Fox and Rabbit Inn

Let's assume for a moment that George W Bush is right and that "rogue states" like Iraq and North Korea will soon threaten the world with nuclear missiles. And let's also assume, in the interests of balance, that the peaceniks are right in saying that Dubya's Son of Star Wars system, with its two vital elements in North Yorkshire, will put all of us in this part of the world at risk of attack.

Should they both be right, then the Fox and Rabbit Inn, at Lockton, north of Pickering, is the last place you would want to be should a nuclear-endowed Saddam Hussein's trigger-finger get itchy. The reason: this homely pub and restaurant nestling in the North York Moors, on the road to Whitby, is just a stone's throw from Ground Zero, at RAF Fylingdales.

But put aside all thoughts of nuclear Armageddon, and the Fox and Rabbit is well worth a visit, particularly if you are coming back from a day at the seaside.

You could avoid the worst of the inevitable York-bound traffic by stopping off for a delicious home-cooked meal, leaving everyone else to sit in a jam on the Malton bypass, as hundreds were on the Sunday when we went.

The restaurant boasts a varied starters and main course menu, and an impressive range of desserts. You can keep the ankle-biters satisfied with a kids' menu made up of perennial favourites such as chicken nuggets, fish fingers and sausages.

A cosmopolitan wine list contains selections from both the Old and New Worlds, with reds priced up to £11, and whites at up to £8.75.

Always a sucker for shellfish, I chose king prawns in a Mediterranean sauce as a starter at £5. They were big, succulent, served whole in a very fishy stock and very, very messy to eat. But I always think it makes your meal that much more interesting if you have to wrestle with it a bit. And you burn more calories getting at the meat than are contained in it, leaving plenty of room for later courses.

A finger-bowl arrived for me just as I used the last of the four napkins on our table, and two I had pinched off another.

My partner Karin tested the Fox and Rabbit's flexibility by asking for the scampi main course as a starter, which the waiter said was no problem, and he halved the entree price to £3.50. The dish was good, but it and my starter were both a bit long in coming, and unfortunately the sauces - ketchup, tartar etc - were in plastic sachets on a bowl on the table. Bottles or pots of them would have been a better touch.

Lemon and pepper chicken is always a tasty combination and one which I have not seen on a menu for quite some time, so it was a welcome sight up there on the moors. It came served with potatoes and a selection of vegetables - including, unusually, broccoli that was not overcooked to mush - and was good value at £8.50.

Karin, the part-time vegetarian, took a risk after being tempted by the duck main course, which was served in an orange and black pepper sauce with onion rings.

The half-bird was served on the bone and it looked a bit too close to what you would see at the local pond for Karin to enjoy, although she said the meat was very good.

Items on the dessert menu - which included raspberry meringue, banana split, New York cheesecake, spotted dick and treacle sponge - were very tempting, but the other courses unfortunately left no room.

Our bill came to £34. All the food was of good quality and the service was friendly, if a bit slow at points, but what made the meal special was the location. The windows look west out over the moors and a spectacular sunset was on its way when we settled the bill and headed back to York... occasionally checking the rear-view mirror for that mushroom cloud.

FACT FILE

Food: tasty

Service: friendly

Value: good

Ambience: diner

Disabled access: Yes

u Fox and Rabbit Inn, A169 at Lockton. Telephone: 01751 460213.