A cheese toastie and a cup of coffee is about the nearest I normally come to dining on a train. And even then it's usually a case of hoping that a sudden jolt at 100mph won't send my plastic cup of coffee cascading across the table and on to my lap.

But now I've had a taste of the kind of food that passengers probably ate on the Orient Express - that is when they had a free minute between murdering each other - and my glass of house white wine stayed safely upright.

I was dining in an antique Pullman carriage standing in sidings near Shipton-by-Beningbrough, and it wasn't going anywhere. It was part of The Sidings Hotel And Restaurant, which opened 20 years ago.

I've occasionally caught glimpses of this establishment while whizzing past on the GNER train to Edinburgh, and been intrigued. I therefore jumped at the chance when I was asked to check it out following a recent change of ownership and a major refurbishment.

And it really was a quite fascinating experience - and certainly one which any train enthusiast should try at least once. For a start, it's right alongside the East Coast Main Line, and every so often a passenger train hurtles past in a flash, just a few yards from your window. Heavy goods wagons also rumble by occasionally, causing a distinct vibration throughout the carriage. There's railway memorabilia everywhere, the hotel reception desk looks like a station ticket office and, in the dining carriage, you walk down the aisle for all the world as if you're about to get the 8.15 to London, albeit having first travelled back half a century.

The Sidings, which has been taken over by brothers Sotiris and Nicos Monoyiou, reopened at the end of June after the first phase of a refurb, but will be officially launched on September 21.

I couldn't compare the restaurant with its previous state, but a nearby diner told me it looked a lot smarter, with new carpets, more comfortable seats and so on, and a brand new bar area near the entrance.

The word about the refit may not have yet got around fully as, when I rang beforehand to book a table, I was told I wouldn't need to, even on a Saturday night.

The railway theme of The Sidings goes right down to the menu, in which each dish had been given an appropriately trainy name (although it took dozy old me a couple of minutes before I cottoned on to this!).

For starters, my wife chose Blue Bell, which was actually dressed Whitby crab with lemon and mixed leaves, for £5.75, while I opted for Evening Star, parcels of parma ham with smoked mozzarella cheese, slow-roasted tomatoes and spinach, for £4.90.

The crab came in a crab shell and with a couple of slightly off-putting crab legs, but tasted fine enough, although we both agreed my starter had the edge for lip-smacking tastiness, the ham perfectly complementing the cheese and tomatoes. A very good start.

For the main courses, the railway theme continued. My wife chose Kodama, duck breast with garlic roasted parsnips and red currant jus, for £13.95, while I settled on Riviera Limited, chicken breast in goats' cheese, wrapped in parma ham, for £12.75.

The Kodama was our first and only disappointment of the evening. There was plenty of succulent breast, but it was pinker inside than we'd have liked, and we had never asked for it to be rare. Nor had there been any mention in the menu of the powerful herby coating on the meat, which tasted to us like fennel, not something either of us are that keen on. On querying matters with the pleasant waitress, we were told it was "Chinese five spices," which left us none the wiser.

By contrast, we both agreed my Riviera was gorgeous, a great combination of flavours. Both dishes were served with new potatoes and fresh vegetables such as broccoli, carrot and cauliflower.

By now, we had little room left for anything else, but I decided I could manage to squeeze in some Scandinavian iced berries, (including raspberries, blackberries and cherries) served with several flavours of ice cream, for £5.25. They weren't just icy, they were very frozen, but they made a nice sharp and sweet contrast with the slightly salty aftertaste from the rest of the meal.

The total bill came in at £47.65, which I felt was not bad value for quite a memorable and enjoyable evening out.

In fact, I must remember to recommend the Sidings to my brother-in-law the next time he is in the area. He's train mad and I think it would be just the ticket.

The Sidings Hotel And Restaurant, Station Lane, Shipton-by-Beningbrough. Phone: 01904 470221.

Mike Laycock visited on Saturday, August 19, 2006

Fact file:

Food: mostly delicious
Service: good
Value: not bad
Ambience: first class travel
Disabled access: No