Lime House, 55 Goodramgate, York

OUR visit to this award-winning restaurant - with a reputation as one of York's finest - coincided with the English cricket team's recent phoenix from the flames style renaissance in an Ashes series that has now got the nation gripped.

With victory against the old enemy merely overs away after an amazing Saturday at Edgbaston, we arrived at the Lime House in celebratory mood, fully expecting to be bowled over by its menu.

We had certainly heard good reports of the Goodramgate venue. But it was one of those places that, despite several years living in York, we had never visited.

Maybe that was because of its closeness to one of our favourite haunts - nearby Siam House. Or perhaps it was because when you walk past it looks like there is not that much dining space in the front.

But when we arrived those fears were quickly dispelled, as we were led through the cosy entrance past the bar and into a larger dining area at the back.

The dcor was modern, with stylish new paintings for sale adorning the walls. The music was smooth, sultry jazz - perfect for a romantic meal for two.

The menu was fairly extensive, but every dish sounded utterly intriguing and seemed to combine traditional English fare with a Mediterranean twist.

For example, on the starters menu were breast of pigeon with Parma ham and warm buttered sauerkraut (£5.95) and goat's cheese souffl coated in polenta with a cashew nut dressing (£4.95).

Still jubilant from 'Freddie' Flintoff's dynamic display on the pitch, I decided to open the batting, and chose pan-fried scallops with samphire salad and sweet chilli dressing (£7.50).

Laura, meanwhile, opted for pastrami of venison with a pickled walnut salad and roast pear relish (£6.50). To accompany our choices we selected an Australian wine, Colombard-chardonnay (£14.75).

The scallops were succulent and delicately flavoured: the sweetness of the chilli dressing complementing both perfectly.

In contrast, Laura's dish was a robust raid on the taste buds, the rich venison - cut into wafer thin slices - slightly tempered by the sweet, autumnal flavour of the warm pear relish.

For the main course, we spurned the tempting allure of pan-fried Yorkshire beef with buttered pak choi, fondant potato, red onion marmalade and pan juices (£17.95).

I settled for caramelised breast of Barbary duck rolled in lemon grass and cinnamon with stir-fried vegetable parcels and a black bean salad (£15.50).

Laura had no hesitation choosing oven roast rump of Yorkshire lamb carved on pan-fried Parmesan gnocchi in a vine tomato, artichoke and olive salsa (£13.95).

My duck was the best I have tasted: tender meat with crispy skin, and, to top it all, plentiful. Laura was equally taken with her lamb, which was also incredibly tender. The olive, tomato and artichoke salsa was beautifully thick, though perhaps a little on the salty side for her taste.

After this feast, we were stuffed, but still found a sliver of space to sample the dessert menu. I had a caramel and choc chip shortcake with raspberries and Grand Marnier cream (£4.35), while Laura succumbed to the crme brule with cherries (£4.30).

As with everything we sampled at the Lime House, these dishes were both beautifully presented and despite gout-inducing descriptions, surprisingly light.

For a three-course meal for two, with one bottle of wine and one coffee (£1.75), the bill came to £68.65. We thought this was reasonable given the quality of food and efficient service, although it is definitely not cheap and is probably somewhere we would return to for a special occasion.

As tension in the Ashes series mounted, we found the Lime House had passed our test - and dismissed ourselves through the door LBW (with large, bulging waistlines).

Lime House, 55 Goodramgate, York. Tel: 01904 632734

Dan and Laura visited the Lime House, 55 Goodramgate, York, on August 6, 2005.

:: Fact file

Food: delicious

Service: efficient

Value: reasonable

Ambience: relaxed

Disabled access: No

Updated: 13:18 Wednesday, September 07, 2005