SIMON RITCHIE goes online in the search for good old fashioned grub in York.

THANKS to the magic of the Internet, finding a local restaurant has never been easier. It was through surfing the net that we came across the Lamplight Restaurant at the Heworth Court Hotel, on Heworth Green, York - the one with the large Viking ship sign outside.

We wanted somewhere we could take my wife Jayne's nan, Marjorie, for her birthday - she wanted somewhere which served traditional English fare, and the Lamplight seemed to fit the bill.

And what was even better was the fact that the hotel, like a growing number in the York area, has its own website, so you can digest the menus without leaving your swivel chair.

We'd made our choices some hours before we arrived at the restaurant, but I still managed to change my mind while we sat and had a drink in the hotel's quirky whisky bar.

This is one place where you can get a stiff drink and a stiff neck at the same time as the ceiling is covered in hundreds of posters which pay homage to the amber nectar.

While still trying to read the ceiling, we were told our table was ready and were ushered to the cottage-style restaurant which, not surprisingly, was lit by several old-fashioned lamplights.

It was quite a warm and homely room, with beams and plate racks filled with more than 100 Toby jugs.

Anyway, down to the food.

The starters menu looked impressive, but some of the prices weren't.

Homemade soup was a quite reasonable £2.95 and the smoked mackerel pat, quenelles of brandied chicken live pat and the Chinese spare ribs seemed good value at £3.50, but others such as dariolle of chicken and wild mushroom (£4.95), pan fried goat's cheese (£4.95) and particularly the rosette of melon, also £4.95, were, we felt, rather pricey.

Both Jayne and her nan declined starters, they wanted room for pudding, but I liked the look of the spinach and mushroom crepe torte (£3.95) - wholemeal pancakes layered with creamed spinach, mushrooms and shallots and topped with parmesan cheese. They were delicious.

The main course selection was vast - more than 20 dishes including stuffed noisettes of lamb (£14.50), traditional steak and kidney pudding (£11.50), half a roast crispy duck (£15), venison steak (£14.50), locally-caught rainbow trout and a whopping 22oz T-bone steak at £19.95.

In the end I went for the chicken supreme - a breast of chicken stuffed with minced prawns and salmon, and drizzled in a savoury citrus syrup. The chicken was tender and the prawns and salmon complemented it well, but I would have enjoyed it a whole lot better if it had been warmer. If you're paying £14.50 for a main course the least you can expect is for it to be hot.

Jayne's dish - asparagus and mushroom nest (£9.95) - was also, for some reason, a bit on the cool side. It consisted of fresh asparagus and mushrooms cooked with white wine and garlic, finished with creme fraiche and served in puff pastry bouch. She too would have enjoyed it more if it had been warmer.

Marjorie chose traditional roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and gravy (£11.95). Her plate was filled with two giant saddles of beef, each a quarter of an inch thick, and although she requested it to be cooked well done, and the waiter insisted that it would be, she felt it could have done with at least another hour in the oven.

All our dishes came with tureens of roast potatoes, new potatoes, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and green beans tossed with bacon bits. These were all fresh and perfectly cooked, but best of all they were hot.

The home-made desserts seemed very good value at £3 each.

Jayne and I decided to share a large slice of banoffee pie, which was gorgeous, while Marjorie, a connoisseur of trifles, gave the Lamplight sherry trifle nine marks out of ten. Praise indeed.

All in all it was an enjoyable night, spoilt only by two of the main meals being rather cool.

u The Lamplight Restaurant at the Heworth Court Hotel, York (01904 425156) www.heworth.co.uk.

u Visit the Evening Press website: www.thisisyork.co.uk for more reviews of restaurants in our area.Fact file:

Food: could be hotter ***

Service: friendly and efficient ****

Value: pricey in places ***

Ambience: country kitchen ***

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