Ever since I heard that chef Andrew Borg was setting up shop in Casa Ellul's new dining room, I've been curious to try it out. I visited Black Pig, where he was previously chef-patron, quite a few years ago and the experience was oddly paradoxical. Although I remember the food being of a high standard, it felt somewhat out of sync with the rest of the dining experience. I remember, for example, that the background music was too low, to the extent that the couple at the adjacent table could follow our entire conversation, and the design of the restaurant was quaint, but with little imagination.

Many would argue that a dining-out experience should be solely about the food on the plate, but I think that's a little blinkered. Even though there has recently been a trend for restaurants to look as though minimal effort has been put into the end product, it would be a huge error to think that this is unintentionally so - or, rather, unconsciously so.

With Risette, some stellar teams have been brought together to work on the project. The Ellul brothers behind Casa Ellul brought in Chef Borg to head up the kitchen, and Valentino Architects to work on the interior design. The brothers themselves have quite raised the bar locally when it comes to hospitality. As expected, the service on the night was impeccable - and although she appeared to have two trainees in tow, our waitress handled us with polite composure, taking us through the entire menu and answering our questions - which was quite a feat, considering the complexity of the menu and the fact that it is changed on a weekly, and sometimes even daily, basis. There is an extreme attention to detail, with the entire service area being concealed behind an automated sliding door, to ensure that no inconvenience to patrons is caused.

Valentino Architects, also currently raising the bar locally when it comes to architecture and design, have done some fine work on Risette. The walls and ceilings are dark, offset with the task lighting for each table that ensures your focus is on the food on your plate. The furniture is elegant but simple - again demonstrating a remarkable restraint. This goes well with the elegant branding: 'Risette', incidentally, is a tribute to the lady of the house, one of three maiden sisters (it seems that neither 'Giovanna' nor 'Maria' had quite the same ring).

After being served aperitifs, we opted for both of the 'Snacks' on offer, while we scoured the rest of the menu. The first of these were oysters, served warm with ricotta and vinaigrette. They were tasty, but what really blew us away was the second dish - a small tower of chickpea fritters, served with a miso mayonnaise. A little ironically, the fritters were close to the best thing we ate all evening - covered with an impossibly delicate, crispy layer while the filling was velvety smooth and as light as air. And the mayonnaise did not fall short either: I'm not ashamed to admit that I went for it with my spoon after we had eaten the fritters!

After bringing us a bottle of crisp Sancerre, our waitress brought us a warm basket of homemade focaccia and sourdough bread. Both were excellent, the sourdough in particular.

This was followed by an amuse bouche - in the form of a cup of cauliflower soup. I think I can safely say this was the only 'disappointing' (I use the term loosely) part of the entire meal: while the texture was beautifully smooth the soup was, sadly, under-seasoned.

The starters were, as usual, my favourite section on the menu, and it took us a good 20 minutes to make our decision (for me, as always, due to the worry that my better half would make the wiser choice). He went for a dish of steamed green asparagus with pistachios, a yuzu emulsion and lardo di 'Colonatta' - I liked how Chef Borg had combined Asian and Mediterranean elements across the board. I went for the sea urchin and tuna belly, which was served with charred spring onion, Iberian ham, and chawanmushi on the side (a Japanese egg custard). The sea elements paired beautifully with the Iberian ham and we came to a unanimous decision that my selection won the starter contest and I could rest easy.

For the main course, my partner went for local pork, with root vegetables, smoked eel and bianchetto truffle. I chose the milk-fed lamb, hispi cabbage, and peas cooked in hay butter. My lamb was as soft as the hay butter in which it was cooked, and the charred hispi cabbage was a great companion for it. We both felt that our own main was superior, so I guess you could call the course a success.

The desserts, however, was what really blew our minds. Neither of us having a sweet tooth, we usually take a look at the dessert menu only to ask for coffees instead. However, a tart combining white asparagus and goat cheese could not but pique our interest. The asparagus was infused into a cream, piped onto our tart, with a quenelle of goat cheese ice cream sidled next to it. The savoury elements were subtle, but still very evident, and the whole dish was faintly sweet: hand on heart, one of the best desserts I have ever tasted and what pushed our dinner from 'excellent' to 'superb'.

I think it is safe to say that Risette will be seeing us again.