A taste for it

Whether or not you appreciate the house music, the minimalist decor and the shared restrooms, York needs somewhere like Bar 38. While I - and probably most people in the city - might prefer a quiet pint and a pub meal, a 21st Century British city must have more in its dining repertoire than quaint pubs serving wholesome grub.

Bar 38 is part of the new-look Coney Street which also comprises the swish Pitcher and Piano, the City Screen cinema with its adjoining bar, and the Mediterranean-style De:alto restaurant.

This area is coming to be seen as a rival to the notorious Micklegate Run for the city's underdressed ladies and their turtleneck-wearing menfolk, and pie and chips just won't do for this glamorous set.

The bar is open-plan with a grand spiral staircase leading to further seating upstairs.

It seems the ideal apparatus for the city's beautiful people to make grand entrances down after popping to the lav.

A table by the enormous windows will reward you with what must be one of the best dining views in the city, looking out over the Ouse and its bridges.

In summer, you can dine al fresco on the riverside deck.

The setting was fine early on in the evening, but as the students (as the entire clientele seemed to be) began to arrive, we soon found ourselves the lone diners in a sea of bottled beers and conversations about course-work.

We didn't mind the cigarette smoke, but others might.

Bar 38 could feel uncomfortably exclusive and pretentious - as the Pitcher and Piano can - but fortunately doesn't.

The food served is tapas-style, which gives you the opportunity to pick and mix, and to legitimately pinch food from other people's plates.

It's a more fun and interesting way to eat than your average three-course meal, although somehow not quite as satisfying.

The selection was good, with everything from Malaysian chicken and roast ginger pork to pan-flashed hake, and came served on what looked like bathroom tiles. At first glance the food was well presented, but on closer inspection proved to be a let-down visually.

The parsley garnish that accompanied most dishes was yellow and dry and the sunshine vegetable salad looked a bit under the weather, limp and tired as it was.

You couldn't help feeling that Bar 38 - which is a chain - had brought their master chef to York for a day or two's instruction for the kitchen staff on how to prepare and present the food in the corporate style.

And then left them to it.

No self-respecting chef would have allowed food to be served looking like that, particularly as we were the only people dining and they couldn't have been rushed off their feet in the kitchen.

And the beer and cheese fondue, though delicious, appeared to have been heated, or reheated, in a microwave.

All that said, however, the food was very, very tasty.

The sticky golden chicken in sesame chilli dressing was excellent and left us kicking ourselves for not ordering more than one plate of it.

The salmon ravioli was an interesting take on a familiar dish and went down very nicely. A sauce of some kind may have helped it along a bit, however.

Creamy field mushroom risotto was great and added the necessary stodge to what was otherwise a very light meal.

Marinated feta with olives was pretty bland and went untouched.

A good bottle of Australian semillon chardonnay, at £10, washed the lot down admirably and, with just a bit of room to spare, we chose cinnamon apple fritters with fresh cream and profiteroles for dessert.

The fritters were pretty good; the profiteroles just like those you would get anywhere else.

The verdict, then.

Interesting and tasty food that was let down by poor presentation and an atmosphere not really conducive to eating.

But if you care more for how you and your surroundings look than what your grub looks like, give Bar 38 a try.

Me, I'm off down the pub.

Bar 38, Coney Street, York. Tel: 01904 674428.

fact file

Food: tasty 3

Service: discreet 4

Value: good 4

Ambience: lively 3

Disabled access: Yes