JULIAN COLE is surprised by what he finds tucked away at the back of a York department store.

IT'S not the most obvious place for a restaurant. Through cosmetics, up the escalator by women's wear, through furnishings and aim for the beds. At the furthest bed, the big, squashy one displaying a 'do not sit' sign, look ahead and you will see one of York's newest restaurants.

There is something almost surreal about Rhodes, which is where the carpets used to be in Browns of York. The carpets have been moved and in their place there is now a stylish caf-restaurant.

This establishment wouldn't look out of place on a chic street somewhere.

The name has nothing to do with the sugar-spiked TV chef Gary, but is instead a throwback to the shop's original name of Rhodes Brown. The restaurant is smartly decorated, with framed prints on the walls and neat modern furniture. It is on two levels, with the lower eating area leading on to the kitchen.

Unthreatening soul music played as the grey-clad staff welcomed us. Now let's say this straightaway, the staff are efficient and very friendly, and their presence eases matters along nicely.

The menu runs from all-day breakfast, through soups and sandwiches to main meals and salads (and not forgetting the sweets and pastries, to which we will return). Scanning the menu, I dithered between one of the gourmet sandwiches - smoked salmon, brie and avocado - and the salmon fishcakes. For the record, I did not dither anywhere near the smoked bacon and marmalade sandwich. Gina went pretty unerringly for the Nicoise salad (£5.75). I settled on the fishcakes (£5.35).

We ordered coffees, two large cappuccinos at £1.65 each. These arrived quickly, with foamy milk hiding reasonably strong coffee, and helped revive shop-weary legs. The food came quickly too, and such swiftness is important at lunchtime, where a tardy meal can come too late to be enjoyed.

The fishcakes erred reassuringly on the enormous side, towering above a small pile of water cress salad and a pool of hollandaise sauce. The fishcakes were piping hot, nicely flavoured with dill - though more of the herb wouldn't have gone amiss - and contained a fair amount of salmon. Tasty, filling and aimed right at that lunchtime spot.

Gina enjoyed her salad of tuna, olives, tomatoes, eggs, capers and green beans, with which she could find no fault. She also couldn't find any anchovies, which surprised her - but these salty little fish weren't mentioned in the menu description, to be fair.

Should you eat in Rhodes, do not miss the puddings. These are all prepared in the kitchen, so none of those all-too prevalent bought-in puddings thank heavens. If you eat on a Monday, as we did, everything will be freshly baked. The chef proudly showed us his morning's work, from which we chose two beauties. A spiced apple pie for me, and a Bakewell tart with apricots for Gina. Both of these were delightful and certainly tasted home-baked. Sweets are priced from £2.95.

Rhodes offers a reduced menu on Sundays.

The bill for a very pleasing Monday meal came to £20.30, which didn't seem bad. We kept a clear-head because it was lunchtime, but Rhodes does offer a range of wines and beers.

Should you indulge a little, on no account sit on that bed on the way out.

Rhodes cafe-restaurant, Browns, Davygate, York. Tel: 01904 611166.