Wildes Wine Bar, Grape Lane, York

It pays to keep your eyes open and scour newspapers and magazines. We spotted an advert for a lunch offer (Sunday to Friday) at £4.50 per person. So armed with the newspaper cutting, we arrived at Wildes.

The offer was for a brown bread sandwich with mixed leaves and a garnish of fries plus the choice of a glass of house wine, half a pint of John Smith’s or Kronenberg, soft drink, tea or coffee.

Negotiating a steep step at the door, we secured a corner table to be told by a departing customer “the sandwiches are fabulous”.

That was recommendation enough. The problem was which filling to choose. They included cheese with pickle, beef with onion, roast chicken with mayo and tuna with cucumber.

Ann selected prawn and Marie Rose sauce while ham and brie was to be my choice. We each requested tea to drink. The drinks arrived promptly. A mug each with tea bag plus a jug of what tasted like full-cream milk.

We watched plates emerging from the kitchen and drooled while listening to background music played at just the right level so as not to interfere with conversation.

Our plates arrived. Two sandwiches, each over one-and-a-half inches thick, held together by a wooden skewer topped by a cherry tomato. It reminded us of a lollipop.

The bread was soft, as were most of the crusts. There was just enough sauce on the prawns to prevent the bread becoming soggy. For my part, the ham, off the bone, and brie couldn’t have been bettered. There were enough chips, nicely dry to complement the sandwich.

There was a more extensive menu, but not at budget prices. Sandwiches, potato melts (£4.95), nachos grande (£7.95), salads (£7.95-£8.95) and a pitta bread selection (£7.45) are examples. Vegetarians are catered for including a cheese and mushroom burger (£7.50) and a five-bean chilli (£7.25).

We were delighted to learn our voucher was valid until March 31 and could be used as often as we liked. At £4.50 per head, this offer will be hard to beat.