DAVID MARTIN feels like a regular after his first visit to Mamma Mia's in York

Gillygate, aside from its permanent early-evening traffic jam crawling past yards from the windows of Mamma Mia, must surely qualify as York's most cosmopolitan corner, with an ever-changing, quirky cast of shops, cafes and restaurants of every description.

There's even a sign advertising a belly dancing night directly opposite, adorning a brand new Turkish restaurant - not the first thing you associate with Yorkshire's capital.

There may be no midriff-flashing entertainment going on at Mamma Mia, but this friendly bistro and stalwart of York's Italian restaurants has been a fixture of the street for a fair few years, and you soon find out why. We'd not set foot in the place before, but took an instant liking to its laid-back yet lively caf atmosphere.

Admittedly, it being Monday night, we thought we may have stepped on to the Marie Celeste as we arrived and loitered round the deserted front room, but the sounds of laughter and cheerful snatches of conversation from diners elsewhere in the restaurant sounded promising, and a waiter eventually emerged and seated us.

The staff may have got off to a slow start, but it was the only minor gripe in a night of flawlessly friendly, polite and efficient service, which put us at our ease straight away.

Mamma Mia is divided into several small rooms, including a back conservatory overlooking the city walls, and the front area looking out on to the street, where we chose to sit as my partner Vix decided she "liked to watch the world go by".

The menu did a good job of getting the saliva flowing with its tempting descriptions. The fare is what you'd expect from a decent Italian restaurant, a good range of pastas and pizzas - mostly in the £6-£7 bracket, a wide selection of more expensive fish and meat courses, including a fair few veal dishes and house specialities.

We ordered a bottle of Valpolicella (£11.95) and were brought a basket of bread as we perused the menu. I opted for the home-made chicken liver pat (£4.50), a decent-sized portion which came with salad and toast, and proved as rich and tangy as you could wish for.

Vix's antipasto misto (£5.25) was an impressive-looking plate-filling selection of cold meats and salad, featuring salami, mortadella and parma ham, which she set about with gusto before pronouncing herself full and happy.

By this time, a few parties had drifted in and out of the restaurant, showing that even at this early stage of the week, Mamma Mia does steady trade - suggesting that things may get fraught as the weekend approaches. But the waiters - a mix of Italian and English staff, all friendly and cheerful - were unobtrusively watchful, and with expert timing, our main courses arrived.

Vix had gone for the house speciality pasta dish, Farfalle Mamma Mia, pasta with salmon, garlic, parsley, tomato and cream (£7.25), which she was more than pleased with.

Being in a chicken mood, I opted for the Pollo Alla Cacciatore, chicken with peppers, tomato, mushrooms and herbs. It was tasty, fresh, piping hot and there was plenty of it, though my English tastes would have preferred more flesh and less tomato. It was very pleasant rather than mind-blowing food, but easily good enough to make me want to come back and further explore the menu.

Though the portions were spot-on in size, ample enough to satisfy without leaving you unable to walk, Vix, a dessert devotee, already had that glint in her eye which appears whenever pudding is in the offing.

Pouncing on the sweet menu, she went for the Tiramisu (£3) and was not disappointed, by size or quality - indeed, when she regained the power of speech, it was to mumble in an evangelical way about it being "one of the best I've ever had".

I went for the fresh strawberries, on the specials board (£3), which came with cream or ice cream, and were plentiful, fresh and cool.

The total damage was £45.50, which without the wine, worked out as £33.55 or about £16 each.

We were full, happy and relaxed, and already felt like regulars. Warm welcome, good food. No complaints, no pretensions - in fact, Mamma Mia makes running a restaurant look effortless. We shall certainly be back.

Mamma Mia, 20 Gillygate, York. Tel 01904 622020