) for my first course which was an expertly matched combination of flavours. Three perfectly cooked scallops, strategically placed around the sliced spring roll, surrounded by a smattering of sweet pickled vegetables and a creamy, smooth cauliflower puree.

My husband had the Seared Marinated Salmon (£11.50) which was artistically arranged around the plate with an artichoke ragout, herbs and a halved quail’s egg. Fortunately it tasted as good as it looked – as did my main course.

The cod fillet (£25.25) was a gravitydefying tower of pan-fried fish in a pool of creamy mussel sauce, balancing on mini cod cakes, topped with a crisp slice of fine toast with plump mussels (some in their shells) nestling underneath. It tasted sublime.

Meanwhile my husband was raving about his rib eye of beef (£28.95) which was slightly pink in the middle, finely sliced and smothered in a piquant red wine and butter sauce with capers and served with mustard mash and some glazed carrots and baby gem vegetables which appeared to have been cleverly put together to resemble mini sailing boats!

For dessert we savoured every mouthful of an orange bakewell tart from the fixed price menu drizzled with crème anglaise and served with juicy orange segments followed by a large cheese board with finely sliced celery, a handful of grapes and some tangy house chutney.

To complete this gastronomic feast we finished with coffees and petit fours.

All in all a fine dining experience in every sense, perfect for a special occasion.