CHRIS TITLEY'S eyes are opened on a return visit to a York fish restaurant

PITY the bespectacled diner. Having ironed my Ben Sherman shirt and polished my shoes with a baby wipe, I simply oozed sophistication. I'll knock 'em dead, I thought, sauntering into the restaurant from the cold street outside.

Then, bam! My glasses instantly fogged up and I'm bumping into things like a comedy drunk.

Fortunately, staff at the Blue Bicycle are a polite bunch, and accepted this as if it were normal behaviour. The waiter even guided me to the table by the arm. This was a typical act of compassion from Fabrice Villoutreix, the hero who recently saved a woman from an icy River Foss (or was he just scared I'd knock over a candle and set the whole place alight?)

Once safely seated by the window, the mist began to clear. Finally I could focus on both menu and specials board. It was worth the wait.

The Blue Bicycle is one of those rare places where every dish sounds equally tempting. Most are fish-based, which suited us, a pair of fin-ophiles.

Service here is friendly and attentive. Our waiter - not Fabrice this time - took our orders and then inhaled deeply. "Is that Hugo Boss?" he asked, looking at me.

No, I replied. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was Tesco 24-hour anti-perspirant deodorant.

Our starters arrived so promptly they took us by surprise. Jo had chosen the Thai crab cakes with sweet chilli dressing (£6), while I went for the Venison carpaccio (also £6).

My wafer-thin venison was accompanied by a big dollop of horseradish sauce hot enough to make your nose twitch, plus beetroot salsa: an unusual partnership which worked beautifully.

Jo, meanwhile, has not stopped raving about the chilli dressing, insisting it is one of the tastiest things she has ever eaten.

Main courses, we thought: follow that. And soon they did.

Jo had selected seared swordfish with mussels provencale from the printed menu (£14.50); I couldn't resist the spiced monkfish with seafood boulangerie from the specials board (£15).

Both portions of fish were big, moist and delicious. Jo's swordfish was, she said, like the fillet steak of the deep, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture. It was surrounded by mussels, straw potatoes and vegetables.

Ground, roast Cajun spices gave my monkfish a wonderful kick, without overpowering the natural flavour. This was perfectly complemented by a serving of very thinly-sliced potatoes and vegetables, oven baked in stock.

We took the waiter's advice and enjoyed a breather before contemplating dessert.

You never feel harried here. The ambience in the Blue Bicycle is warm and convivial; it has that intimate air that only comes from a crowd of regulars. And for a Tuesday night in early January, it was impressively busy.

The time had come for puddings, which are all priced at £4.50. Jo's blueberry and lemon cream was very enjoyable, but she couldn't finish it. No such wimping out from me: I squared up to my square of sticky toffee pudding and systematically demolished it.

But be warned: so sweet is the toffee treat, I could have done with far more cream to combat the caramel.

Another quibble concerned the non-alcoholic drinks. Jo first asked for cranberry juice, but had to settle for orange. Later her request for a glass of mineral water was met with a large bottle of same, ridiculously over-priced at £3.20. And my cappuccino took a mystifyingly long time to arrive.

But these are minor points. This was a superb meal, and certainly worth the not insignificant total of £64.20 (without wine, but with my two pints of York Minster ale).

Thanks to the pioneering Blue Bicycle, which arrived five years ago, Fossgate has achieved the unlikely status of York's premier eating out street. On the way home we passed the neighbouring restaurants, all near empty.

Even a half-blind diner like me can see that the blue bike is still the one they all have to beat.

Fact file:

Food: delicious

Service: friendly and attentive

Value:good

Ambience: convivial

No disabled access

- The Blue Bicycle, Fossgate, York. Telephone: 01904 673990

Updated: 08:51 Saturday, January 26, 2002