Delrio's, 10 Blossom Street, York

REGULAR readers of this column might recall my review of Delrio's restaurant last January.

The headline read 'The End Of The Affair' and the story revealed how in an attempt to move upmarket the Sardinian restaurant, in a network of cellars beneath Blossom Street, had lost much of its original charm.

Pizzas had been banished and pastas squeezed to the sidelines to make room for speciality dishes such as beef, veal and seafood, all at premium prices. What's more, service was slow and uncaring. It pained me to publicly admit I'd fallen out of love with one of my favourite restaurants.

A few months later, readers contacted me to say that Delrio's had returned to its former self. One letter writer urged me to "go and give an old flame a second chance".

So, on the first anniversary of our break-up, I went back to Delrio's hoping it would seduce me once again.

We had booked for two, but in the end there were three of us, which threw the waiter slightly, even though the restaurant was about a fifth full. He ushered us into the bar area, where we waited a few minutes for someone to come and take our order: two cold Peroni (£2.80 each) and a gin and tonic (£3.10). Delrio's has ditched its practise of serving doubles as a matter of course and so can no longer be accused of selling the dearest G&T in the city. Hurrah!

In the good old days, Delrio's success lay in its ability to appeal to everybody. Whether you wanted a romantic meal for two or a rowdier night out with friends, it could oblige. Its menu was equally flexible, offering pizza and pasta staples as well as more expensive specialities such as sardines, sea bass and steak.

I was heartened to see this is the case once more, with the menu boasting something for all tastes, appetites and budgets.

From the specials' board, I picked mussels with garlic, wine and cream (£5.95) followed by sea bass fillets with fresh herbs (£14.95). My mate Patrick chose sardines (£5.95) from the specials and pan fried lambs' kidneys in a red wine, green peppercorn and cream sauce (£12.50) from the menu. My other companion, Vanessa, selected her meal from the main menu: sauted field mushrooms with garlic and cream (£4.95) and diavola pizza (£7.50) featuring hot salami and fresh chillies.

We had booked for 7.30pm, but it was a good hour later before we were shown to our table. Only then did we get to appease our growling appetites with the bread basket and oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

Silence fell as our starters arrived and we devoured our dishes. The mussels were small but delicious and the sauce was soupy, the garlic and shallots making it slightly sweet. It was a heavenly way to finish off the bread.

The sardines were equally lovely. They were perfectly cooked, falling off the bone at the slightest touch. Our only gripe was that the portion was very small.

Not so the mushrooms, which sat like large black rocks in a sea of gooey, creamy sauce. They were packed with meaty flavour and Vanessa declared them to be better than she remembered from previous visits.

There was a rest before our main dishes arrived. We ordered more beer plus a small Pinot Grigio (£3.50) for me, which took a while to come and for which our waitress apologised.

The first thing we noticed about our main meals was that the plates were lukewarm, so our meals soon grew cold.

My sea bass was not the greatest piece of fish: thin and rather slimy, I'd had many better versions at Delrio's in the past.

Patrick's lambs' kidneys were nicely cooked, but he felt the thick, chocolate-brown sauce was overpowering and too oily. And he thought £12.50 for a plate of kidneys very poor value.

Each main meal comes with a choice of side order. Patrick had spinach, but I think I made the better choice with a plate of mixed veg featuring carrots, slow-cooked red cabbage, crunchy broccoli and boiled potatoes.

Vanessa was impressed with her pizza which was so large it overhung the plate. She could only eat a quarter of it, but our waitress happily wrapped the rest for her to take home. The base was thin and the topping fresh and piping hot. There was plenty of salami and the chillies had been diced into the cheese and tomato base making every bite a mouth-burner. Fortunately we had a jug of tap water to hand.

Determined to go the distance on my date with Delrio's, we ordered puddings (all £3.75). We asked if they were home made and the waitress confessed they weren't. We didn't think so; the menu shows some sitting in their plastic trays as if just taken out of the freezer.

Vanessa had the profiterole-inspired Montenero, choux pastry puffs filled with chantilly cream and smothered in a thick chocolate sauce. It was the best of our selection, although she thought the serving of just two puffs rather mean. Patrick had the ice cream which came in a block and was uninspiring. My choice was equally lame: Amaretto featured a stale and synthetic-tasting sponge topped with softened macaroons and cream.

While everything was edible, you had to conclude that Delrio's is missing a trick by not offering wonderful home-made Italian desserts. And if that's too much to ask for, surely it could offer authentic Italian ice cream?

Our bill came to £26 each, which we thought a bit pricey. Service was slow, but polite, however no one made you feel that special.

So, as Cilla would ask, will we be seeing each other again?

I'd like to think we could remain friends, and see each other occasionally.

But the love affair is still in the past.

Delrio's, 10 Blossom Street, York.

Tel: 01904 622695

Maxine visited on Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Food: mixed

Service: slow

Value: bit dear

Ambience: great

Disabled access: No

Updated: 16:17 Friday, January 27, 2006