WALKING down Walmgate in 2019, there are seemingly dining destinations competing for your attention at every turn.

With the Corner Grill House, named due to its location on the Merchantgate junctions, its definitely a case of last but not least, though, before you chuck a left to head for Piccadilly or head straight down Fossgate towards the city centre.

In previous incarnations, all now photographed inside, the building has been used an as inn, tea shop and, more recently, housed The Sitting Pig cafe.

Its current owners, though, are making a decent stab at cornering the market for good-quality, reasonably-priced food in a bistro-style setting, complete with blackboards and a jazz-music soundtrack.

Open from 5pm seven days a week, we booked that earliest slot on a bank-holiday Monday and, although we were the first guests, the small venue soon filled up and hopeful drop-in diners were politely turned away with reservations recommended.

The restaurant has eight wooden tables for two, including benched seating and cushions, which makes for a cosy atmosphere, apparently targeting couples rather than families or large groups.

That assumption is further supported by the absence of a children’s menu although, having arrived with our nine-year-old girl, two tables had been pushed together and we were told that the chef would cook something more kid friendly if required.

Our confident and relaxed waiter suggested chicken gougons and chips or pasta in tomato sauce and our daughter really enjoyed the latter but, in terms of portion size, the dish was perhaps marginally over-priced at £7.

The wine list, meanwhile, was fairly small, but included all the standard choices and there were also five different beers and one cider on offer.

For our meal, we opted for the £23.95 three-course set menu (two courses are also available at £19.95), although it did not include a steak main and we would visit again to sample the A La Carte-listed rib-eye or fillet which cost £21.95 and £20.95 respectively but also included a choice of two from ten potato or vegetable-based sides in the prices.

Nevertheless, we found enough variety from our selection of five starters, five mains and three desserts to prevaricate over out eventual choices.

For starters, I decided on pan-fried chilli and garlic king prawns with smoked paprika and fresh parsley.

It was a fairly simple dish, but very tasty, with the fish certainly king-sized and juicy, while the chili and garlic carried just the right kick to avoid being overpowering. The sauce - not too thick or watery - was just the perfect level of consistency, meanwhile, to be mopped up by the lightly-toasted bread.

My wife went for curried Spanish chorizo sausage cooked with red wine and shallots and was equally impressed.

There was again sufficient meat, with the onion thinly sliced and the sauce rich but subtle in its alcohol content.

Other starters available were pate, zucchini and soup of the day.

Moving on to our mains, I was really pleased with the pork medallions, which were served with mashed potatoes, tender-stem broccoli and a wild mushroom sauce.

Despite the three discs of meat being really thick, they were cooked skilfully to avoid any toughness, while the potatoes were creamy, the broccoli a good vegetable choice and the amount of sauce spot on, ensuring there was no dryness without dominating the dish.

My other half also enjoyed her grilled lamb cannon, so much so she polished it off before I had finished my main, which is rare - like the meat, which normally comes served pink.

But, with my wife preferring her lamb cooked for longer, that was checked when she made her order which isn’t sometimes the case, depending on a chef’s pretension levels.

It arrived tender and was symmetrically sliced, fitting in with the professional presentation of all our plates, and was served on a bed of salsa verde and balsamic drizzle with sauteed potatoes, fresh parsley and buttered baby carrots.

Nikki really liked the combination of flavours and thought the use of balsamic oil was particularly inspired.

The other mains were Cajun chicken breast, pan-fried trout and mushroom tagliatelle.

For dessert, my vanilla panna cotta had a good strong flavour and solid consistency, with plenty of tangy fruit compote.

My wife’s sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream was also tastily moist, although our daughter’s observation that the accompanying blueberries made it healthier was debatable!

Food: Very good 4.5/5

Ambience: Cosy 4/5

Service: Professional 4/5

Value: Agreeable 4/5

T: 01904 654201

W: cornergrillhouse.co.uk

Reviews are independent and meals paid for by The Press