Toto's, 1 Fawcett Street, York

BACK at home, there was a lasagne waiting to be popped into the oven for tea. But there we were, relaxing in York's City Screen caf-bar, enjoying a warming glass of red wine and watching dusk settle on the Ouse when Mum suggested staying out for tea.

Aunty Betty, who along with Mum was visiting from Edinburgh for the day, raised a glass to the idea.

And when my three-year-old daughter Eva awoke from a late afternoon snooze, the promise of 'pizza in a caf' was enough to keep any groggy grizzling in check.

A quick call to my husband Nick at work and our fate was sealed: we would rendezvous at Toto's pizzeria in Fawcett Street at 5.30pm.

Sitting at one of the most awkward road junctions at York, where the inner ring road meets the A19, Toto's is not in the most easily accessible of spots.

Yet, at a mere ten minute's walk from the city centre, and just opposite Fishergate bar and the now-closed Barbican, it is not far off the beaten track. As we live in Fishergate, it is practically our local restaurant.

When we arrived, Nick was already sitting at a long table by the window and savouring a bottle of ice cold Peroni beer (£2.70).

Carrying on from where we left off, we ordered a bottle of Valpolicella (£13.45), which was mellow and medium-bodied and deliciously drinkable. Eva had a fresh orange juice (£1.40).

Between 5-7 nightly, Toto's offers an early-dining 'happy hour' offer: any pasta or pizza is £4.95, which is £2 off the normal menu price.

We all decided to get straight to the main course, then order pudding if our appetite allowed.

The menu has a good selection of Italian staples, including seafood pasta and pizza, spaghetti carbonara, plain calzone and the tasty-sounding calzone kiev with chicken, mushroom and garlic.

Our friends from the north were determined to have pasta: tagliatelle al salmone for Mum and spaghetti bolognaise for Aunty Betty.

Bearing in mind we'd be having lasagne for tea tomorrow, Nick and I opted for pizza. Nick chose pizza milano with onion, fresh tomato and gorgonzola cheese and I ordered the napoletana with olives, capers and anchovy.

Toto's also does a children's menu, featuring fish fingers, sausages or chicken nuggets with chips or lasagne, spag bol or a small cheese and tomato pizza (all for £2.85). Eva had pizza.

The restaurant is child friendly (the owners have a three-year-old daughter, who was sitting drawing at one of the tables when we arrived).

The children's menu doubles as a colour-in sheet and comes with a tub of crayons. This was enough to keep Eva occupied until our dinner arrived.

Our paper place mats were also feedback sheets, inviting us to tell the restaurant what we thought of our visit. Categories are: 'You Blew It!'; 'Just Fair'; 'Great'; and 'Dynamite'.

Our pizzas had thin, crispy bases and light toppings, just how Nick and I like them.

My napoletana was a simple affair and the ordinariness of the cheese and tomato was lifted by the scattering of salty olives, capers and anchovies.

Tasty as it was, it suffered in comparison to Nick's pizza which was knock-out. The onions and tomatoes were 'just cooked' and the gorgonzola 'just melting', giving it a 'just-out-of-the-oven' freshness. It was sweet and tangy and gooey - a blissful companion of flavours and textures.

I vowed to come back and have one all to myself.

Mum was impressed with her pasta, which was plentiful and covered in a creamy white-wine sauce.

Aunty Betty said her spag bol was good, but she would have liked a bit less pasta and more sauce.

Eva ate all of her pizza and declared she still had room for strawberry ice cream (£1.50). Nick and I were also tempted by pudding and ordered an almond gateau for him and profiteroles for me (£3.50 each).

Nick was a winner again. The soft sponge was layered with cream, laced with almond liqueur and had a small amaretto biscuit on top. I'll be back for a portion of that as well.

Which is not to do down the profiteroles. They were up to their billing and carried off the chocolate, choux and cream combo admirably.

After polishing them off, I finished Eva's ice cream which was packed with strawberry flavour.

For such a belt-busting meal, it was nice to see the bill wasn't a budget buster: £53 for five of us, which included a second beer and a coffee. Good value indeed.

We forgot to fill in the feedback form, but would have ticked: 'Great' with the comment: 'We'll be back'.

Maxine visited Toto's on Monday, November 7, 2005

Toto's, 1 Fawcett Street, York. Tel: 01904 466528

Updated: 16:08 Friday, December 02, 2005