SIMON RITCHIE took an enjoyable trip back in time to a new 1950s American-Italian theme restaurant in York

Can I park here? asked a male voice as I stood in the gents toilets at Frankie & Benny's, the new American/Italian restaurant at Clifton Moor, York. Rather surprised by this strange request, I turned around but there was no-one there. A female then started babbling very fast in Italian, followed by the man again who asked me for directions to the campsite. At this point a fellow male diner entered the toilets and gave me a rather funny look. I quickly left.

The voice, I now realised, was a taped recording and I was the victim of the restaurant's rather novel Learn Italian As You Pee Course! It's apparently a feature in all F&B restaurants.

The York branch (previously the Deep Pan Pizza Co) which is next to the Warner cinema complex is the chain's 40th restaurant in the UK. It combines popular American fare with traditional Italian dishes and its style is very much like Planet Hollywood in London.

The walls are crammed with fascinating black and white photographs of 1950s America, many showing Italian-looking men wearing dark suits and black ties which, whether intended or not, give the place a rather Godfather feel!

We dined there on Tuesday night and, thinking it would be fairly quiet, decided not to book. How wrong we were. The place was buzzing.

We were told we would get a table in about ten to 15 minutes, so we sat at the rather stylish and well-stocked bar and sipped a couple of cocktails and listened to a host of 1950s American songs which play continuously throughout the night.

We climbed Blueberry Hill, went over the Blue Moon and wrapped ourselves in Blue Velvet until a table became free.

One nice feature of the restaurant is the Mediterranean-style open kitchen so you can actually see the chefs busy at work!

For starters I went for fried calamari (£3.75), that's squid rings to me and you. These were covered in a light garlic-flavoured batter and came with a tangy Neopolitan sauce. My partner, Jayne, decided to skip starters.

For main course I was spoilt for choice. There is a whole host of pasta dishes, burgers, salads and pizzas - the 15-inch wide pizzas (priced from £7.95 to £9.45) are the biggest I've ever seen.

In the end I chose oven-baked chicken parmigana (£7.95), which consisted of a very tasty tender breast of chicken topped with ham and mozzarella cheese and covered with Neopolitan sauce. I opted for the delicious, diced Italian-style fried potatoes rather than fries.

Jayne went for the ricotta and mushroom pancakes (£6.75) - thin crepes baked in a tomato sauce topped with cream and parmesan cheese. And here lies our only complaint of the evening.

This dish, which was very tasty, should have come with salad and garlic bread, but our waitress, who was rather rushed off her feet on her first night, insisted the meal came with neither. She said Jayne could order a house salad and garlic bread if she wanted, but that would be extra.

A little later we grabbed a menu and were proved right on the salad and garlic bread front. At this point the manageress, Becky Evans, who was previously general manager at Caff Uno in York, came over and asked if everything was okay. We mentioned the discrepancy. She apologised and offered Jayne a dessert on the house.

The sweet menu is fantastic and it's worth leaving a little room for one of the concoctions.

I went for a mouth watering chewy cherry cookie (£3.45) - a tall glass filled with cracked cookie pieces, vanilla icecream, cherries and red cherry sauce topped with whipped cream. It was wonderful.

Jayne, too, was impressed with her chocolate brownie meltdown (£3.45) - a brownie topped with chocolate mousse more brownie chunks and walnuts and covered with very rich and thick toffee and chocolate sauce.

The meal, excluding the cocktails (£3.25 each) but including a couple of other drinks, came to a very reasonable £27.

Frankie & Benny's is fun, fast, friendly and full of atmosphere - and the food's good too. And with hundreds of spaces outside, there's plenty of places to park!

Restaurant: Frankie & Benny's New York Italian Restaurant and Bar

Address: Clifton Moor, York

Telephone: 01904 691261

Reviewed: June 26, 1999

Food: Tasty and plentiful

Value: Main dishes very reasonable, starters a bit steep

Service: Friendly

Ambience: 1950s American/Italian diner. Great atmosphere.