The Royal Oak, Main street, Copmanthorpe

It wasn't a planned night out, but Louise and I hadn't had a good old-fashioned pub meal for a while.

So when we found ourselves opposite the Royal Oak in Copmanthorpe at 7.30pm on a Tuesday without having had tea, we thought it was time to do so.

In the end we were pleased we did.

By all accounts, the Royal Oak has changed a bit recently - it's been under new ownership for seven months - and Coppites, or whatever you call people from Copmanthorpe, will tell you it's been for the better.

It's a typical pub with a lounge on one side of the bar where you can dine, with food served till 8.30pm.

The menus on the tables mainly comprise snacks and sandwiches, as well as the Sunday roasts option at £7.45 (or £9.95 for two courses), but there is also a chalked 'specials' board on the wall with a list of enticing main dishes.

We had a proper read after getting a round in.

There was a decent selection for a pub of this ilk, with nine tempting options including Welsh lamb (£8.95), mushroom stroganoff (£7.25), extra mature sirloin steak (£9.95), whole tail scampi (£7.25) and salmon and parsley fishcakes (£8.75).

The vegetarian selection was limited, but Louise, who eats fish if not land animals, was happy to try the Thai green tiger prawn curry, which comprises tiger prawns and Thai veg cooked in a creamy sauce with coconut milk and fresh lime, served with jasmine rice (£8.45).

I went for the breast of chicken with chorizo sausage cooked with cannelini beans in a rich tomato, garlic and fine sherry sauce, and served with either basmati rice or, as I chose, sea-salted roasted potatoes and veg (£8.75).

It was all with us within 15 minutes, and looked pretty fresh.

The chicken was diced into bitesize pieces and mixed in with the chorizo and sauce, with a generous covering of fresh, chopped parsley on top. It was pretty tasty, especially when you came across the chorizo, of which I am a big fan.

I thought when it arrived that it wasn't a big helping, but when the potatoes and vegetables - carrots, broccoli and cauliflower - were added, it did become an ample plate.

Indeed, I was quite full when I'd wolfed it down and would have been more than happy to have ended my meal there. Still, for the purposes of the review and for the sake of you, dear reader, I thought it only fair I sampled a dessert.

Louise's Thai curry had a bit of a kick to it, so had to dash to the bar for another cooling pint of shandy (kindly getting me another pint of Timmy Taylor's Landlord while she was there), but it didn't ruin the fresh taste, in which a distinct lime flavour mixed in well with the creamy coconut sauce.

There was also a reasonable amount of prawns, with the veg being mange tout and baby sweetcorn, both in season.

The chef told us she'd made the curry paste that morning, using fresh birdseye chillies, and she accepted it would probably have a bit of a tingle. There were no complaints from us, though, and it even gave Louise an excuse to have some ice cream, to cool her mouth, and therefore a pudding.

She was tempted by the toffee pavlova, but went instead for the lemon cheesecake, which was a good portion with the right amount of lemon tang, served with vanilla ice cream.

I nearly opted for spotted dick, but instead had chocolate fudge cake, turning down cream and ice cream to instead have it with custard. I was happy with my choice.

At £3.50 each, the puddings brought the total cost to £33.26, which included two pints of Landlord and two lager shandies.

It's not the cheapest pub for food, but you don't end up with any old fodder and it's not bad value.

Whether people from the other side of York would make a special effort to go out to Copmanthorpe is one thing, but they could do worse.

I'd certainly recommend it to locals.

The Royal Oak, Main street, Copmanthorpe. 01904 771061 Peter visited the Royal Oak on Tuesday, April 3

fact file

Food: fresh and tasty

Service: cordial

Value: not bad

Ambience: quiet pub

Disabled access: YES