'THE Prestons welcome you to Pickering' says the menu. Well that's a good start. Next we saw they 'specialise' in home baking and a range of satisfying dishes! What more could we ask? (Eastgate Tearooms, Pickering)

This largish caf is adjacent to the public car park at the roundabout coming into the town from Malton.

We chose a corner table away from the door. It was Saturday lunchtime and busy. Clearly a good sign. The day's specials, all priced at £5.50, included pasta carbonara, vegetable moussaka, spaghetti bolognese and Whitby seafood, all with garlic bread.

It was damp outside so we felt no embarrassment in ordering soup in August. Stilton and broccoli for Ann, potato and leek for me. Ann was convinced she hadn't got what she ordered and I couldn't detect any difference from mine. However at £1.95 with a roll, the steaming bowls were satisfying.

Ann's club sandwich (£3.95) with side salad and crisps nearly sunk her. Not so much the sandwich as the grated carrot, lettuce, pepper, parsley, coleslaw, tomato, cucumber, spring onion and orange, a meal in themselves.

As we were about to set out on a four-mile walk, I modestly chose hot bacon (two lean rashers) and egg in a roll (£2.50). It was enough for my immediate needs even though the walk proved to be a very wet experience.

The menu oozed with mouth-watering offerings. Hot American pancakes with peaches and ice-cream, or maple syrup (£1.95) went down well at the next table. Later in the day, a cream tea with sandwiches and scones (£4.50) would have been tempting. The thought of a high tea (£6.50) brought back childhood memories of Sundays at my grandparents.

As we were leaving, grateful to the Townsends for suggesting this venue, one more claim caught our eye. 'We have one of the largest cake displays in the area, not to mention our treacle sponge and Bakewell tart'. What we saw in the display cabinet went a long way towards proving this claim.