Frankie & Bennys, Foss Islands, York

We decided to give the American-Italian diner on Foss Islands Road the once-over as an easy, lazy Sunday dinner option.

We went at 5pm to fit in with our two-year-old son’s usual meal time and the car park was already half full and plenty of diners were relaxing inside.

The interior is American-style with cozy booths, overhead fans and ambient lighting. There is an open-plan kitchen along one side of the restaurant, with a bar on the opposite side.

I was struck by how family friendly the place was. The easy-listening background music was loud enough to dim any noise from excited young diners, there were baby changing facilities in the disabled toilet and children were offered balloons.

The children’s menu itself was also appealing with a selection of dishes for all tastes. I was quicky falling into the “love it” category.

We chose the crispy-coated chicken breast strips with fries and a pot of tomato ketchup for Miles along with the optional free side dish of vegetables.

He munched through the chips and took a few bites of the chicken which were decent, quality pieces. The carrots, broccoli and cauliflower appeared to have been cooked from frozen and looked dry but Miles ate most of the broccoli and some cauliflower.

For starters, I went for the tomato and basil soup of the day (£2.95). It was a dark, rich colour and had a distinct flavour with a nice flash of basil to round off the taste, served with toasted ciabatta.

Gary had garlic bread (£3.35) which was a pizza-style bread and a bit too doughy. It might have benefited from slightly longer in the oven but the boys devoured it without complaint.

I had my eye on the dessert menu so didn’t want anything too heavy for my main. After much deliberation, I chose the “tender salmon, fresh red pepper and mozzarella cheese fishcakes” from the specials section (£9.45), served on a bed of mixed leaves which sounded like a fresh, healthy, tasty dish.

This came with a choice of fries, a jacket or herb potatoes which our waiter described as “seasoned” rather than using any particular herb.

However, I was very disappointed when the dish arrived and my fledgling love affair with the chain restaurant waned rapidly.

The “bed of salad” consisted of an unappetising garnish of limp, dry mixed leaves on the side without any dressing to spruce it up except a small paper pot of tartare sauce.

The “herb potatoes” were also a major let down.

Far from being the freshly cooked new potatoes I’d expected, they were small cubes of potatoes, coated in indistinct flecks of green seasoning which seemed to have been cooked in a fryer, making them no healthier than the fries option. I left most of them.

The fish cakes were two piping-hot, uniform-round, flat cakes, which also appeared to have been deep fried and could have come straight out of a packet from any supermarket.

The coating was so thick I cut most of it off. The filling, to its credit, was fairly decent with a strong taste of salmon and I could certainly see pink flakes of fish – although not enough to warrant the price tag or a place among the specials.

There were also small token pieces of red pepper and an abundance of hot, gooey mozzarella.

Of the dishes I saw being served to other diners, the pizzas looked as good as anywhere else and the range of pasta dishes was also varied. Perhaps I was just unlucky with my choice.

Gary chose the F&B Black Pepper Mayo Burger (£8.95), a Cajun spiced burger with grilled bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and dill, topped with a black pepper mayonnaise sauce.

It was a man-size burger topped with a decent slice of bacon but a modest portion of fries. The meat was solid, but slightly overcooked while the black pepper was visible in the dressing but difficult to taste. A side salad garnish would have helped to lighten the rather stodgy load.

To round off, we had a dessert each. I went for Cinnamon Waffle Crunch (£3.75) with a sticky, super-sweet toffee sauce and a generous sprinkling of crunchy toffee bits. The best part was the deliciously creamy vanilla ice-cream.

Gary chose the brownies and ice-cream (£3.95) topped with chocolate sauce. He found the brownies too sweet but agreed the ice-cream was delicious. For Miles, we chose the fruit sauce which came in a little bowl including pieces of apple and orange among other fruit (included in the £3.95 child’s menu price).

With a pint of Estrella and a diet coke, our bill just topped £40. Not bad considering the hearty fare and very friendly service, but neither of us was enamoured with the experience and agreed we wouldn’t be returning, no matter how much Miles had enjoyed himself.

•Frankie & Bennys, Foss Islands Retail Park, Foss Islands Road, York. Tel: 01904 678760.

•Nadia Jefferson-Brown visited on February 22, 2009.