Krumbs Tea Rooms, 3 Tanner Row, York

A SKILLFULLY prepared concoction of tasty food and competitive prices, cooked up in a charity caf by chefs with learning disabilities seems to be a winning recipe for Krumbs Tea Rooms in York.

Krumbs, in Tanner Row, opened eight years ago, with funding from City of York Council and national charity United Reform.

Student chefs with learning disabilities are provided with a supportive working environment where they can serve and prepare food while studying for catering NVQ certificates, which are proudly displayed on the caf's brightly-painted walls.

Profits are poured back into the venture to benefit the students and the customers, who regularly seem to choose Krumbs as a lunchtime favourite.

Testament to their loyalty were two ladies lunching and complimenting dishes from previous visits while my sister Heather and I chose our table near the window.

As we studied the menu, it became clear the caf caters for quick bites and lunches rather than full-on spreads.

But we had promised ourselves a hearty meal and sipped on a coke, 75p, and strawberry milkshake, £1.20, while we decided how to fulfil our challenge.

Starters and light bites included toast, chips, mushrooms on toast and homemade quiche, priced between 40p and £1.95.

We chose a toasted teacake, 70p, and garlic bread, £1, to begin with, the two dishes arriving a few minutes apart from each other but both warm, crunchy and tasty.

Mains proved a much harder choice, with options such as tuna and crab fishcakes served with a lime and garlic mayo dip, tortilla melts, vegetarian cannelloni and cod and mushroom parcels. Specials were chalked up on the blackboard.

Heather, a firm fan of chicken dishes, chose sweet chilli chicken, £3.25, while I went for Cumberland sausages with mustard mash, also £3.25.

Again, my meal was a few minutes behind Heather's, but delivered by a friendly waitress, eager to please.

Heather's dish comprised of slices of chicken breast marinated in a sweet chilli sauce with pieces of red and yellow peppers, onion and chunks of mushrooms. The sauce lay on a generous portion of soft noodles and was garnished with flakes of parsley.

Although she had been concerned the kick in the chilli would be too overpowering, Heather was delighted with her choice, her only complaint being she thought there was too little sauce to mix in with the noodles. Currently eating for two, she declared defeat half way through.

My trio of Cumberland sausages were propped against a bed of yellowy mustard mash with shreds of red cabbage, cubes of swede and slices of carrot. The dish was swimming with thick onion gravy, with onion slices scattered over the sausages.

The sausages were cooked to perfection, although not as herby as I like Cumberland sausages to be, and I was not keen on the handful of sultanas sprinkled over the cabbage.

Like my sister, I was beaten by the large portion.

Determined to see through our promise, we asked a waitress if there was a dessert menu. The only pudding on offer was hot apple sponge with custard, £1.50, which we decided to share. It arrived piping hot and golden brown with a sweet layer of baked apple and sultanas.

Krumbs also caters for those with only a few minutes in which to grab a bite, offering a take away service for sandwiches, toasties, sweets and cakes.

Children's meals, including pizza and chicken nuggets, are priced around £2.

Customers can also order a range of the caf's home-made goods that can be prepared with a few days' notice for you to enjoy at home.

The bill came to £11.75, which we thought very reasonable for such a filling lunch; but we were caught out when we were unable to pay by card and had to dash to a cash point.

Food: tasty and generous

Service: friendly

Value: hard to beat

Ambience: relaxed

Disabled facilities: Yes

Krumbs Tea Rooms, 3 Tanner Row, York. Telephone: 01904 672572.

Charlotte and Heather visited Krumbs on Monday February 16, 2004.

Updated: 16:37 Friday, February 27, 2004