I REMEMBER the first time I visited Harkers, all of five years ago. I had come by train to York for a job interview at the Evening Press and had a couple of hours to spare before my grilling by the editor.

It was around lunchtime and being new to York I began to look around for a suitable place to eat.

I spotted Harkers almost immediately: it looked grand and impressive, yet welcoming and relaxing in the best traditions of a continental caf-bar. Just the sort of place I like. Immediately, I thought York would be an OK place to live.

Unfortunately, the lunch I had wasn't so memorable. I can't recall what I had - and the couple of occasions I've been back to Harkers for lunch since have been equally forgettable.

Which seems to point to the problem with the place: great venue, shame about the menu.

When I first moved to York, Harkers was one of a kind. Today, York boasts several wine bar/bistro spots all competing for the same type of customer.

Competition is supposed to improve standards, so I reckoned a revisit to Harkers due.

We popped in on Tuesday at lunchtime. The city centre was busy with Easter holiday shoppers and Harkers was about half full.

A waitress told us to pick a table and order at the bar. Nick and I sat down at a table on the ground floor: our preferred spot on the raised platform by the large windows was not possible because all the tables were taken.

The menu had a fair range of options from light snacks to full meals. Sandwiches were £3 (add another £1 for some chips), jacket potatoes cost £3.25, and nachos were £2.95.

There were several vegetarian options including quesadillas at £4.35 and mushroom linguini at £5.95.

My twin weakness for Barbecue pork ribs and chips won out though when I spotted just such a combination for £5.45.

Nick was equally impressed by the sound of red snapper with stir-fired noodles and vegetables at £8.95.

I also decided to try the soup (£2.50).

At the bar, I placed my order. I asked what the soup of the day was and if it was homemade. The waitress asked a colleague. It was tomato, but wasn't homemade, they said. Turns out it was a Covent Garden soup: the fresh ones in a carton you buy in the supermarket. I decided to try it anyway.

The red snapper wasn't available, so I had to pop back to the table to ask Nick for a replacement: he chose cajun chicken pasta (£6.95), which, luckily, they did have.

We ordered two glasses of dry white wine, but had to settle for a medium dry. "That's all we have" said the waitress, which I found bizarre because I always thought of Harkers as a wine bar. I asked to try the wine, and she was happy to oblige; it was perfectly drinkable. Our bill came to £20.10, which I settled and took our drinks back to the table.

The soup arrived within ten minutes. It was hot, but rather bland and watery. The accompanying half bread roll with sunflower seeds on top was almost tasteless.

But I was glad I had ordered it, because it was at least 30 minutes before our main dishes arrived.

By this point, Harkers was getting quite full and Nick and I were sure we saw people who arrived after us getting their food before we did.

Nick's cajun chicken pasta consisted of a bed of fine ribbons of fresh pasta tossed in a light tomato sauce with pieces of spiced cajun chicken on top. The chicken was tough and overcooked, which was a shame, otherwise it would have been quite acceptable because it had a good, spicy coating. The pasta, however, was perfectly cooked and the sauce was light and tangy.

My dish was equally mixed: the chips were just-cooked and plentiful but the ribs merely warm and dried out. Again this was a pity, because the meat came away nicely from the bone and had a smoky flavour.

Eating ribs is a messy business and I would have appreciated a bowl of water in which to rinse my hands. Instead, I popped downstairs to the loo and discovered only burning hot water coming from the taps - even the cold ones. So watch out.

Despite the flaws with our food, and the minimal service, Nick and I rather enjoyed our time in Harkers, which was once the Yorkshire Insurance Company building. Its grand, airy room, complete with pillars, floor-to-ceiling windows and dark wooden floors and furniture, make the caf-bar a pleasant place to wile away the time.

Harkers offers a breakfast menu, and I think that would be the ideal time to go, when you've got all the time in the world to enjoy a good old fashioned fry up - or maybe just a coffee - and lose yourself in the weekend papers.

Harkers Caf Bar, St Helen's Square, York. Tel 01904 672795

Updated: 09:27 Saturday, April 06, 2002