Could do better

It all started so promisingly. On entering Kennedy's Caf Bar in York's Little Stonegate, I immediately took a liking to the place. Great interior design, subtle lighting and a feel that was cool without feeling too exclusive.

Friendly and prompt service also boded well, as did a quick glance at the menu as we settled in.

Spoiled for choice for starters, I thought.

How on earth to choose between two firm favourites - grilled king prawns and nachos?

A small whole loaf of reasonably freshly baked bread brought over while we were deciding was another nice touch (but a plate and butter knife would have been nice).

The wine was delicious. The light and fruity Argentinian dry white was a snip at £4.95 and we thought we were in for a great meal.

Unfortunately, we were a bit over-optimistic.

It has got to be said that it is pretty difficult to make a bad plate of nachos (£4.95).

For the uninitiated, it is melted cheese, salsa, sour cream and guacamole on top of a load of corn chips. Easy enough.

But the corn chips were chewy, the melted cheese virtually solid (wrong kind of cheese, at a guess) and the other ingredients in small pots, rather than all over the top.

It was a variation on a classic dish that just didn't work, although the guacamole was delicious.

No complaints about the deep fried brie (£4.25) being devoured by my partner, Karin, sitting opposite, however.

It was, she said, the best she had ever had.

Maybe my poor nachos were just an aberration, I thought as we waited for the main course.

I had gone for the home-made salmon fish cakes with salad (£5.95), Karin for the wild mushroom cappalletti (£6.95), and we were to share a warm chicken and bacon salad (£6.45).

The fish cakes I couldn't fault, and the bitter salad contrasted nicely.

The pasta, which was tossed in a white wine and cream sauce, received a good response and was praised for its subtle mushroom flavours.

But then there was the chicken and bacon salad.

The dish is always a safe bet, I have found, and fills you up in a light, salady way.

I have become accustomed to small strips of chicken and bacon on the salad and assumed that was the norm.

But at Kennedy's, it arrived with two whole fatty rashers draped over the top like some meat duvet.

And the chicken was half-a-dozen or so packet-of-ten-cigarette-sized lumps dumped in the middle of the salad.

On the rim of the sizeable bowl sat four thin slices of crisp French bread which we took at first to be garlic bread.

Would they save the dish?

If only. I'm guessing again here but I think they must have been intended to be giant croutons, but when it came down to it they were no more than extremely greasy and cold fried bread.

I tried my best with the dish because I always feel guilty leaving a plate full of food in a restaurant, but it just wasn't working for either of us.

To save my own blushes, and to save myself having to look at the plate and its offerings any longer, another empty plate went on top to cover it up.

We got chatting to some diners on the next table who had come back having thoroughly enjoyed their last visit to Kennedy's.

But they too had been disappointed on this evening and one of them had sent back a plate of vegetables, complaining that they were cold.

Maybe Kennedy's was understaffed in the kitchen, or someone was just having an off day - I have, after all, heard great things about the place - but what had promised so much at first proved to be a real let down.

u Kennedy's Caf Bar, Little Stonegate, York, telephone: 01904 620222.

Food: hit and miss

Service: attentive

Value: good

Ambience: relaxed

Disabled access: There is disabled access to restaurant but two steps to the disabled loos