Aiming for a Michelin star and keen to shrug the location's questionable history, The Woodford offers a fresh take on fine dining, writes Lara Keay.

The Woodford is obviously looking to impress.

As my guest and I opened the door of the Grade II listed building, a pair of huge black drapes were drawn back like something out of a theatre to give us our first glimpse of the restaurant.

With a bustling open kitchen to the left and the main restaurant ahead, we were taken upstairs to the Churchill Lounge, named after the former Prime Minister and MP for Woodford, for cocktails and a look at the oyster bar.

The Woodford has only been open since March 1 and wants to bring fine dining to east London and Essex with Pierre Koffmann’s protégé as its head chef and a restaurant manager whose previous posts include the Shangri La at The Shard and Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck.

The townhouse used to house notorious night club Funky Mojoe, which caused great upset among neighbouring residents before it was shut down by a high court order in April 2014.

But the elegant décor, concierge-style waiting service, and fancy menu prove The Woodford is far from another Funky Mojoe.

Restaurant manager, William Yarney said: “I have done bars and clubs before, and this is not that at all.

“We are all about the food here. We are massive foodies ourselves so we want to share that love of fine dining with everyone who visits us.”

When asked about his vision for The Woodford, the 24-year-old said: “We are always slick and professional but I really encourage staff to inject their own personality into their service.

“Sometimes we confine ourselves to what we think fine dining should be, but I think having your own character is so important.”

When we are taken downstairs for dinner, every customer was introduced to owner the Steve Andrews, making the fine dining experience less intimidating and more personal.

Before our starters we were given several appetizers, which included a fun take on the retro jammy dodger, filled with savoury chilli jam.

To start I had smoked pigeon breast (£11.50) with a poached egg yolk and my friend chose textures of beetroot (£9) with an unusual beetroot sorbet. Both dishes were impressively presented and although the combinations were surprising, they complimented each other very well.

Head chef 25-year-old Ben Murphy rose to the challenge of catering for a vegan customer, and came up with a specially-made risotto and delicate fruit salad complete with edible flowers for my dining partner.

For my main I had the Dedham 28-day aged fillet steak (£29) with stilton crumble and poached pear, accompanied by a potato gratin (£4). The steak was beautifully pink and went very well with the mix of strong stilton and sweet pear.

The portions looked a little small at first, but with the complimentary amuse bouche and post-dessert course, it was just the right amount.

My favourite course was dessert. The textures of chocolate had a deliciously light lavender sponge and creamy milk sorbet, which worked brilliantly with the chocolate.

Owner Mr Andrews, who is also behind the Blue Group and Grey Group, said: "We are striving for a Michelin star, that's the standard we're aiming for.

"I don't know any other restaurants in the area who are doing what we do, this is really special fine dining."

The Woodford is easily accessible via the Central Line and is in easy reach of Essex and east London by car.

It is not the place to go if you are on a budget, but its young team and modern decor make for a non-pretentious but still luxurious dining experience.