Will Charlotte Percival and friends be hooked by a seafood restaurant near Selby?

BIGGIN is hardly renowned for its seafood. Although I've lived in the Selby area for most of my life, I've never seen crowds of fisherman hauling nets of clams, mussels and tuna from the murky waters of the River Ouse.

So a seafood brasserie was the last thing I expected to find in Biggin, a small village near Sherburn-in-Elmet.

The Kingfisher is a white-washed pub sitting in a pretty spot off the B1222. It is surrounded by a garden and pond and when I visited with friends Claire and Laura, we were struck by the tranquillity of the place.

The restaurant has a fresh farmhouse interior, with cream walls and red pantiles, and boasts an open view of the garden.

We ordered drinks at the bar and sat down to choose our food.

The menu offered a selection of fish, meat and vegetarian options, with almost as many specials chalked on the blackboard.

Main courses included baked monkfish, with bacon, pesto and cream, steamed salmon with cabbage, bacon and lemon butter, and the rock bottom skillet - half lobster, crevettes, king prawns and mussels, priced between £12.95 and £19.95

Those not so keen on fish could choose from equally tempting dishes such as roast chicken in tarragon cream sauce, escalope of pork with apple chutney, cider and cream and mixed vegetable wellington.

After much deliberation, we chose mussels with cream and garlic (£4.95), grilled scallops with bacon and Yorkshire blue (£6.95), and garlic bread (£2.25) to share for starters. For mains I opted for sea bass fillet with asparagus and pepper vinaigrette (£15.95), Claire played safe with traditional fish and chips (£8.95), and Laura chose spring lamb, champ and rosemary jus (£12.95).

We were shown to our table, where our bottle of white house wine (£9.50), was waiting for us in an ice bucket.

Our garlic bread quickly arrived: crispy French bread drenched in butter and topped with chunks of garlic.

The mussels and scallops followed. Although tasty, our mussels did not live up to our high expectations, and we thought there was not enough sauce. But all was redeemed by the scallops. Our forks battled over the delicate fish, served in a large shell with salad and dressed with the tangy cheese sauce with crispy bacon pieces.

My sea bass was faultless and came surrounded by tender asparagus and spirals of vinaigrette. On the side was a dish of crispy roast potatoes and mixed vegetables - carrots, mange tout, leeks and aubergine, drizzled in oil and still maintaining their bite.

Laura enjoyed her lamb, which came with lots of onion gravy on a bed of mash.

Claire was amazed with her enormous plate of battered cod and home-cooked chips. She said it was the best fish and chips she had ever tasted. Her only complaint was she would have liked more tartare sauce.

Feeling fit to burst, we thought the rest of the wine would help us wash down dessert (£8.85 for all three).

Laura chose the chocolate torte, which she immediately pronounced "amazing", a rich chocolate mouse on a biscuit base served with a strawberry and a dusting of icing sugar.

I enjoyed my creme brule, although the excess sugar was a bit sickly. Claire had vanilla ice cream, but again complained about the lack of sauce.

The bill came to £73.95, which included three soft drinks - quite reasonable for such a nice meal that had left us hardly able to move from the table.

Kingfisher Seafood Brasserie and Public House, Oxmoor Lane, Biggin.

Tel: 01977 682344

Charlotte visited the Kingfisher on Friday, April 9, 2004.

Food: delicious

Service: friendly

Value: reasonable

Ambience: tranquil

Disabled facilities: 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 e-mail features@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 16:24 Friday, April 16, 2004