St Vincent Arms, Sutton-on_Derwent - Reviewed 27/10/01

The only problem with this quaint village pub - nestling on the edge of the East Riding as you cross the Derwent just outside Elvington - is securing a table.

We've popped in on spec a few times only to be disappointed, so booking is a must.

Last tables available on Sunday are at 1.30pm, which suited my partner Nick and me - giving us time to work up an appetite with a few hours' work in the garden before heading off on the pleasant 20-minute drive out to Sutton-on-Derwent.

It's always a pleasure going to the St Vincent Arms. Inside it's dark and warren-like, inviting you to explore. Austere is the best way to describe the decor - I don't imagine the pub's changed much since the war era. There are lots of dark wood and patterned carpets, but it's cosy too.

There's a decent-sized non-smoking dining room with about six or seven tables, where we had asked to eat. It doesn't have as much character as the bar areas, and feels a bit like sitting in your great aunt's parlour, but it has its own particular charms. And it definitely sets the scene for the good old fashioned cooking that follows.

We both opted for the three-course lunch menu, at an amazing price of just £8.55.

From a selection, I chose the soup of the day and Nick had prawn cocktail.

They arrived promptly and were excellent. The soup was spicy beef and tomato and had a wonderful flavour which awakened all my taste-buds: the sweetness of the tomatoes giving way to an invigorating kick of chilli. Small pieces of melt-in-the mouth beef were fished out periodically and I really didn't want the experience to end.

Nick was equally impressed by his starter: a bed of large, juicy prawns - which still tasted of the sea - smothered in tangy seafood sauce and served upon some shreds of lettuce with a salad garnish and triangles of buttered brown bread.

We each had a pint - I had lager shandy and Nick chose the award-winning Landlord bitter, which he was more than happy with.

Our enjoyment continued with our main courses: beef for Nick, roast chicken for me, each with two small Yorkshires and a pile of roast potatoes, drowned in gravy. Veggies came on the side: mashed swede, cauliflower and cheese and cabbage cooked with bacon. Our only criticism was that the plates could have been warmer. But it was a great dinner, particularly the meat, which was perfectly cooked and the vegetables couldn't be faulted either.

After a brief respite, we ordered desserts. Unfortunately the one I had my eye on, marzipan and almond tart, was all gone (the drawback of eating at the last sitting) but there were plenty of others to choose from including apple pie, chocolate fudge cake and ice cream.

I picked sticky toffee pudding with custard and Nick chose treacle tart with vanilla ice cream.

My pudding was a sensation: a generous slice of warm, dark, spongy cake, with a deep rich flavour underpinned by a hint of ginger. Mopped up with a sea of custard and swirls of toffee sauce, puddings don't get much better than this.

Which made me feel even worse that Nick had made the one false move of the meal as his treacle tart was a bit crumbly and dried out. We concluded that there was something amiss with the texture - perhaps it had been zapped of all life by a cruel microwave?

But it was the only hitch in an otherwise top-notch lunch.

To finish, I had a coffee from a very fancy menu full of Italian varieties. It was a bit of a risk as sometimes away from trendy coffee shops and Italian cafs such drinks can resemble dishwater. Happily this was not the case and my milky coffee was as good a caffe latte as I've had.

As we headed back to York, Nick suggested that we should keep the St Vincent Arms to ourselves...otherwise we may never get a table at this great little pub again.

Well readers, now you know where my loyalties lie....

St Vincent Arms, Main Street, Sutton-on-Derwent, telephone: 01904 608349.