Almost purr-fect; eating out.

THE Fat Cat is low ceilings and high aspirations.

Nothing wrong with that (unless you happen to be a professional basketball player, or stilt-walker, in which case you probably hate low ceilings with a passion).

It's also very cosy.

From the outside it has the appearance of a pretty cottage - the kind of amiable abode that should be built entirely from gingerbread.

Inside, the Cat continues to flirt with all things fairytale. Plenty of nifty nooks and crannies to explore, before heading up the creaking staircase to the dining area.

Where you're introduced to high aspirations.

Cosy it may be. But this isn't one of those Cats that is content to dose in a basket, or purr on a pensioner's lap.

An ambitious moggy, everything is focused on gaining a reputation for fine dining.

The menu is packed with slick and creative dishes, although prices are reasonable..

Riki and I opted for the two-course set lunch menu (pounds 12.95).

Before our starters arrived, we were treated to a selection of home-made breads, along with a thimbleful of soup.

The waitress wasn't sure what flavour the soup was, though I'm sure I detected mushroom and potato, plus a large helping of 'Yum!' in the mix.

Then it was time for starters, served on slabs of slate.

(A sign of the times. Slate was once used on factory rooftops. Now it's part of the fine dining experience. I look forward to a future when plates are made from exquisitely designed slabs of Tarmac.) Riki and I chose the same starter: goat's cheese Bavarois, truffle honey, goat's cheese beignet and pear jelly.

The portions were small. Any titchier and I'd have asked for my knife and fork to be replaced with a microscope and tweezers.

However, the flavours were special.

Obviously members of the Danny DeVito Fan Club are spot on - good things do come in small packages.

Before our main courses arrived, we were treated to another little extra.

A glass of flavoured ice, to cleanse our palates.

Then I dirtied up my palate again, by tucking into rump of Herefordsire beef with onion fritters, bubble and squeak and red wine jus.

Immense Again, the portion was on the paltry side. Again, the flavours were immense.

And the beef was so tender, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been carved from the rump of Jennifer Lopez, instead of a Herefordshire cow.

Riki was equally pleased with a mouthwateringly moist fillet of cod with potato puree.

For pounds 6.50 extra, toddler Ben was served chicken and potatoes. A simple dish, yet expertly cooked.

The Fat Cat gets so many things right, I'm disappointed to have to criticise it - yet I must.

A bottle of spring water was sent to our table, opened, then poured.

Which seemed strange, since we hadn't ordered it.

However, believing it to be one of the Cat's little extras, we sipped from our glasses, anyway.

Some time later a waiter arrived to explain that the bottle was intended for another table, adding that we'd have to pay to keep it.

Hard to refuse, as we were halfway through it. Not a particularly fine end to a fine dining experience. Although flavourless, that one bottle of spring water left a very bad taste in our mouths.

Which is why the Fat Cat isn't the cat's pyjamas, yet.

LORNE JACKSON Total cost (including drinks).

pounds 43.20. The Fat Cat, 165 High Street, Solihull (0121 704 9136)