El Gringo's, 5 Saville Street, Malton

AFTER a day out in the sun, what better place to head out for a meal than a Tex-Mex? We fancied an evening of sombreros and tequilas to keep us in the holiday spirit, so we made our way to El Gringo's in Malton.

As we arrived at 7.30pm on a Friday night the place seemed pretty empty, and although we ordered our drinks - a margarita, a tequila sunrise and a coke for the driver - fairly promptly, we agonised over what to eat.

Luckily the staff didn't want to hurry us, which was a relief and something of a surprise. There was a stampede at 8pm as the restaurant seemed to fill to capacity within a few minutes. The eight o'clock rush must be the unofficial start time for many a Ryedale date - we were pleased to have sneaked in our order at 7.55pm.

We'd had a tip-off that portions were more than generous, so we decided to share super nachos at £4.95 and chicken bandidos for £4.95 between the three of us.

I was barely half way through my refreshing margarita cocktail (£3.95) when the starters were whisked towards us.

The super nachos were enormous and only a starving man could have polished them off single-handedly. I was delighted with the jalapenos but Nicola was not keen and steered clear. We both agreed there was a generous amount of cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

Paul loved his crispy-coated Texan chicken and declared the sauce to be delicious, although admitted there was too much salad for his liking. We helped him out with the lettuce and tomatoes.

We ordered a gringo's cooler and another margarita before the main course and had time to sit back and rest.

El Gringo's is nicely done out in Tex-Mex style, and although the place was heaving it didn't feel cramped. The music was upbeat and there was a great atmosphere, although purists may have preferred authentic Mexican sounds to the dance music pumping out of the speakers.

One thing that disappointed us was the lack of a no smoking area. We were lucky when we went because no one seemed to be smoking while we were eating, otherwise I'd recommend asking for a table nearer to the door for a bit of fresh air.

When our main courses arrived, we were absolutely shocked - they were huge.

All three of us had gone for Mexican style dishes - burritos (£7.95), enchiladas (£7.95) and a quesadilla grande (£8.95). Each dish was a variation on the Mexican staple of flour tortillas.

My burrito was tortillas stuffed full of cheese and accompanied with chicken, salsa, sour cream and guacamole and served with Mexican rice and black bean salad. Paul's enchilada consisted of baked tortillas topped with spicy enchilada sauce and accompanied by the same salsa, sour cream and guacamole, while Nicole's Quesadilla was tortillas with char-grilled beef, cheese, green onions, and diced tomato.

If you don't fancy tortillas, however, the menu at El Gringo's does have a good selection of steaks, as well as fish and a Cajun section, with the Mexican dishes at the cheaper end of the scale.

The three of us seemed to reach the same verdict on the nosh - pretty tasty and a good selection of rice, meat, salads and some yummy black beans, my personal favourite. I was asked whether I wanted my burrito medium, hot or spicy. I opted for medium, but in retrospect could perhaps have gone for spicy - but it was tasty and filling nonetheless.

Nicola thought her Quesadilla a little too cheesy, but Paul pronounced his enchilada just about right.

Unfortunately none of us could finish our meals, all defeated by just how much food was on offer - not a complaint, just an observation.

We felt duty bound to sample the desserts and Paul chose the most chocolatey concoction I have ever seen. He declared it to be absolute heaven, but I was not so satisfied with the vanilla cheesecake. The dessert menu was wall-to-wall chocolate and cheesecake was the only variation on the theme. I was expecting something a little refreshing, and with a bit of fresh fruit it would have been transformed. As a baked cheesecake, it seemed a bit too rich and it had a soggy bottom - not my cup of tea.

Still, we happily settled the bill (£56.20 for the three of us), and ambled out of the restaurant certainly feeling well fed. Something of a shame, however, that the toilets can't really be described as wheelchair friendly, with a step down to the ladies and a very narrow corridor to the gents.

Liz visited El Gringo's on Friday, May 30, 2003

El Gringo's, 5 Saville Street, Malton, tel 01653 691507

Updated: 16:10 Friday, June 20, 2003