Addendum, London EC3

I'm loving it. The cooking is seamless, the atmosphere benign, the wine charming. Then I look over to my wife, my constant companion in cutlery, my fellow fearless flavour-seeker, and I can't believe what I am seeing. That little moue, that tiny frown, as if someone has stubbed out a cigarette in her dinner. She hates it.

This never happens. We disagree often, and argue occasionally, but we are never diametrically opposed. Mutual respect (she is a food writer with 13 cookbooks to her name) and enormous quantities of Pinot Noir generally lead to agreement being reached on most issues.

But what on earth can she object to at Addendum - apart from the needlessly corporate name and the somewhat soulless new City hotel in which it is housed?

It can't be the room, because there is nothing wrong with it that a good crowd wouldn't fix. Beautiful flowers show commitment, golden alcoves show style, and the deeply comfortable chairs show intelligence.

Is it the menu? It's full of piggy bits and pieces, but she has always liked the insides as much as the outsides. Besides, the chef is Serbian-born Tom Ilic, formerly of The New End, Bonds and Searcy's, and piggy bits are what the man does. Pig's cheeks, pig's head, pork belly, pig's trotter, boudin noir, bacon, it's all here from snout to curly tail. But no, it's not that.

"It's just so rich," she says, finally. "I can't eat like this any more. There's too much fat."

What fat? I can't see any fat.

"It's everywhere," she says, pointing to her plate. "It's on the meats, it's in the sauces. It's cream, it's oil, it's butter, it's foie gras, it's pork fat."

So what's the problem?

"I like fat, but there's no escaping it," she says. "The lobster is poached in butter, the scallops come with pork belly. There is nothing refreshing or light, no salad, and not enough vegetables."

I'm not listening, being otherwise occupied with a hog heaven of a platter, known here simply as assiette of pork (£18.25). It's a mini parade of flavour-packed morsels including a little wad of meltingly soft pig's cheek on a sliver of chorizo, a neat little ball of boned trotter on a slice of boudin noir, and a perfectly formed square of crisped pork belly on a neat little apple and rosemary tart. Flavours are big, round and satisfying. This is not food swimming in fat, but food swimming in flavour.

The Ilic craft also shows through in a rich, creamy smoked haddock tortellini (£9.75) served with startlingly crisp pancetta and melting, buttery leeks. The tortellini themselves are textbook, neatly and correctly furled into perfect little Venus navels.

Even more typical of the Ilic way is a starter of artfully strewn calf sweetbreads, cock's kidneys, artichoke hearts and girolles set against a square, painted backdrop of dark, intense jus (£11.50). The combination of soft, squishy textures and power-packed sauces can be tricky, but Ilic pulls it off. At least, I think so. My wife decides the sauce is far too reduced: "I haven't seen a jus that sticky since 1982. I need de-glazing before my mouth closes up."

So I pour her a glass of the ripe, supple 2002 Domaine Tollot-Beaut Chorey Les Beaune (£44) chosen from the worthy bottles on the mainly Old World list, which seems to do the trick. The sommelier is professionally helpful, but bargains are light on the ground, with barely half a dozen reds listed under £30.

This is food that demands a good red. Braised lamb neck comes with two meaty cutlets from a roasted rack, some sautéed sweetbreads and a fondant potato (£19.50). Hale and hearty, it's a nobody-goes-home-hungry sort of dish. I watch as my wife homes in on a pad of wilted spinach under the lamb neck as if it were an oasis in the desert.

I finish on a little shot glass of lemon mousse, intense and acidic. No I don't, that's just a pre-dessert. I finish on a glistening poached pear served with a dense, moussey and voluptuous sabayon (£7.50). No, I don't, petits fours arrive as my wife dilutes her dinner with a pot of tea: I finish on crisp almond liqueur biscuits, rich tiny truffles and slightly soft chocolate macaroons.

There is a decent crowd by the time we leave, although the boardroom-style room is no doubt busier at lunch with beefy City types. My wife and I have agreed to disagree, but only if I promise to put forward her point of view as well as mine.

"I can't be the only person who thinks this cooking belongs in the past," she says.

I'm sure she's not. But for those who do want to eat like this - hand-crafted, rich, red wine-friendly food in congenial modern surroundings with attentive service - Addendum delivers the goods, earning itself a score of 15 out of 20.

My wife, who believes the role of chefs today is to deliver richness and flavour without the fat, would score it 12 out of 20 - if she had a restaurant column. Which she doesn't. I do. s

15/20

Scores 1-9 stay home and cook 10-11 needs help 12 OK 13 pleasant enough 14 good 15 very good 16 capable of greatness 17 special, can't wait to go back 18 highly honourable 19 unique and memorable 20 as good as it gets

Addendum Apex City of London Hotel, 1 Seething Lane, London EC3, tel: 020 7977 9500

Lunch and dinner served Monday to Friday. Around £130 for two including wine and service

Second helpings: Superior offal

Le Champignon Sauvage

24 Suffolk Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, tel: 01242 573 449

After expanding the dining room and upgrading the kitchen of this two Michelin-starred gem, David Everitt-Matthias is cooking better than ever. Offal lovers will adore his cock's kidneys and langoustines, and lasagne of oxtail and lamb sweetbreads.

St John 26 St John Street, London EC1, tel: 020 7251 0848

Fergus "Nose to Tail" Henderson is Britain's undisputed "icky bits" king. A recent menu at his Clerkenwell restaurant included brawn, ox heart and chips, and roast bone marrow and parsley salad.

The Yorke Arms

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This 18th-century shooting lodge is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Many believe the beauty lies on the inside, with Frances Atkins' confidently cooking the likes of lamb pie with faggots and lamb shanks.