MAXINE GORDON heads for Sunday lunch in Bishopthorpe

IT was because of my in-laws that I ended up ravenous in Bishopthorpe one Sunday a few months back. Foot and mouth was still strangling the countryside, depriving my other half's folks of their regular jaunts across the North York Moors. They had asked me to suggest a walk in York and the only one I knew was the Sustrans cycle route over the racecourse to Bishopthorpe.

It was a pleasant enough stroll (I've since realised a better walk is on the south side of the Ouse all the way to the village), and did the trick in working up a hearty appetite for lunch.

There were several pubs on the main road, but we all liked the look of the Marcia, which appeared to be a no-fuss sort of a place where you were likely to find good home-cooked fare.

Our instincts proved right. In fact the Marcia exceeded all expectations. It had a good sized lounge and bar, but also a large, light and airy conservatory at the back, where we were invited to sit.

We each had the three-course Sunday lunch for under a tenner, and left feeling very full and singing the praises of this great little pub, which would be hard to beat for quality, value and service.

So it was with great expectations that we returned to the Marcia last Sunday.

This time, we were directed to some tables in the bar area and handed the menus. We collected our own drinks from the bar - two pints of excellent Tetleys (£1.80 each), a small glass of white wine (£1.50) and a grapefruit juice with soda (95p).

Because we knew the portions were generous, we decided to pass on the three-course lunch at £9.95.

There was plenty of choice on the menu, including options for vegetarians. Starters featured soup (£2.75), deep-fried brie (£3.50) and spring rolls (£3.25), with Aberdeen Angus sirloin steak (£8.95), vegetarian lasagne (£6.25), roast of the day (£6.50) and beer-battered haddock with chips (£5.75) among the main courses. Desserts cost £2.95 and featured home-made puddings, gateaux and ice creams. Specials were available too.

Three of our party opted for roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings, and I picked the haddock and chips. I also ordered soup of the day - broccoli and stilton - and we picked one other starter, spring rolls with a Chinese dip and salad.

The soup had a good light-green colour and was piping hot, but it was simply too thick and had a bland taste. My spoon almost stood up in it and I only managed a few spoonfuls. The warm French baguette served with a small pot of butter was a nice touch, though.

The spring rolls were much better: crispy on the outside with a soft, savoury filling enhanced by the soy-sauce style dip. The salad was impressive too, with fresh and crisp slices of peppers along with salad leaves, tomato and cucumber.

Soon, our main courses arrived. They looked great: large oval white plates brimming with food.

I helped myself to sachets of ketchup and tartare sauce and tucked into my fish. The batter was excellent, a deep golden colour, very crispy, and risen well away from the fish. The haddock was a bright white colour, but tasted a little tough, as if it had been overcooked a tad. The chips reminded me of the home-made ones my gran used to make: they were irregular in size and a nice browny-gold colour. The peas were bright green and there were plenty of them.

The verdict on the roasts was that the beef was good, but the veggies were a bit disappointing. Each plate had two or three thickly-cut slices of meat, which was very tasty, but the carrots were slightly soft and the broccoli and peas a bit too hard.

The Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes were crisp, but not world beaters. It was filling stuff and we had no room for deserts or coffees.

On the way home, we agreed our lunch had been perfectly adequate, but not as good as four months earlier. What's more, while the staff were friendly and helpful, they had not been as attentive as we would have liked - we had to order and collect our own drinks from the bar and go to the bar to ask for and pay the final bill.

A couple of days later, I telephoned the Marcia's manager Adam Harris and he was surprised at our verdict. He said any customer who was not happy with their meal would be entitled to something else straight away and he added that he welcomed feedback from diners.

He also pointed out Sunday lunch is a busy time and it's worth booking ahead if you want to ensure a table in the conservatory.

The Marcia is a popular venue and, as I can testify, is capable of great food. But next time I take the in-laws to Bishopthorpe, I think we'll give one of the other pubs a try.

Fact file:

Food: variable

Service: friendly

Value:very good

Ambience:pleasant

Disabled access: Yes, but no disabled toilet

Marcia, Main Street, Bishopthorpe.

Tel: 01904 706185

Updated: 09:00 Saturday, March 02, 2002