REVIEW: Gusto, Little Stonegate, York

YOU'VE probably noticed that York shops are being swallowed up by restaurants and bars, with practically a new place opening up by the week.

Gusto is one of the new names tempting our tastebuds and emptying our wallets.

Situated in the former Dining Warehouse of Mulberry Hall in Little Stonegate, it is bang in the heart of The Quarter, one of the city's lively nighttime areas.

There are plenty of eateries nearby too, so Gusto will have lots of competition which is always a good thing for a restaurant.

Like many of the new names in the city, this is a chain. The food is "contemporary Italian" explained the waiter, although there wasn't much obvious Italian fare on our special-offer lunchtime menu, with two courses priced at £12.95 or three for £14.95.

I was dining with an old friend, Janet, and we cordially divvied up the menu between us. From the starters, she chose the Toma Cheese Bastoni, described as Italian cheese coated in polenta and panko crumbs and lightly fried, while I opted for the pea and mint soup, forgoing the extra topping of pancetta (£1 extra). The other choices included chicken liver pate, sun-dried tomato houmous, and a red apple and blue cheese salad.

GREAT START: Toma Cheese Bastoni, like "posh cheese on toast"

It was a great beginning. Janet described her dish as "posh cheese on toast"; the fingers of slightly sweet and just-softening cheese nicely crisped up by the golden outer shell. My soup was a delight to the eye: lurid green with a swirl of creme fraiche on top. It was piping hot, but under-seasoned. But with a few shakes of salt and pepper this was easily remedied. Thick without being stodgy, it was sweet with just a hint of the clean taste of mint as an undercurrent.

There were seven choices for main courses ranging from the elegant sounding pan fried fillets of seabass with wilted creamed spinach (baked rosemary and garlic potatoes £1 extra) to oven-baked macaroni and cheese, haddock fishcakes, and a cheese and ham fried sandwich or an open sandwich with chicken and avocado.

Janet picked the smoked salmon Caesar salad and I fancied the Gusto burger, opting to pay £1 extra for a pancetta topping. Both came with fries, although I agreed to pay 50p more for truffle fries, which basically had a mushroom seasoning and proved to be very moreish and worth it.

When the dishes arrived, again, they looked appetising. Janet dived in, pleased with her choice which amounted to strands of smoked salmon ruffled through iceberg lettuce and dressed in a tangy Caesar dressing, all crammed into a flatbread pocket.

After nibbling on my fries, I decided to tackle my burger which looked like a mountain to be conquered. Alas, at the first bite, my heart sank. I was expecting the meat to be succulent and oozing flavour. Instead it was hard and dried out and as appetising as an old boot.

I expressed my disappointment to the waiter who apologised and offered me another dish (we were later told another customer had complained about the burger and they were going to mention it to their supplier. My reply was: why not make your own in house?). Still hungry, I plumped for the seabass and was glad I did. This time, the dish was perfectly cooked: the sweet, delicate white meat peeling away from the skin effortlessly. If there was one gripe, the menu says "fillets" of seabass but I only received one. I did order the rosemary potatoes, and would recommend them too, they were very good, if a tad salty.

Feeling quite full, we decided to share a pudding. Of the four choices only two were real contenders: the banoffee pie and the dark chocolate mousse with orange Chantilly cream were the heavyweights of the dessert menu, (no offence, but the lemon sorbet and doughnuts with chocolate sauce seemed lightweight in comparison).

PERFECTLY COOKED: The pan fried seabass

We settled for the mousse, won over by the promise of bitter dark chocolate and tangy orange cream, a classic flavour combo if ever there was one. So we were surprised when the bowl arrived and simply looked the wrong colour. The topping was the shade of a caffe latte and the mousse underneath a slightly deeper coffee colour. As we dug in, we could discern cappuccino flavours, but no dark chocolate and certainly no orange.

We pointed out our observation to the waiter. Moments later, she returned to tell us the chef had made the wrong dessert. Not only that, they were going to make a whole batch again, this time to spec and definitely with an orange cream topping.

Aware we'd already complained about the inedible burger, she told us there would be no charge for that, nor the seabass. As a further good will gesture, she gave us vouchers to claim 20 per cent off our next visit.

So would we go back?

Well we agreed we probably would. We liked the ambience: the tables are screened off in sections, creating an intimate feel even during the day. And apart from the horrible burger, the rest of our food was tasty. We also thought the lunchtime menu was good value, and we liked the way the staff handled our complaints, rescuing what could have been a disappointing experience.

Oh, and one more thing, we still want to try that chocolate mousse.

Fact file

Gusto, 2-4 Little Stonegate, York

T: 01904 731667

W: gustorestaurants.uk.com

Food: Tasty 3.5/5

Service: Very good 4/5

Ambience: Relaxing 4/5

Value: Very good 4/5