It was a precarious journey to HIX in Soho, two of my best girlfriends and I slid along the icy roads in the highest heels on that snowy night last week. Hix opened in 2009 and soon won over the critics and public, receiving London’s Time Out Award for Best New Restaurant in 2010. Ever since it has been near impossible to get a table at this hotspot, we only managed thanks to a last minute cancellation.

Celebrity chef, Mark Hix has now got various outlets across the capital, satisfying Londoners’ tummies everywhere. I am still desperate to try the original restaurant, Hix Oyster and Chop House in Smithfield, but in the meantime I was delighted to be visiting the smart Soho eatery.

As cocktail fanatics, we chose one each from the expensive list: for me, the strong but tasty Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, a drink apparently invented and enjoyed by patrons of the actual Yacht club. The drink included Mount Gay Rum shaken with Falernum, Fresh Lime and Cointreau. It was quite bitter but after getting used to it I really enjoyed it. My friends chose an inventive speciality cocktail each which seemed to provoke varying reactions: the gin based drink with Parma violet syrup was not very nice, despite arriving in a decadent silver goblet. The Bourbon based old school cocktail was much better though, a subtle mix of flavours, with a whisky kick.

We had intended on ordering the post-theatre menu, a reasonable £17.50 for 2 courses or £22.50 for 3 courses, but annoyingly this offer isn’t valid at the weekends so we were faced with the extortionately priced a la carte menu. Unable to afford most of the luxurious list, we opted for fish and chips and burgers.

My friend proclaimed that her fish and chips was the best she had ever tasted, and my burger was certainly among the best. The fish came delicately battered with a stack of different components. The burger was a huge, deliciously seasoned piece of meat with creamy melted cheese, the crispiest bacon and plenty of crunchy red onions and gerkins – delish. We ordered one portion of chips to share; they were good but not exceptional, soft and salted well but quite heavy.

Worrying about the icy journey back, we left promptly after our mains, and thank God we did as we had an epic trek through the snow to get home from Hix!