Waiting in line

I'D walked past the Lime House countless times, and even stopped to browse its mouth-watering menu on many an occasion, but never ventured further. Two things put me off.

Firstly, from the street it looks like a quirky tea room. Nothing wrong with that, you might think. But its tea and crumpet image didn't seem to fit with the sophisticated dinner menu on offer. And secondly, there was the decor. Lime green. Every-where. Well, I know it's called the Lime House, but did they have to take it so literally?

Still, I couldn't shake the enticing menu out of my mind. York isn't exactly spoilt for choice when it comes to fine dining, so I swallowed my aesthetic sensibilities and booked a table for two for a Saturday night.

On arrival, I realised there were two dining areas in the Lime House. The second is tucked away at the back and reserved for non-smokers like us. The decor in this back room was worse than in the front: bright green and orange, with - bizarrely - vinyl LPs stuck all over the ceiling. Also at odds with the 'fine dining' experience were the salt and pepper shakers on each table - not a pepper or salt mill in sight.

We enjoyed a gin and tonic and began tucking in to a basket of bread as we studied the menu.

Nick chose the Wild Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil and Parmesan (£2.65) and I went for the Duck Liver Parfait with Thyme and Green Peppercorn served with Fruit Chutney (£4.15).

To follow, I picked Breast of Pheasant with a Leek and Potato Pie and a Sage and Pickled Shallot Jus (£9.15), while Nick chose Pan Fried Fillet Steak with Spring Onion Mash and a Tarragon and Green Peppercorn Jus (£14.55). It was a hard choice as I was torn between the pheasant or the scrumptious sounding Grilled Fillet of Brill with a Tomato and Crab Risotto (£11.95).

From the wine list, we chose a full-boded Shiraz at £13.50.

Our first courses arrived quickly. Nick's soup was a rich brown colour and had a full-bodied mushroom flavour. I was served a giant slab of parfait - but without any bread or toast. Since we'd already eaten the small basket of bread, I requested some more. And I waited. And waited. Nick had finished his soup, when I caught a second waitress's attention and repeated my request for some bread. It arrived a couple of minutes later. The parfait had a nice crumbly-soft texture, great for spreading, and the fruit chutney was sharp and sweet and quite addictive.

At this point, we had to stop a third waitress and inquire about our wine, which had yet to arrive. She returned moments later, empty handed but inquiring: "What wine did you order, again?"

It was at this point we overheard another waitress informing a nearby table of the specials on offer that night and inquiring whether they would like to order vegetables with their main course.

Realising our waitress - who was young and either new or inexperienced at the job - had offered us neither of these options, we called for her and asked if we should order some side dishes of vegetables. Oh, yes, she said. So the menus came out again and we chose some red cabbage (£1.50).

Our wine arrived - a bit too potent for our taste, as it turned out - and our main meals quickly followed.

My pheasant had been slow-cooked in the gravy, with the meat falling off the bone. Very nice. Interestingly, it was served on a potato and leek pie, with a pastry top. This pie was quite yummy, but not piping hot.

Nick thought his portion was on the small size, but declared the steak tender and tasty and the mash and jus the perfect accompaniment.

We were too full for desserts (all that bread!), but wish we could have made room for the divine-sounding Brandy and Ginger Creme Brule and the Lemon Tart with Blood-red Orange ice cream.

Still struggling with the wine, we passed on coffee too.

Our two-course meal with wine cost just over £50, which we thought was quite steep.

And we thought it cheeky that we had been charged 75p for the bread to accompany my parfait starter - particularly when it cost £4.15 to begin with.

Needless to say, we were not amused by the addition of a ten per cent 'optional' service charge to the bill. It was £5.10 - which we paid - but I do think service charges should be left to the discretion of diners. Moreover, when it is added to the bill, diners have no guarantee it will actually go to the waitress.

Considering the service we received was plainly not up to scratch, our rather tasty, if somewhat pricey dinner, left a bad taste in the mouth.

The Lime House, 55 Goodramgate, York, YO1 7LS. Telephone: 01904 632743

Fact file:

Food: Tasty

Service: Forgetful

Value: Pricey

Ambience: Tea Room

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