Dusk, New Street, York

Ah, it's seen a fair few customers come and go, this little wonky building tucked in between the exotic conservatory of the Blue Fly caf and a couple of non-descript offices in New Street.

Once there was Bond's bistro, which had a lot of dark green and occasionally featured jazz musicians if I remember rightly, then came Traubert's, named after Tom Waits' song, Tom Traubert's blues.

Of course it's better known as the Aussie anthem Waltzing Matilda and sure enough, Traubert's waltzed off again after barely a year's service.

Now we have Dusk. All moody interiors, funky metal work and mis-matched furniture. It hasn't got the musical hook, but perhaps it will be able to get those customers coming, and then coming again.

Owner Andy Knights is already on the record as setting out to create the kind of place he would like to hang out in. Well, I have to hand it to him, this is a great set up that certainly echoes some of the cosy Leeds watering holes he aspires to.

There are two floors of tables and a teeny tiny terrace that must be vying for a "smallest of" award like the paddling pool-sized beer garden at the Three-legged Mare.

Upstairs is light and open with plenty of space to stretch out - perhaps somewhere to hire out for a private party, if you don't mind people passing by to use the loos.

Downstairs is where the real business goes on. It's dark and brooding, with a cool slate floor and mellow tunes wafting over the trendy types at the bar.

There's table service for all but we chose to loiter at the bar for a drink - and check out the clientele. We ordered two gin and tonics, and I was grateful for the alcohol when I learned they would set us back £9.20. That must be the Leeds thing.

Catherine grabbed a menu and we looked at what was on offer. Soup, sandwiches, burgers, mains, salad bowls, sides and puddings was the answer.

But being the sort of people who are often caught with our faces pressed against the cold counter glass at Sainsbury's, we thought the deli board was just the thing to get us started.

The concept is simple and appealing, but probably a better bet for a casual lunch. It's £2.50 for breads, oil and balsamic vinegar which you then pile on extras.

A mere £1.50 buys you the likes of ham, chorizo, jerk chicken and salmon teriyaki, while £1 will bring various cheeses, vegetable dishes and marinated things as well as houmous and salsa - you get the idea.

We spent £8 on parma ham, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and white anchovies and there was plenty. The bread was particularly fresh and tasty.

In fact we probably overdid it a bit.

While waiting for our main dishes, a lamb shank in chilli sauce for me (£7.50) and risotto of the day for her (£6.95), we had some wine.

Also on display were penne pasta with olives and artichoke (£7.50), Masham sausages with mash and gravy (£6.95) and chargrilled steak with sides (£8.95).

The salad bowls looked good too with a classic Caesar with Jamaican jerk chicken (£5.50), top of my list for our next visit. The steak, roasted beetroot, parsnips and balsamic shallots (£7.95) looked good too, but does that still qualify as a salad?

Anyway back to us. The lamb shank was OK. More of that bread was tucked in around it and the chilli sauce was plentiful and packed quite a punch. I would have liked something green hanging around.

The stilton and basil risotto was less appealing and perhaps a bit dry, said Catherine. So I gave her some chilli sauce. Probably not what the chef intended.

Just for the sake of the review rather than our bulging stomachs we ordered apple pie with thick cream (£3.95), but it wasn't much cop and the cream was less than thick.

All in, the food bill came to £26.40 with a further £14 spent on booze. That's £40.40, which we thought was a fair deal for a meal in very pleasant surroundings.

Will we be among those customers coming and then coming back again?

Probably, but I think we'll stick to a few drinks and a snack. There's a few things on that deli board we haven't tried yet.

Dusk, New Street, York 01904 634851

Chris Greenwood visited Dusk on Saturday, January 15, 2005.

Food: middling

Service: friendly

Value: reasonable

Ambience: trendy

Disabled access: No

Updated: 08:39 Saturday, January 22, 2005