The feast of architecture on offer at the Dining Room, on the top floor of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, complements the feast of food. I’ve come across modern buildings stitched onto Victorian art galleries before, notably at the Tate in London, but the way the new building here in Oxford overlooks the original — from the back — is remarkable, although Charles Robert Cockerel, architect of the familiar neo-Grecian edifice facing Beaumont Street, might not altogether approve.

For the view from the terrace shows the rear end of the nude statue surmounting the central portico, revealing that the Victorians, when building the Ashmolean, economised in places where they thought no one would notice: the backside of the gentleman in question was left unfinished.

All the same, entering the museum by the front door — rather than using the institutional side entrance and lift that takes you straight to the restaurant, missing out the museum and art gallery altogether — puts you in a thoughtful mood for food.

An eyeful of the Hunt in the Forest by Paulo Uccello (1396-1475), for instance, was nearly enough to make me choose smoked venison from the menu (£7) when I had finally climbed up to the restaurant — even though fallow deer is not my favourite meat.

The new £61m extension containing the Dining Room, all glass and white walls, might also give cutomers sitting at the tables overlooking the stairwell, like us, vertigo.

Certainly, I would not recommend drinking a second bottle of wine for anyone sitting here even though the business team’s choice, a white from the Veneto called Alpha Zeta Garganega was good value at £14.50.

The clean, minimalist lines of the new restaurant, with its functional refectory atmosphere are also, some might say, slightly spoiled by the sheer success of the place: a few too many tables clutter the space.

But Oxford people, and visitors as well come to that, seem to have taken the new restaurant to their hearts, so who can blame the management for building on their success?

The general busy feel reflected itself a little in the demeanor of the staff too. For the most part they were smiling and helpful but the strain manifested itself every now and then — for instance when I asked for a side salad with extra olive oil.

I was told: “That is a special request. I’ll have to check if we can do that.”

Not quite what you expect when you are paying around £80 for a lunch for four.

But that small grouse out of the way, I can report that the food itself did not disappoint any of us — except possibly me, and that was my own fault, for ordering a small Jerusalem artichoke risotto with truffle oil as a main course: delicious but just too small in this cold weather.

No complaints about “portion control” from anyone else though. We all shared generous tapas-style starters including babaganoush lavash, quails’ eggs and salted cod croquettes with saffron and garlic oil, in order to get onto the launching pad for the really serious business of eating second courses.

Babaghanoush, by the way, is a North African dish (though staff said it was Greek) and very good at £3.50. For the main course, In Business editor Andrew Smith tucked into a large portion of chargrilled marinated squid with parmesan and lemon (£12) which he reported was properly al dente and not, as often happens in restaurants anywhere north of Naples, “squidgy” in texture.

Maggie Hartford meanwhile went for the Cornish fish stew at £17.50, which I now wish I had ordered, so steamy delicious smelling was it.

Property writer and avowed meat eater Geoff Hedge wanted steak but instead had to settle for Cumbrian ham (£7) with which he professed himself happy; steak tartare only being available in the evening at £8.50.

The rebuilding marks a huge stride forward in the evolution of Britain’s oldest museum, and it is wonderful to sit in a place that embodies the spirit of this age, despite being linked so beautifully to the past.

I was reminded of an account of the opening of the old Ashmolean Museum, now the Museum of Science on Broad Street on May 21, 1683, when the Duke of York (later James II) accompanied by princess Anne (later Queen Anne) inspected the “rarities” bequeathed to the university by Elias Ashmole, ate a “sumptuous” repast and then was shown downstairs to the “Elaboratory” — even though our meal was not quite as “sumptuous” as theirs.

During that opening many dons, hating change of any sort, refused to come and see the “baubles”, according to contemporary historian Anthony Wood.

This time around change seems to have been greeted with near universal acclaim.

I suppose one measure of the quality of the meal may be gleaned from the fact that we intended to talk business but instead talked of nothing but food, with perhaps a word or two about the “rarities” displayed in the museum.

And would I come again? Yes, most certainly. I am already planning a lunch party there. Congratulations to architect of the extension Rick Mather — and to Ben and Hugo Warner who run the restaurant.

Menu: Three starters, £9 Cornish fish stew, £17.50; Jerusalem artichoke risotto (small) £6.50; squid, £12; Cumbrian ham (small) £7; treacle sponge, £5 Wine: Alpha Zeta Garganega, £14.50 Total: £71.50

Contact: 01865 553 823 Web: www.ashmoleandiningroom.com