DAN RUTSTEIN, a hearty soul, fills up handsomely at a York cinema before going to see the cannibalistic film Hannibal

NO offence to the others, but there is only one cinema in York worth visiting for the complete night out. This opinion had been formed even before our satisfying meal at the £5m riverside City Screen complex.

Joining the movie-going public in the wonderful setting of the former Yorkshire Herald building, we were forced to buy our Hannibal tickets before sitting down to our early evening feast.

The cinema's bar will only serve alcoholic drinks to members and cinema tickets holders, so to fully enjoy our meal we had to get the tickets in hand.

A relatively empty bar lay before us at 7.30pm as we began to peruse the menu while supping the cheapest house white (£8.75). As soon as the wine touched our lips, we realised we should have dipped further into our pockets and opted for a Pinot Grigio.

We cannot criticise City Screen, which offers a wide selection of wines at all prices, but should blame a natural instinct to read the wine list from the bottom up.

The menu offered a wide selection of large and small snacks. Unfortunately, this was somewhat curtailed when our helpful and keen waiter gave us a list of unavailable dishes, which covered nearly all our original choices.

Not to be deterred, we picked alternatives and soldiered on - and were not disappointed. City Screen is by no means a restaurant, and would not have pretensions to be so described, but is still much more than a caf.

I opted for the wild boar sausage and mash (£5.80), with a side helping of hummus and ciabatta. Charlie couldn't resist the Parma ham, mozzarella and cherry tomato sandwich (£4.95) - also on ciabatta - with a huge helping of chips (£1.95). And she could not have been happier.

The enormous offering was tasty and filling, and a wonderful dressing made the salad accompaniment all the more appetising.

Although we feared the aioli dip with the chips might cause us garlic odour problems for days, it was worth it for the immediate taste sensation. If we could pronounce the condiment, we would ask for it everywhere we go.

My sausages were great in size and texture. Although tasting similar to non-wild boar products, they were nonetheless eminently edible with a gravy of which even Delia Smith would have been proud.

The hummus was remarkably wholesome, perhaps too much so, and was a little too cloying and heavy for my taste.

Following the main courses, we needed a short break to digest our large portions, which gave us time to look at the cake cabinet.

A dessert-lover's dream, there were three different cheesecakes and all manner of other bits and pieces. We both went for cheesecakes of varying descriptions and were a little disheartened to discover ice-cream helpings were not available on the side.

My raspberry-flavoured cake was gorgeous - creamy and light, while Charlie's chocolate and nut-topped variety was similarly good.

A cheeky, and unbelievably strong Melon Daquiri cocktail to follow and our pre-film meal was complete. And for a rather inexpensive £27.70.

And what a great film. There is this great bit near the end where Anthony Hopkins...

City Screen, York, Coney Street. 01904 541144

Food: Big and lovely

Service: Keen

Value: Good

Ambience: Splendid

Disabled access: Yes