The Lamb Inn at Rainton.

We sat defeated. The remnants of three courses at The Lamb Inn littered the bar room table as a memento to the impoverished size of our stomachs.

All around us groups of people munched in silence, eyeing our leftovers remorsefully while the TV babbled in the background.

If there is one thing that you remember from this review, remember this: The Lamb does an irresistible three-course menu for £8; but don't eat all day, in fact take a long walk to the pub, possibly even from York.

Of course that trek may take much of a day as Rainton lies some 30-odd miles up the A1. But in my experience people will travel some distance for substantial food at this price.

Perhaps on weekdays this village pub, deep in Black Sheep beer country and a stone's throw from the hallowed brewery at Masham, serves as a filling station for those on long distance coach trips from London to Edinburgh.

We came from closer pastures to The Lamb on a recommendation from an Evening Press reader. I have never met the letter writer, but I bet he or she has an eye for a good deal.

There's a bar area or modern dining (no smoking) room annex for visitors. Catherine and I opted to sit close to the bar, not because we were huge fans of the athletics which were on TV, but because it looked more interesting.

Before we had a chance to take in all the strange lamb ornaments, faded pictures and brass teapots hanging from the rafters, a woman came round with a notepad of paper in a rainbow of colours to take our order.

As you can guess by now it had to be the full three-course plunge. Cheese and broccoli melts followed by giant Yorkshire pudding with Lincolnshire sausages for Catherine, chicken liver pate followed by homemade lasagne for me.

There are one-plate meals for those who don't want to eat from the varied three course menu, including a T-bone steak at £10.50 and wholesome fare such as scampi, chicken kievs and turkey at around the £5 mark.

Our starters were dispatched quickly and we ate the lot, still ignorant of what lay ahead. The melts were deep-fried, crispy and tasty, the pat was reasonable, very cold, with warm toast.

Both small dishes were served with what I would call "pointless salad". Bring on the day when undressed iceberg lettuce with cucumber and grated carrot are consigned to the dustbin.

Anyway, after a short wait (time for a pint of Black Sheep, £1.95, and a glass of red wine, £1.40) the main courses arrived, filling the table. The lasagne came with chips and salad while the sausages were accompanied by a small field of roast spuds and mixed vegetables consisting of two types of pea, French beans, carrots and celery.

Catherine looked exhausted already, but said the sausages were proper herby tubes of meat and the gravy soaked into the Yorkshire beautifully. She didn't make much of a dent in the vegetables, but after my lasagne, neither could I.

The Italian staple was as hot as liquid metal, but once it had cooled proved filling and well made, with layers of pasta, cheese and savoury mince.

Once beaten we were keen to try a few spoonfuls of desert and move on but the service went a bit awry with two young members of staff struggling to meet the demand.

After 45 minutes (perhaps they knew we couldn't move with the weight of the food in us) we managed to get some mint ice cream and Danish apple pie with squirty cream.

Both were good in a straight-forward way, and we even polished off the apple pie. The bill confirmed that £8 and £8 comes to £16. A great price.

But with the bar just metres away and a fair wait for our dessert, we racked up a further £7.65 on four very reasonably priced drinks, bringing us up to £23.65.

With a decent pint of Black Sheep and food served every evening it would be no surprise if people flock from far and wide to The Lamb.

Chris and Catherine visited The Lamb Inn on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.

Updated: 09:45 Saturday, September 13, 2003