Typical was an enjoyable evening special of roasted oysters topped with minced apples and cracked black pepper.

Even better was a special combining those vegetables with seafood, including grilled calamari, a roasted oyster and lightly breaded clams and shrimp.

Some dishes were worth waiting for - roasted oysters, for example.

By comparison, roasted oysters, topped with a piquant tomato zabaglione and crispy pancetta, seem almost rococo, but wonderful.

For many of the guests, though, the experience of a roasted oyster was a first and (for the most part) a pleasant revelation.

A better bet is the roasted oysters under a mild saffron-curry butter.

Thumbs up, too, for the lobster-fennel ravioli and the roasted oysters mated with fried parsnip chips.

Jamie's eyebrows shot up, but he only nodded, and with a wary glance at Rollo, took a platter of roasted oysters from the tray.

He had to have some roasted oysters and hot buttered rum or he would die.