Walking through Hill Street, Muriel's Kitchen looks, at a glance, like a picturesque shop you'd expect to find on a postcard.
So it's no surprise when walking into this Richmond restaurant that you find its interior is low-key, charming and cosy to be in.
With cushioned chairs and candlelit tables, Muriel's Kitchen has put a lot of attention into the small things - including a vibrant, transparent chandelier with colourful, artificial (of course) birds positioned inside.
It's like a combination of items from a super-luxury Ikea.
On to the food, my friend Amita and I began with Seasonal Tomato Bruschetta (£6.95) and the Baked Camembert Cheese (£7.80).
The bruschetta, going perfectly well with a glass of red, is a splendid start to the evening - with creamy mozzarella and basil covering peppers, tomatoes and onions.
And the creamy Camembert cheese - neatly presented with bread and cornichons - is typically strong in flavour.
It was, however, hugely disappointing that they had run out of more than five dishes when we arrived on a Tuesday evening.
For our mains I decided on the Rib Eye Steak (£19.95) and Amita the Organic Quinoa Burger (£12.50) though, being a vegetarian, chefs kindly replaced the meat with mushroom.
The steak, dry aged for 21 days and brushed with garlic and rosemary butter, was packed full of typically juicy red meat flavour but, just shy of £20, it did seem disappointingly thin.
However, a nod of approval does have to go to its expertly seasoned chips.
Amita's burger, meanwhile, offers a quality alternative for veggies which even I, one of the biggest meat lovers you'll meet, still found thoroughly enjoyable.
Cast your mind back to the classic film Matilda and we can all remember the scene where the overweight child works his way through an entire impossibly chocolatey cake.
At Muriel's Kitchen I think I have found that cake - the Chocolate Nutella Cake (£5).
Though delicious and well worth ordering, me and Amita simply couldn't work our way through it prompting my friend to take it home.
And slightly less in size, I finished my evening with the brilliant Chocolate Lave Cake (£5.95) - vanilla ice cream along with a small cake filled with hot, delicious chocolate orange, a real treat.
The verdict
Muriel's Kitchen is cosy to be inside, helped by its friendly staff and overall feeling of content.
The cooking, hugely methodical with real selling points behind its dishes, should be applauded and is great value for money, too.
getwestlondon gives Muriel's Kitchen four stars out of five.
