STEPHEN LEWIS finds The Ship almost ready to set sail,

but enjoys a delightful meal at this Acaster Malbis pub nonetheless.

THERE were floods the evening we were supposed to be going to the Ship Inn's new fine dining restaurant, The Wheelhouse - and then, to cap everything, it began to snow.

It was the Friday after New Year. I rang in the afternoon to check the Acaster Malbis pub was still open. Yes, came the answer. The water has come right up at one side and the car park is flooded, but the pub is OK as long as you come the back way and don't mind parking in the road.

I rang again before setting out, just in case. Still OK, came the message: just be careful on the journey.

We went the back way from York, ignoring the Acaster turning out of Bishopthorpe and continuing on along Main Street. It was 7.15pm, pitch black, snowflakes lit by the headlights scurrying into the windscreen. The first turning to Acaster was flooded, but the second passable, and eventually we made it to the road leading to the back of the pub and parked.

The water came right up to the pub's front door: but at the back, the kitchen door was flung invitingly open, with the words 'Way In' hastily scrawled on a sign.

We walked in out of the cold - and were instantly engulfed in a warm fug. In the bar, a magnificent fire was leaping in the hearth, and the temptation was to stay in the warmth and eat there, chatting to the few locals who had braved the elements. But no, we'd come to try The Wheelhouse. So, half reluctantly, we allowed ourselves to be led through.

We needn't have worried. Not surprisingly on a night like this, we were the only diners in the restaurant - although it had, our waitress assured us, done a roaring trade since belatedly opening last October - but even so the dining room couldn't have been warmer or more welcoming.

A huge fire roared in a grand hearth at one end of the long, low-beamed room. There was a gaily-lighted Christmas tree in the corner next to us, and with its chintz curtains, cottage-style tables and candles, the restaurant felt comfortably old fashioned. Frank Sinatra playing in the background added the final touch.

Our waitress brought us drinks - a glass of excellent South African Chenin Blanc for me, a glass of apple juice for Lili - then pottered around behind the bar while we pondered the menu.

And what a menu - as warm and welcoming on a cold night as a hot toddy. There is a set menu every day from which you can choose two courses for £12 or three for £15, plus an a la carte.

We chose the latter, and from the small but adventurous range of starters Lili opted for the mussels, scallops and langoustine with green tagliatelle (£4.95), while I went for the Toulouse sausage stack on a chestnut mash with red onion marmalade (£3.95).

While we waited, a second waitress brought a basket of bread. "You can have more!" she said with a smile when I hesitated after taking a chunk of crusty brown. So I did, and helped myself to a chunk of white as well.

The bread was delicious, the brown crunchy and fresh, the white lightly peppered to give a delicious, warm taste. It boded well.

The starters did not disappoint. My Toulouse sausages were wonderfully warm and spicy, with a marvellous grainy texture. The bed of chestnut mash on which they rested was a tad bland, but precisely because of that it complemented the sausage perfectly. The red onion marmalade added a piquant touch.

I can't eat shellfish, but even I could tell from the wonderful aromas coming from Lili's plate that her mussels and lingoustine were fresh and tempting. She polished them off with pleasure, pronouncing them "very good" and sucking the juices from the shells with gusto.

For main course, I chose the seared tuna with a coriander and chilli crust and drizzled balsamic syrup (£11.50), while Lili went for the pork fillet wrapped in dried ham on a bed of roasted artichokes (£10.50).

Both were excellent. My stack of seared tuna steaks was a work of art, arriving on a flared plate that had been beautifully decorated with zig-zags of drizzled syrup. The tuna was crisp on the outside, tender inside, the flesh moist and the taste combining pleasantly with the hint of lemon and spices on the seared crust.

Lili's pork was beautifully tender and tasty, the roasted artichokes perfectly cooked and with just a hint of pickle to add to their warm flavour. Lili's only complaint was that there was too much meat: she couldn't finish.

Perhaps best of all was the side dish of vegetables that accompanied our meals; new potatoes cooked in their skins that were simply bursting with earthy flavour and crunchy, delicious slivers of carrot and parsnip.

Lili passed on the dessert, but I couldn't resist the lemon tart with lime mascapone and orange creme anglaise. It was a delight, the crust crisp and crumbly, the lemon filling itself melting and deliciously tart.

With a cup of fragrant coffee to finish, the total bill came to a whisker over £40.

It had been an excellent meal in very pleasant surroundings, and the service had been first rate, friendly and prompt.

Just what was called for on a cold winter's night and all the more of a credit given the floodwaters just outside.

Wheelhouse Restaurant, The Ship Inn, Moor End, Acaster Malbis nr York, tel 01904 703888

Steve and Lili visited The Ship Inn on Friday, January 3.

Fact file:

Food: excellent

Service: friendly

Value: reasonable

Ambience: Welcoming

Disabled access: Yes ...though you have to leave the restaurant and go round the outside of the pub to get to the disabled toilet

Updated: 09:46 Saturday, January 11, 2003