Wilde's Wine Bar, 21 Grape Lane, York.

IT was not the most promising of starts. When I phoned Wilde's - the cosy wine bar in Grape Lane - at 6pm on Saturday to find out about our chances of a table for that evening, the woman on the other end of the line was not very encouraging.

"There might be one if you get here early - it gets very busy after 8pm. And we're short staffed."

Normally it would be enough to put me off, but I was determined to review this little spot in the heart of York's increasingly trendy nightlife area, The Quarter.

So I hurried along my sister Yvonne and friend Carolyn, visiting from Edinburgh, giving them less than an hour to change into their glad rags, heels and lipgloss for a helping of Snacks In The City.

We reached Wilde's just after seven and immediately spotted one empty table for four in the middle of the main bar area. We unpeeled our various layers and dumped them on the vacant chair while we studied the main menu on the table and the specials chalked up on the board opposite us.

We were ravenous, and made all the more so when we saw the towering plates being delivered to neighbouring tables. The glorious smell of chips and fried food filled the air and we were all grateful we weren't on the carb-restricting Atkins' Diet.

From the main menu we chose a garlic bread (£2.25) and potato skins with cheese and sour cream (£4.50) to share for starters. We also picked a fillet steak platter (£10.95) and chicken tortilla wrap (£5.95) from the specials menu and a creamy beef dish with rice (£7.25) from the main menu as our main courses.

Once selected, I ordered all our food at the bar and picked a South African Chenin Blanc (£10.40) for us to toast our evening too.

Returning with the bottle and three glasses, we all agreed the wine was fresh and light and with more of a depth than you sometimes get from a Chenin Blanc. It was chilled, but not cold, so Carolyn returned to the bar to fetch some ice cubes. It wasn't very sophisticated, but it did the trick!

Our starters arrived fairly sharpish and we ripped them apart in hunger. The garlic bread was a sesame-seeded finger roll that had been split, toasted, and drenched in garlic butter. It was light and tasty, but rather deficient in the garlic stakes.

The potato wedges were something else. Thick and hot, the cheese had melted into them and, when dipped into the sour cream (which was originally missing from the plate and had to be asked for), were simply divine. We cleared the plates and even tackled the garnish, which was impressively fresh: tomato, crispy lettuce and cucumber.

It wasn't long before our mains arrived - praise-worthy when you consider they said they were short-staffed.

The beef dish, cooked with onions, mushrooms and in a brandy, mustard and cream sauce, was tasty, but the beef was a bit tough. It would have benefited from being slow-cooked to reach that melt-in-the-mouth stage.

The tortilla wraps were quite moreish. The warm, floury pancakes were filled with chunks of tender chicken dressed in a tangy tomato sauce. They were covered with melted cheese and served with small pots of spicy salsa and smooth guacamole as well as more of that garnish. Brilliant value for the price.

But the piece de resistance was the steak. It was cooked as requested: medium, and was suitably pink and juicy inside. And it came with friends: chunky chips, crispy onion rings and salad. Quite delicious.

The dessert board boasted "home-made banoffee pie" and so we just had to try it. And how could we resist the sticky-toffee pudding squares too? We ordered both (£2.95 each), with cream, and devoured the lot in a flash of fork to mouth action.

The banoffee pie was a variant on what we had expected: it was a banana and toffee-flavoured firm mousse-like filling on top of a crunchy base. The sticky toffee pud was hot and gooey and sent off a welcome dose of serotonin in the brain.

We were happy lassies indeed, not least when it came to settling the bill which was a reasonable £47.20.

Considering how that initial phonecall had lowered our expectations of Wilde's, we left thinking much better of it. It has the look and feel of a wine bar, but serves up fresh and filling pub grub at great prices. No wonder it's hard to get a table.

Wilde's Wine Bar, 21 Grape Lane, York. Tel: 01904 610370.

Maxine visited on Saturday, March 27, 2004

Updated: 09:55 Saturday, April 03, 2004