LET'S be honest. How many readers have taken the time to walk down Shambles in the past six months? Thought so, not many.

Well here's your chance to spend a few pleasant hours there.

The street best known for its bargain knitwear, personalised key fobs and opportunities to explore your Scottish ancestry now harbours a tasty secret.

L'antica Locanda, which I'm assured translates as The Ancient Inn, has spent eight months quietly building up a committed following with confident and enthusiastic cooking in extremely confined quarters.

Its business card promises a traditional Mediterranean fare of fresh vegetables, meats, wines and cheeses seasoned with southern Italian style. On our visit it certainly didn't disappoint.

The restaurant is unremarkable on the outside, almost opposite the established Ristorante Bari, and easy to miss from the narrow street.

But on the inside we found discerning dishes, served by friendly and attentive staff in quirky surroundings were the ingredients of a great night out.

When Catherine and I visited at the end of the Easter Bank Holiday we passed through the aromatic ground-floor delicatessen and headed up the steep stairs at the rear, past the tiny kitchen.

The dining room probably holds about 20 people, but there was only one other person seated at 7pm. Nevertheless we were quietly charmed by the staff as they prepared tables for the evening.

Plastic table menus were split into several sections. The first thing you notice is that there are no pizzas. You might be tempted to joke that they can't fit them in the kitchen.

But the truth is that the gastronomic big guns have been pointed elsewhere. There is so much on offer that it's difficult to know where to start.

Small tasty dishes such as grilled aubergine, peppers and courgettes or bruschetta are there to get your stomach interested. There's antipasti too: of minestrone soup, meat or cheese platters or a mixed seafood salad (with prices up to £5.25).

Classic pasta dishes abounded at the £6.50 mark and there were chicken, steak and veal dishes with various garlic, red wine and even marsala sauces for between £10.95 and £13.95.

But the real treats seemed to be written on the wall with specials boards for meat and fish dishes.

You might be tempted by green tagliatelli sauted with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and cream (£7.05) or steak with cheese and red wine sauce (£13.95).

Fish fans could catch a halibut steak pan fried with white wine and prawns, oven-baked sea bass with olives, cherry tomatoes, garlic and white wine or a tuna steak in a classic tomato sauce (all at £13.95).

For starters, Catherine went for Insalata Noces (£4.25), mozzarella, tomatoes, grilled aubergine in olive oil and balsamic vinegar topped with rocket. She said it was fresh, tasty and authentic. I would have said the same for my grilled Italian vegetables with ricotta cheese (£4.90), had my mouth not been so full.

Catherine chose king prawns sauteed in tomatoes, chillies, garlic and white wine with plump arborio rice for her main course. I followed the waiter's recommendation of calves' livers in a red wine, onion and bacon sauce.

Both were £13.95 and came with side dishes of mange tout, baby sweetcorn, carrots and broccoli which were welcome because of the strong flavours and forthright presentation.

If liver still conjures images of Adrian Mole, school dinners or Monday at Aunt Mildred's, then head to L'antica. It was beautifully cooked in a rich, meaty sauce. Delicious. The prawns were top quality with a real bite and flavour that carried through the spicy sauce.

The dishes were not only good, but when we got to dessert time we realised that they were superbly balanced too. It meant that there was still space for two desserts.

One was called Toscanella, the second Amaretta. There were amaretto biscuits, sweet liqueur and toffee sauces, chocolate flakes and, of course, lashings of cream (£3.65 each). I'll leave it to you to fantasise about what went where.

Washed down with a bottle of Valpolicella, from a small, but varied wine menu, our bill came to £58.25.

Not a cheap meal, but for a special occasion L'antica Locanda is a great destination. Just head elsewhere for your tourist treats.

fact file

Food: distinguished

Service: friendly

Value: reasonable

Ambience: charming

Disabled access: no

L'antica Locanda, Shambles, York. Tel: 01904 670247

Chris visited L'antica Locanda on Monday, March 28, 2005

Updated: 16:11 Friday, April 08, 2005