The Sanctuary, 68, Gillygate, York

IT was a typically dull and miserable January afternoon when we dropped in at The Sanctuary bar and garden.

Sitting as it does on bustling Gillygate, the business is in pole position to benefit from passing trade and is easy to find close to the junction of Lord Mayor's Walk and Gillygate.

I live in the centre, so it took us a matter of minutes to get there on foot. Drivers, however, would have had to pay for parking at one of the nearby city-centre car parks.

Outside, the building has a large glass front and a visible menu featuring "winter warmers" to temp punters off the street. Unfortunately, the flight of steps to the entrance would surely put off disabled customers.

Stepping inside, the atmosphere was warm and inviting and the place certainly lived up to its name, providing us with a pre-cinema haven from the hustle and bustle of shoppers hitting the New Year sales.

By going at around 3pm we missed the lunchtime crush and were shown straight to our seats at a table in the window.

We didn't want to risk snoozing through the film so my friend Jutta opted for a large mineral water (£1.50) and I had a thirst-quenching pint of Stella (£2.50) while we considered the offers available on the menu.

At first we considered the tempting £6.50 meal deal for two but our stomachs got the better of this and we went for a three-course nosh.

Several starters caught the eye, including the Japanese deep-fried calamari which, the menu boasts, are prepared in house with a sweet chilli sauce for £2.95.

Alternatively there was a pear and walnut blue cheese salad for £4.95.

In the end Jutta chose the soup of the day which was cauliflower (£2.50) and I had a Caesar salad (£4.95).

The soup was wonderfully warming and thick and creamy. It was obviously homemade and it came with ample servings of soft white bread to dip.

My salad filled a large bowl and consisted of a base of crisp Cos lettuce leaves drizzled with dressing and topped with a soft poached egg and plentiful supplies of crispy bacon.

From where we were sitting we commanded not only a view along Gillygate, but across the rest of the restaurant, which is decorated to modern and minimalist taste with two large brown leather sofas at the rear overlooking the garden which would be great in the summer.

Deciding on a main course proved difficult. The homemade Sanctuary burger (£4.50) sounded delicious while Thai Salmon Laksa, a warming broth with noodles, prawns and pan-fried salmon (£5.50), also sounded just as good.

We settled on fondant salmon (£4.50) and chicken breast in mushroom sauce (£5.25).

Jutta's salmon came bathed in a pepper sauce and mounted high on a bed of mouth-wateringly light fondant potato mash.

My chicken was an equally large portion. The meat was succulent and came with pan-fried potatoes and a sauce full of whole mushrooms.

There then came a slightly unexpected comedy interlude when the burglar alarm gained a mind of its own and sprang in to action. The courteous staff were quick to switch it off and came round straight away to apologise for the nuisance which registered in most peoples' minds as funny rather than distressing.

With such generous portions, Jutta couldn't face the dessert menu, but I was undeterred and chose blackberry and almond tart with crme fresh (£4.25).

The pastry crust was deliciously crumbly and the filling was moist with large plump blackberries and a hint of almond.

When the bill came, we were surprised that it was just £25.45, which we both agreed was extremely reasonable. We also agreed that we'd be back because good food at these prices is hard to find.

Haydn visited The Sanctuary of Saturday, January 7, 2006.

The Sanctuary, 68, Gillygate, York. Tel: 01904 613061.

Food: good

Service: swift

Value: great

Ambience: warm

Disabled access: No

Updated: 15:40 Friday, January 13, 2006