Mike Laycock was on to a winning streak when he headed east out of York to find a pub which was not full of racegoers

It was our wedding anniversary and we had planned to celebrate with an evening meal at a pub to the south of York, not too far from York Racecourse.

Just in time, I remembered it was also one of York's biggest race days of the year, and rang to check if they were expecting hordes of racegoers and whether we would find a table.

Well, warned the landlady, I could try ...but she was already very busy and she couldn't guarantee anything.

It was time for a change of plan. So we headed east instead, to the Three Cups at Stamford Bridge. And what a stroke of good fortune it was.

For we were served up one of the best pub meals we have enjoyed in many a month. None of your bog standard scampi-in-a-basket here: this was tasty food of great originality at a quite reasonable price.

Even the junior menu steered clear of those ubiquitous nuggets and burgers. The pub, at the side of the A166 road as you come into the village from York, underwent a major refurbishment a few years ago and is now pleasantly furnished farmhouse style.

We arrived rather late but they were still serving. With no babysitter to hand, the kids had come too (bang goes any notion of a quiet romantic meal for two, but hey-ho, never mind!) and my youngest enjoyed a swing and slide in the large beer garden while we were waiting to be served.

The new summer menu made it instantly clear that the food would be a little special, announcing: "We are proud to serve food from around the world, cooked in a distinctly British manner."

It sounded promising. There was a good range of starters but our attention kept returning to the Savoury Bacon and Cheddar Melt: bacon, mushrooms, onion and chopped tomatoes mixed with mustard and served on toasted garlic bloomer bread, with cheddar cheese meltedon top, for £2.95. A positive host of flavours competing for the taste buds.

For the purposes of this review, there was no way we could all have it, so we compromised: I agreed to try something else if my wife and son agreed to a 50/50 starter swap, while we bought garlic bread for my daughter for £1.25.

My fellow diners felt their starter was every bit as good as it sounded. Mine, fillets of chicken breast covered in a spice batter and served on mixed green salad leaves with a hot pepper relish, for the same price, was almost as nice.

For the main course, we were again spoilt for choice between some intriguing dishes. My son and I eventually chose Chicken Arrabbiata for £6.95: "butterfly breast of chicken dusted with an Arrabbiata mixed spice and pepper seasoning, then grilled".

It was served on a bed of penne pasta combined with a tomato and basil sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and accompanied by garlic bread.

Great, but what the heck is Arrabbiata? I still don't know, but the whole dish, washed down with a half of bitter, sure tasted great.

While my daughter just wanted chips for £1, my wife went for hot chicken salad for £6.95: chicken breast topped with spinach, double Gloucester cheese and bacon and served on a bed of chilled pan-fried Charlotte potatoes with garlic and parsley seasoning, accompanied by mixed salad.

This dish, accompanied by a drink of Blackthorn cider, tasted pretty good as well. We were pretty full by now, and the children were tired, so we skipped the sweet, despite several tempting possibilities from a blackboard, including Caramel Apple Granny, Profiteroles and Sticky Toffee Pudding, with the total bill coming to a reasonable £37.40.

The Three Cups had turned out to be a good bet.

Restaurant: The Three Cups

Address: York Road, Stanford Bridge

Telephone: Tel. 01759 375901

Reviewed: July 31, 1999

Food: tasty, original

Value: good

Service: Friendly and efficient

Ambience: cosy farmhouse kitchen