Maxine Gordon makes tracks for a lunch date at the Blue Bicycle.

IT'S long been hailed as one of York's best eating-out spots, but much has changed since the Blue Bicycle, in Fossgate, ruled the city's restaurant roost.

For starters, it now faces much more competition from fine-dining establishments elsewhere in the city - not least a handful on its own doorstep.

Then, last year, head chef Kenny Noble left to open his own restaurant, Ate O'Clock in High Ousegate.

With Michelin-starred chef Jeff Baker opening a bistro at the top of Fossgate and work beginning on transforming the Stubbs building at the foot of the street into a Loch Fyne seafood restaurant, it was time to see if the BB could still make the pace.

Fortunately, the signs were promising.

Friends had been for dinner only days before my visit and told us that the food was delicious, but expensive.

Not sure the Evening Press budget could support a dinner at the BB, I decided to go for lunch and try its "lighter bites" menu, which offers dishes for around £6.

The meals are starter sizes, but you can bulk them up with a side portion of chips, veggies or salads - a bonus is that you will still have room for a BB pudding, not to be missed under any circumstances.

When we arrived at 12.30 on a Tuesday afternoon, the restaurant was empty, but had a pleasant buzz about it by the time we left at 2pm.

Specials chalked up on a board included potato and spinach soup, anchovy and brie salad with leek vinaigrette for starters, Cajun fish stew and red snapper.

However, my lunch date, Kildip, and me stuck to the simpler menu, picking asparagus sun-dried tomato and goats cheese tart (£6) and fish tempura with rocket salad (£6.50) and a side order of chips and garlic mayonnaise (£2.25).

We sipped ice-cold white wine spritzers and gossiped until our dishes arrived.

Kildip's tart was a small rectangle of puff pastry on a bed of lettuce leaves. It was wonderful: the pastry crisp and light, the filling a happy marriage of sweet and savoury.

We played "guess the fish" with my tempura: three fish finger-sized pieces coated in a delicate batter. The first piece was meaty and slightly rubbery: monkfish or cod, we reckoned. The second was soft and extremely moist: sea bass. The third was easy: it was pink! We asked the waiter for the answers and were pleased to discover we were not far off the money: cod, sea bass and salmon.

We were glad we had ordered the chips; they were delicious and made lunch more substantial. Also, the tempura benefited from some of the mayo dip.

We cleared our plates and ordered desserts.

From a roll call of six, three vied for our attention: sticky toffee pudding, banana tarte tatin with banana ice-cream, or chocolate brownies with homemade marshmallows.

After quizzing the staff on their preferences we ordered the first two.

Kildip's STP was not for the faint hearted; it was a large square of stodgy gorgeousness, smothered in toffee sauce. It was the sort of pudding to finish you off.

My tarte tatin was the lighter option, without compromising on deliciousness. The thin pastry was crescent shaped, providing a nest for the banana which had dissolved into gooey loveliness in the oven. It was coated with a rum-and-raisin syrup and served with a scoop of excellent banana ice cream.

With two caffe lattes our bill was just shy of £50 - which seems a lot, but four wines and soda cost us a whopping £17!

There was also a service charge of £4.98 added, which we thought rather cheeky - and greedy - particularly when we were also asked for a gratuity when we settled the bill.

However, at the Blue Bicycle you are paying a premium for quality food and an unrivalled atmosphere.

Everything is homemade, from the bread to the pastry. The fish, we were told, is from a fishmongers in Heworth, York, and the menu is changed regularly.

The kitchen seems to be running smoothly in Kenny Noble's absence - which perhaps is not surprising considering his second-in-command, Simon Hurst, is now in charge.

So if you are planning a special occasion or just feel you deserve a really nice treat, beat a path to the BB.

Go on, you're worth it.

Maxine visited on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 Blue Bicycle, 34 Fossgate, York.

Tel 01904 673990 Food: delicious Service: good Value: expensive Ambience: intimate Disabled access: No