Little treat

THE Romans may have left York in the 5th century AD, but a slice of the empire is still thriving in one corner of the city. Goodramgate, that medieval street which winds its way to Monk Bar, boasts four Italian eateries - all within a pizza's throw of each other.

There's Caesars, La Piazza, La Romantica and last, but not least, Little Italy, our port of call last Saturday night when the weather was as hot and sultry as a night in Naples.

The restaurant was packed, so full in fact that would-be diners congregated on the pavement, reading menus and waiting for tables to come free. This went on all night. Luckily we had booked three days earlier, so we eased past the waiting diners, and were immediately ushered upstairs to the larger of the two dining areas.

But we were not impressed with our seating, especially as we had booked. Our table was tucked away in a corner and every time I used my fork I hit a protruding wall with my elbow! We had asked for a non-smoking table, so if that was it, I think we'll brave the nicotine next time.

The restaurant, which survived a fire in 1998, seems to have a varied clientele of locals and out-of-towners. We saw families, couples and even a group of eight middle-aged men who were celebrating Christmas!

Anyway, to the food. There was a good choice of starters, both from the standard menu and the specials list. These ranged in price from £3.25 to £4.95.

I picked deep fried calamari, that's squid rings to me and you, which came with a small salad. It did seem quite dear at £4.95, but I did get a generous portion - about 15 rings in all. The batter was light, crispy and topped with herbs and the squid itself was not too rubbery. Very tasty.

Although tempted by many of the starters, Jayne instead went for a mixed side salad (£2.50). She wanted to keep plenty of room for the main course.

Choosing a main course proved quite difficult. As well as a host of pizzas and traditional pasta dishes, all reasonably priced between £5.95 and £6.95, there was a vast selection of meat and fish courses, including sea bass, tiger prawns and monkfish and veal.

In the end, I chose Fagiano Alla Fiorentino - pheasant. It was a first for me and I was pleasantly surprised. The bird, wrapped in crispy bacon, was served with a rich red wine and onion sauce. I imagined it to be a bit tough and chewy, but it was surprisingly tender. It came with seasonal vegetables including cauliflower, carrots, new potatoes and sliced courgettes. All cooked to perfection.

Jayne was impressed with her thin-based mushroom pizza, which was massive and good value at £5.95 (some supermarket pizzas can cost more than that). It was crisp and light with generous amounts of topping. All the pizzas are freshly baked in the downstairs oven which can be seen by diners and passers-by alike. A nice touch.

For dessert we shared a rather wonderful tiramisu - a traditional Italian trifle. It was so good I wish I'd had a whole one to myself.

With a couple of glasses of wine and a lager, the bill came to a very reasonable £34. The restaurant was busy and quite noisy, so a relaxing, quiet night it wasn't, but it was enjoyable nevertheless and the food was extremely good. Next time I think we'll try mid week and hope for a better placed table.

Little Italy, 12 Goodramgate, York Tel 623539. Open every day except Monday