IT IS remarkably difficult to spring a surprise on the usually most organised and ever-fragrant Mrs FM.

Whether she has become accustomed to me simply forgetting important dates or has just given up thinking about them, I was grateful to The Boy for reminding me of her impending birthday.

Although I knew of a particular present she wanted, I also decided to treat her to dinner at one of her favourite restaurants, which would also provide me with an opportunity to revisit it for the first time in three years.

With The Boy accompanying us, after parking and making the short walk to the top of Steep Hill, we entered the Browns "emporium" and I could judge by the knowing smile on her face that Mrs FM realised she was in for a real treat.

Having already checked beforehand that scallops would be available, the rest of the menu would be of her choosing.

We were guided to our table for three in the pokey and characterful surroundings of this ancient little restaurant. Armed with refreshing drinks (a glass of Chilean house white wine for Mrs FM, a Spanish beer for The Boy and a cola for the driver), we awaited the starters.

The Boy is not a great fan of our favourite scallops, so he endured three of the shellfish, while Mrs FM and I enjoyed our servings of six apiece, served on a cauliflower puree, which does not conflict with the delicacy of the lightly caramelised flesh, accompanied by cumin and coriander-flavoured butter.

They were not the meatiest of scallops I have eaten lately, but they were very tasty. They were accompanied by fresh sliced brown and white bread and fresh salted butter.

As the table was being cleared for the mains, our orders were taken from the menu for a grilled trout for The Boy, while Mrs FM indulged in a megrim sole and I decided to enjoy the steak and kidney pie.

The trout was superb, served on a piquant horseradish risotto and accompanied by sweet pickled beetroot and a "ball" of fresh watercress.

Although The Boy had to watch for the inevitable bones, the tightly-packed pink flesh slipped readily from its fine skeleton.

Deliciously wholesome and packed with flavour, the risotto accompaniment was actually quite delicious and the beetroot pickle was sweet enough to provide a wonderfully contrasting balance to the dish.

Mrs FM's megrim sole, which is a name that may not be that familiar, caught off the Cornish coast and fast becoming a sustainable alternative to the Dover variety, provides a sweet and loose, white flesh with a character of its own.

It was accompanied by some roast potatoes and placed in a warm prawn and dill butter sauce. Mrs FM described it as utterly delicious and quite different to what she had expected. It did look truly splendid.

Ever the traditionalist, I opted for the steak and kidney pie off the main menu, which was served in a beige pie dish, topped with a light puff pastry and accompanied by some excellent roast potatoes.

The meat was slow-cooked and thoroughly tenderised in a richly flavoured gravy and packed with copious small chunks of kidney, which I feel is missing from too many equivalent pie dishes these days.

To be honest, I expected no better than perfection from a restaurant, the reputation of which has been based on the high quality of its pies.

The accompanying dish of mixed vegetables included al dente carrot batons, some fine green beans and mini sweetcorn-cobs, all of which were appropriately buttered and quite excellent in their flavour and consistency.

Replenishing The Boy's and Mrs FM's drinks was followed by a good selection of Browns' desserts. The good lady chose the bread and butter pudding with marmalade flavoured ice-cream, which was super-creamy, slightly sour and a perfect accompaniment to the warm and sweet eggy-bread pudding.

The Boy revelled in the warmed chocolate fudge cake with cream, while I partook of the jam roly-poly with custard, which was also a delicious hot sweet, the suet pudding base providing a tasty but neutral core to the strawberry jam and creamy custard accompaniment. We finished our meal, enjoyed our drinks and concluded that Mrs FM had received a genuine surprise for her birthday, even though I am unsure of how old she really is.

At a cost of just over £100 for the three of us, I consider that Browns continues to offer very good value for money and a decent menu of well chosen produce to warrant its place in the upper echelons of Lincoln's better quality eateries.

It is unsurprising to me that it continues to receive top dining awards.

In the meantime, it is back to the grind and a reminder to put an appropriate note in my diary for next year.

WHERE: Brown's Pie Shop, 33 Steep Hill, Lincoln.

TELEPHONE: 01522 527330.

FINAL BILL: Scallops (x3) – £7.95; 2 x scallops (x6) – £12; grilled trout – £14.50; grilled megrim sole – £13.95; steak and kidney pie – £10.95; hot chocolate fudge cake – £5.50; jam roly-poly with custard – £5.50; bread & butter pudding with marmalade ice-cream – £5.50; house white wine (x2) – £4.30; San Miguel lager (x2) – £2.85; Coca-Cola – £1.90.

TOTAL: £104.05

FINAL VERDICT: An outstanding reputation gained over many years of trusted local service.