I LIKE surprises and a got a tasty one when I visited the recently launched King's Arms which has been a long standing landmark on Chelsea's busy Fulham Road.

As soon as I walked through the door to the buzz of a busy early Thursday evening I was immediately taken in by the newly renovated pub. The atmosphere was lively, the welcome warm, the surroundings vibrant and most importantly the service and food impressive.

The King's Arms was launched a few weeks back by Rupert and Jo Cleverly, co-founders of the award winning pub group, Geronimo Inns and it offers an impressive range of dishes to suit all tastes, alongside a wide range of local ales and wines.

What really caught my eye immediately about The King's Arms is the design. It is painted a warm grey, with bright colours introduced through the fabrics on the furniture and cushions. Another impressive feature was the red buttoned antique banquettes, one running the length of the main room. It's easy to see why people might pop in for a relaxing drink or linger a little longer with a bottle of wine and some food.

Also you can't fail to be impressed with the eye catching mural that acts as the backdrop to the bar, showing Geronimo staff enjoying themselves in the pub or the wonderful 'listed tile design' on the opposite side, which has retained this pub's rich heritage.

And so to the reason for visiting The Kings Arm's – the food.

The main menu delivers a range of retro British classics at affordable prices, with a daily specials board adding to regulars like toad in the hole and fresh cod and chips, served on newspaper.

I started with the devilled whitebait (£4.50), which like most of the dishes came presented on a wooden board. They were everything I expected, crunchy, salty and delicious and came served with a flavoursome tartar sauce.

My partner went for the fish cake with baby spinach and butter sauce (£5.50) a good choice as they were tasty with plenty of fish filling and the combinations worked well on the plate.

We enjoyed the bottle of McHenry Hohnen 2010 Shiraz from the Margaret River wineries in Western Australia (£22.95). which the cheery manager recommended, it was a big bold red and he certainly came up trumps with this Aussie one, at a decent price to.

Back to the food, I ordered the fish pie topped with cheesy mash (£9.95) which arrived pipping hot and met all my expectations. It had big chunks of tasty salmon and white fish and the well seasoned creamy sauce and cheesy mash added to make it a tasty dish.

My partner rarely misses the opportunity to try a pub burger and her eyes lit up at the King's Burger, with aged cheddar, bacon, chilli jam and fries (£11.00), which again arrived on a wooden board.

It was cooked to perfection, lean and tender, and shot to the top of my partner's pub burger chart. “This is is definitely the best pub burger I have had she declared, and the cheese and bacon are simply gorgeous”. She was one happy customer.”

We could have left more than satisfied with our two courses but were tempted by the cheeseboard, biscuits and chutney (£8 for four cheeses).

And they proved a rather disappointing end to the evening. The four cheeses (purple wax cheddar, gubben, blackstick blue and golden cross goat) left me rather cold and failed to deliver in both taste and flavour for my cheese pallet, and would have been better served at room temperature.

That said I enjoyed my evening at The King's Arms and would certainly return whether it was for a drink or to further sample the menu.