The Golden Fleece, 16 Pavement, York.

The pub, on Pavement, is one of York's oldest boozers - with pints being pulled since at least 1503.

It's also rumoured to be one of York's most haunted hostelries. But the ghostly apparitions which stalk the ancient beams stayed away when my girlfriend Kathryn and I visited.

The Coaching Inn used to belong to the Merchant Adventurers who carried the city's important woollen trade, based on the Ouse, across Europe.

The Inn is built on a wooden frame without any foundations. This produces the rather interesting uneven floors and the beautiful wooden beams which tell you that eating at the Golden Fleece is to live history.

A fairly comprehensive menu is offered, with a wide selection of main courses and desserts, plus a specials and starters board.

Kathryn chose a prawn cocktail (£3.95) to start, while I picked the breaded mushrooms (£3.95).

The prawn cocktail was an adequate size - enough to make an impression, but not to make the main course a struggle.

It was beautifully presented in its dish, the lettuce, prawns and mayonnaise intertwined. It had a strong, sharp taste but was not overbearing. The prawns, well cooked and firm, were plentiful and delicious.

The breaded mushrooms were a little tough to crack and kept spilling away from the fork in a frustrating fashion. But, once conquered, the button mushrooms were surprisingly tender - given the tough battered exterior - and were delicately flavoured, with the garlic dip a welcome and subtle accompaniment.

We both plumped for foreign main courses, despite a host of traditional English fare being available.

Kathryn selected lasagne (£6.25), while I chose a special of Chicken Tikka Massala (£6.25).

The lasagne, served in its own dish with a side of salad, had a rich cheese and tomato texture. It was large and well presented with each pasta and mince layer carefully constructed. The thick cheese and tomato topping was superb. There were plenty of mince and pasta layers and the pasta strips were soft, indicating the dish was not overcooked. The mince, beef in this case, was slightly tough and took a bit of chewing. But this did not bring down the overall standard.

The Tikka Massala arrived, also in its own dish, with a plate of boiled rice, a plain naan bread and a pot of mango chutney.

The chicken was tender and the sauce, rich and creamy, was moderately spiced and left a tingle on the lips.

The rice was well-cooked and without the starch-like consistency produced by overcooking. Naan bread is tough to get right. So it is to the credit of the Golden Fleece that the bread was soft and fluffy throughout.

Dessert meant a 'chocarocke' cream cake (£3.25) for me and a chocolate fudge cake (£2.95) for Kathryn.

Two courses in and there was little room left for pudding so, when the generously-sized portions arrived at the table, I let out an audible sigh.

That somewhat coloured my view of the cream cake, a concoction of chocolate, ice cream and hard biscuit.

While it was undoubtedly delicious, the ice cream and thick chocolate combining well with the harder taste of the shortbread beneath, it was too much to finish after two significant courses.

Kathryn, however, had no problem sticking away the fudge cake, which definitely contained as many calories as it looked.

It was rich, with the thick chocolate layer and cake meeting an even thicker layer of hard fudge.

The meal, including drinks, weighed in at £32.15 - a price which compares favourably with similar pubs and restaurants in the city.

I can't promise you ghosts at the Golden Fleece, but the good food and service the traditional pub delivers is certainly leaning towards the paranormal.

The Golden Fleece, 16 Pavement, York. 01904 625171.

Steve and Kathryn visited on May 26.

Updated: 09:14 Saturday, May 31, 2003