Four High Petergate Hotel and Bistro

IF Four High Petergate were a race horse, it would be a relatively unproven two-year-old filly, with a good field position, looking to stretch its fresh legs for the final few furlongs.

But where will it finish? Only time will tell, but all the training, pedigree and enthusiasm are there for the creation of an almighty long-term contender.

As we walked down to High Petergate, I wondered whether there really is space in York for another premium dining venue offering contemporary cuisine to residents looking for an occasional treat and visitors demanding quality.

The race horse analogy is not as tortured as you may think. The 18th century townhouse was recently bought by local businessman Steve Hull, owner of Sporting Gesture (and five other horses), twice a winner at York last year.

He has set out with £150,000 in his pocket and his son Lewis at the helm of the new business to transform the tired former Bootham Bar Hotel it into a plush boutique-style venue.

And so far it appears that they have enjoyed some success, as we struggled to get a table on a weekend and instead went for a midweek evening. When we arrived it was no wonder they couldn't fit us in, there are only two dozen seats.

The bistro is richly decorated and tucked in the shadow of Bootham Bar. Diners are afforded a close up of the gateway's historic stonework rather than a panorama, but such are the snickleways of medieval York.

Nevertheless the atmosphere is very pleasant and I was delighted when staff, both on our arrival and when I popped in earlier to book a table, indulged my relentless prying with amiable chit chat.

The menu is sleek and simple with a menu of varied homemade thoroughbreds. There are straight-forward descriptions, a competitively priced wine menu and whole number prices. Marvellous.

Catherine chose Whitby mussels steamed in garlic and white wine (£6), turning her back on the smoked salmon bruschetta, garlic and herb mushrooms (£5) or home made soup (£4). I went for French duck liver pate (£5).

Mussels are her favourite and we hadn't seen such tasty sea-worn specimens since a visit to St Malo last year, where we gorged ourselves on buckets of them cooked in Normandy cider. For me the duck liver pate with crispy focaccia bread and fruit chutney was awesome. Not a dish for those with a faint-hearted palate.

Main courses were all similarly wholesome affairs with lots of locally-source meat, fish and game. My opposite number called for a sirloin steak (£13) and I went for thick hunks of Hovingham estate pheasant. To think that for £13, I could almost touch true North Yorkshire royalty.

Both dishes were excellent and beautifully presented. Catherine got a side dish of new potatoes and crunchy parsnip crisps on top of her "perfectly medium" tender steak. Meanwhile my taste buds were going into overdrive with the dark-fleshed pheasant which came wrapped in salty Parma ham and was presented on a deep fried wild mushroom risotto. It certainly packed a punch.

The desert menu was delivered verbally and we enjoyed the memory game but I thought some people might be embarrassed to ask how the prices worked out. For her a school-days pear steamed pudding with cream, for me a mango cheesecake made with light and creamy mascarpone and drizzled with a minty jus.

They were a give-away £3.50 each and with three glasses of wine (one of which we weren't charged for, so yes, I did cough up the cash anyway) the bill came to just over £50.

For me this was very good value for a three-course meal. A bottle of house wine starts at £9.95 and would have made the dinner cheaper, but we weren't planning for such a satisfying experience.

To think that several nights earlier I had paid £65 for our third of a mediocre meal at an Italian was frankly galling when I realised we could have invested the money in sampling the remainder of Four High Petergate's menu.

Those looking with a passion for good food and a nose for value will find Four High Petergate an excellent bet. My advice would be to get over there before the bookies find out and the prices become less favourable.

Four High Petergate Hotel and Bistro. Tel 01904 658516

Chris and Catherine visited on June 6.

Food: excellent

Service: very good

Value: impressive

Ambience: mod bistro

Disabled access: No

Restaurant reviewers aim to be fair and accurate. Any comments on this review should be addressed to Chris Titley, Features Content Editor, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN or email

features@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 08:22 Saturday, June 26, 2004