Stephen Lewis taste-tests the refurbished Duke of York at Gate Helmsley

After a hard day's slog in the office, there's not much to beat a decent meal in a nice country pub.

The Duke of York in Gate Helmsley always had a reputation for good eats - as well as being a pleasant place for a drink. It has recently re-opened after being taken over by the Exhibition Group - so it seemed a good time to check it out.

First impressions were good. The pub wasn't packed, but it was reassuringly full. There was a large, open interior, with plenty of nooks and crannies.

My partner Lili and I ordered drinks at the bar, and staff were more than willing to put them on a table once we said we were staying for dinner. The small restaurant, set off to one side in its own alcove but not completely segregated from the bustle of the main pub, is very pleasant. It's all wooden floors and tables, new wood-panelled walls and bright floral curtains.

There was a reasonable selection of starters and main courses: though if there was a specials board, we couldn't see it. Lili, settling comfortably into her chair, opted for the chicken liver and black pudding pate for starters, with chicken breast filled with haggis and wrapped in smoked bacon for her main course.

I plumped, less adventurously, for traditional Yorkshire puddings in onion gravy and red onion relish to start and - envying her her chicken breast and haggis but deciding I really ought to opt for something else - Pasta Bossalino (pasta in a creamy sauce with smoked salmon and asparagus) for the main course. Lili's eyes lit up when her starter arrived. A thick slab of pate with three decent-sized pieces of crusty French bread and a side salad. "That's a big starter," she said. "Almost a main course!" She popped a piece of pate into her mouth and nodded.

"M'mm. Quite tasty!" I tried a bit myself and it was: fresh and tangy, though the accompanying salad was disappointingly drab. My Yorkshire pud, though, was a disappointment. Plenty of it - two large, crisp, individual puddings - but soggy where it had been drowned in gravy.

And there was no sign of the promised red onion relish which might have given it that zing. We finished up, Lili pushing her salad to one side, and almost before our plates had been removed, the main courses arrived.

Lili's chicken arrived dwarfed on a large oval plate, with accompanying side dishes, one of thick, moist chips, and the other of 'seasonal vegetables'. The chicken was tender, the chips 'very nice'. It was the seasonal vegetables which disappointed; cauliflower florets, mange tout and carrots, all looking a little anaemic and with no discernible taste at all. My pasta, though it looked a little congealed, wasn't. It was hot and fresh and tasty, the asparagus and smoked salmon tastes complementing each other well.

The garlic bread was good too, though the side salad was another of the limp, disappointing offerings Lili had pushed aside with her starter. Enjoying the quiet ambience of the pub, we finished our meals, leaving vegetables and salad almost untouched. Lili pronounced herself full, but I opted to finish with a Tiramisu trifle.

It was my best choice of the evening, served in a tall cup crowned with clotted cream, tangy with the bursting flavour of blackcurrants and rum. Two strong coffees rounded off the meal. The bill, including drinks - a pint of John Smiths and a pineapple juice - came to just under £28. Reasonable, but for the disappointing vegetables.

Restaurant: The Duke of York,.

Address: Gate Helmsley, near York.

Telephone: 01759 373698

Reviewed: Sept 18 1999

Food: Standard pub fare dressed up as something a bit more

Value: Reasonable

Service: Quick and friendly

Ambience: Stripped-wood and floral curtains