David Martin tries out a Goodramgate favourite that has changed both hands and name

WHAT'S in a name, indeed. After spotting that York Italian eatery La Romantica had a new name and dcor, I was curious to check it out, as I've always enjoyed previous visits and wanted to see what had been done to the place. Apparently it changed hands last year, but the new owners have been making changes gradually, only changing the name in recent months.

Our visit happened fairly spontaneously - my partner Vix and our friend Claire, visiting from London, had been out scouring the shops, looking for reasons to inflict GBH on their debit cards, and that's hungry work, so I was summoned to join them to grab an early-evening meal at Opus One.

Though the modern front dining area of the compact restaurant has had a subtle revamp, the eccentric back room, where the girls had found a table, with its turn-of-the century-living room feel with books and mirrors and a hanging chandelier, has been unchanged.

And, I'm pleased to report, the restaurant keeps its character of feeling informal and bohemian while being intimate and cosy, while the genuinely friendly, down-to-earth staff add to the instantly laid-back ambience.

But, in keeping with the relaxed atmosphere, and the restaurant's musical new name, the soundtrack is strictly jazz vocalists - indeed, they have a regular singer performing live in the restaurant every week, though not on the night we were there.

And the menu has moved away from straightforward Italian-ness, a good move in a street full of authentic Italian restaurants, now billing itself, more accurately, as Italian and continental, though pastas and pizzas are still solidly represented on the streamlined menu.

So to the starters. Claire is a girl who knows her food - her many lives include being the scourge of a major pub chain as a "mystery customer" and occasionally running a theatre caf at the Edinburgh Festival. She was more than happy with her continental salad (£2.95), billed intriguingly as a lucky dip of whatever the chef fancied. This evening, that turned out to include peppers, buffalo mozzarella, olives, baby tomatoes and lettuce, with a delicately-cut artichoke heart and a tasty dressing. She ruled it excellent.

Vix opted for the antipasto Italiano (£4.50), a mixture of cold meats and salad, which were very good, but disappointingly, though mozzarella and tomatoes were also promised, they failed to appear, making the dish a little dry.

I chose the calamari, deep fried squid rings, at £4.25. There was plenty of squid, it wasn't too greasy as is often a problem, but it could have done with being a bit warmer.

For the main course, I went for the lamb rack, (£9.95). There were plenty of lamb chops, liberally but not overpoweringly garnished with rosemary, which was an effective touch. The lamb was pleasant enough if not amazing (I think I've been spoiled by the Turkish place on Gillygate, which surely does the best lamb in town), and the vegetables were nicely done.

Claire had requested her arrabiata (£5.75), a spicy pasta dish, to be very spicy, and they did a good job of trying to bring a tear to her chilli-hardened eyes. She was impressed and ruled it tasty, though the pasta was slightly past being al dente.

Vix was probably the most impressed of us all, however, with her pizza al funghi (£6.50) - the mushrooms were excellent, dark and full of flavour and there were plenty of them and plenty of pizza, complete with a proper pizza cutter.

We were pretty full, but then I'd forgotten the ability of the opposite sex to run an entirely separate digestive system just for puddings, and the waitress was soon getting the third degree from Vix and Claire about desserts.

I have to concede they're on to something, as my lemon and strawberry cheesecake was excellent. The girls enjoyed their tiramisus, although they weren't the most remarkable they'd ever encountered, and at £3.95 apiece, the desserts were a bit steep and added a hefty whack to an otherwise reasonable final bill. However - an important point - the coffee was very good.

The final score, including desserts, mains and starters for three, a half-litre of house red, a beer and two coffees was £57.70, or just under £20 each.

All in all then, a new name, a musical theme, a subtle revamp, but fundamentally, a restaurant which knows to play to its established strengths of a relaxed, informal atmosphere and friendly service.

Fact file:

Food: Fine

Service: Very good

Value: Good

Ambience: Relaxed

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Opus One, Goodramgate, York. Tel: 01904 636236

Updated: 08:50 Saturday, June 22, 2002