Meltons Too, Walmgate, York

WHEN Meltons Too opened five years ago, the consensus was it was just what York needed.

The two-storey bistro, housed in the former Ellerker's saddlery, in Walmgate, was to open all day offering people a place to relax with a mug of tea and a bacon buttie, or mull over the daily papers with a caffe latte and pain au chocolat.

Whether you wanted a few tapas with a glass of wine or a three-course dinner with a bottle of bubbly, this warren-like restaurant would suit your needs.

York is a better place for it. I love the informality of the place, the menu to suit all tastes, appetites and budgets, the affable and efficient staff and the fact that it is genuinely child friendly, with baby-changing, highchairs and room for buggies.

Although I don't think the cooking is as excellent as it was when it first opened, and can sometimes be inconsistent, it is generally of a high enough standard to keep me going back. Oh, and besides City Screen, it makes the best home-made chips in the city.

Last week, much was made about the decline of Britain's greasy spoons, pushed out of popularity by modern coffee shops and trendy bistros.

There's no denying that it's easier to find a brie baguette in York than a bacon buttie, but the genius of Meltons Too is that you can have your fancy continental fare and your traditional fry up at the same time.

A brunch menu runs every day between 10.30am and 4pm, offering a full English (£5.50) and a vegetarian alternative (£4.90). The former includes bacon, sausages, mushroom, tomato, black pudding, toast, eggs (poached or scrambled), lamb's kidney (optional) and tea, coffee or a soft drink. The veggie option features mushroom, tomato, sauted potatoes and onions, beans, toast and eggs (poached or scrambled) again with a drink. All produce is from Yorkshire.

I have had the English breakfast before and was impressed by its freshness and flavour.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the meal I had on Sunday, when I visited with my husband, Nick, and three-year-old daughter, Eva.

We arrived around 11-ish and secured a downstairs table with a sofa for us to sprawl out on. A waiter took our order promptly, committing it to memory rather than a notepad: two full English and one kid's breakfast. Eva wanted scrambled eggs, Nick poached and I asked for another sausage rather than the egg. We ordered coffee and orange juice too.

Within 15 minutes or so our breakfast arrived, and immediately our hearts sank.

Nick had scrambled egg rather than poached. When he pointed out the error, the waiter whisked the plate away with the words: "No problem sir..."

Which of course left a problem... Eva and me had breakfasts and Nick didn't. "It's not great when we've all come out to have breakfast together," he grumbled.

The other problem was that our breakfasts were tragic affairs. Everything had a deathly tone of pre-cooked food kept warm. Eva's scrambled eggs were the worst offenders, greying yellow and rubbery. With no waiter in sight and hunger pangs pricking our insides we ploughed into the meal. Each bite confirmed my suspicions: the food had a serious dose of hotplate-itis. When Nick's plate was returned, his freshly-poached egg, brilliant white bursting with sunshine yellow, stood out like a gold coin among a plate of tarnished coppers.

I summoned the waiter and told him I was disappointed with the breakfast, particularly because it had been so great before.

He admitted they did sometimes pre-cook breakfasts on Sundays to cope with demand. On speaking to his boss, he said we would not be charged for our meals because they valued our custom and wanted us to come back.

I said I appreciated the gesture, but would be more happy to hear that they would be cooking to order in future. He assured me my observations would be passed to the chef.

As we packed up to go, two women at the next table, who had overheard our fuss, were debating whether to order a fry-up.

They asked the waitress for reassurance that it would be cooked fresh, which was duly given.

As luck would have it, I bumped into one of the women the next day and she confirmed that their breakfasts had been good.

I'm glad, because it proved the restaurant practices what it preaches. A note in the loos encourages customers to speak out about anything which displeases them. Part of being a good business is responding to customer feedback.

On this visit, Meltons Too left me disappointed with its food, but reassured that things would be better next time.

Meltons Too, Walmgate, York. Tel: 01904 629222.

Maxine visited on Sunday, April 23, 2006.

Updated: 10:10 Saturday, April 29, 2006