CURIOUSER and Curiouser. Indeed, anybody visiting Andrew Pern’s Petergate restaurant could be forgiven for thinking they had just gate-crashed the Mad Hatters’ Tea Party.

With low ceilings, crazily sloping floors, bunting and not a single matching chair or table, Mr P’s Curious Tavern certainly has a wondrous air.

You’ll also be grinning like a Cheshire Cat on seeing the eclectic array of quirky artefacts Pern has decorated his eatery with, acquired from car-boot sales, antique shops and ebay and previously stored in his garage at home.

My personal favourites were the Chinese Oriental Bar that dominated the Gin Parlour where we were shown to our table and the porcelain monkey that was trying to escape out of the main window in the same room.

Having made the 2017 Good Food Guide, - one of only nine York restaurants to be bestowed with that honour - the year-old informal establishment also offers the kind of culinary adventure you would expect from the owner of the Michelin-starred and enduringly popular Star Inn.

Housed in the old Georgina’s Tea Rooms’ building, the Tapas-styled menu is creative and original.

A 14-page drinks menu, meanwhile, should also cater for everybody’s preferred tipple.

For fans of the juniper berry, though, we counted 54 different bottles of gin on display, including a dozen flavoured offerings.

Having been greeted by the friendly and smart staff, we were recommended to choose between five to six dishes and, having followed that advice despite an appetite I regard as comfortably above-average, I would have been loosening my belt at least one notch had we ordered more.

With Noughties indie favourites such as Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand providing the soundtrack to our night, as music was played at a subtle volume throughout our two-hour stay, we then made our choices from the menu that was split into six sections - From The Butcher’s Block, Small Plates, Star Inn Hall of Fame, For the Table, Raclette and Pudds.

Small Plates ranged from £7 to £12 in price, while the Butcher’s Block options depended on the size of your cold meat platter, rising from £10 for the cheapest to £22.

Raclette plates were £6 to £8, while the larger For The Table alternatives, which served “two guests amply or four scantily” and included Spiced Chicken, Deer and BBQ Lobster on our visit, were the most-expensive items at £22, £34 and £36 respectively.

The order the dishes are served is decided by the kitchen and our Pigs In Ponchos were the first to arrive.

As the name suggested, the mini sausages wrapped in bacon offered a slightly spicier take on the Yuletide favourite, which proved just as appetising in autumn.

Cranberry sauce, in this instance, was also substituted for Red Pepper Ketchup, which added a really satisfying sweetness to the meat.

Next, our two Raclette choices were brought to the table at the same time.

Deriving from the French verb racler, the cooking method for this Swiss staple involves heating cheese and scraping off the melted part to use in different dishes.

We plumped for Door Stop Brioche with Onion Marmalade and Salt-Baked Scandi Spuds with Ham Scraps.

The brioche saw just the right amount of oozing marmalade layered between a deep wedge of toasted bread and the mouth-watering cheese in essentially another tasty twist on a traditional classic for all cheese-and-toast lovers.

The spuds, meanwhile, were soft and the elasticity of the cheese meant they could easily be wrapped together, along with the ham, for a fork full of flavour.

Our next dish then proved the highlight of the night, served on an amusing chicken-legged stand.

The For the Table options can almost be treated as a main course and the Free Range Nidderdale Tandoori Chicken with Onion Bhajis, Raisins, Peanuts and Mango was faultless.

The chicken was succulent and sensationally seasoned, while the bhaji flakes on top were fragrant and the chopped peanut added a great crunchiness.

Finally, the mango sauce and raisins ensured the sweet-and-savoury theme that seemed to run right through Mr P’s menu was in evidence again.

Perhaps that is why the subsequent dessert choice was slim with, disappointingly, only four options and, in this area, there is certainly room for improvement.

I chose Affogato and while the Espresso infusion in my ice cream was spot on – avoiding being too subtle or over-powering – the traditional one scoop was a little small and the salted caramel was disappointingly a thin swirl rather than in liquid form.

The accompanying small shot of Perdro Ximenez sherry was inspired, though, with all of the elements of the dish once more combining perfectly.

My wife went for Elderberry Rice Pudding with a Hazelnut Whip.

The whip on the top was delightfully fluffy and, for anybody who used to love stirring a dollop of jam into their pudding at school, the elderberry sauce was a real treat.

One criticism, though, was that some grains of rice were undercooked and hard, which was a little unexpected on a night when the curious surprises were largely welcome otherwise.

Mr P’s Curious Tavern, 71 Low Petergate, York, YO1 7HY

mrpscurioustavern.co.uk

01904 521177

Food: Clever 4/5

Ambience: Funky 4/5

Service: Smart 4/5

Value: Good 4/5