Loch Fyne Restaurant, Fossgate, York

IT'S only been open a month, but when we tried to book a table for two at York's newest restaurant we were told we could come at 6pm. On a Wednesday.

Loch Fyne Restaurant is open all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is already proving a winning catch with York's diners.

Perhaps it's the name that's the attraction. Loch Fyne is a well established brand with more than 20 restaurants across the country, including one in Harrogate.

Then there's the building. It's not every day a York landmark is resurrected, which is just what the owners of Loch Fyne have done by turning the dusty old Stubbs ironmongers on the river at the foot of Fossgate into a gleaming modern restaurant.

It's worth the visit just to sit in the fabulous dining room, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river and street outside.

Pity, then, that when we arrived at six on the dot, we were shown to a smaller dining area at the back of the restaurant where the view over to the Merchant Adventurer's Hall and Piccadilly was dulled by the filthy windows.

Annoyingly, when we left at 7.30pm, there were only another two or three tables of diners in the main restaurant.

Happily, our evening was rescued by our charming waiter - AJ. He was young, but had an inner confidence and charm which put us at ease. He talked us through the menu, helping us with our selections. There is quite a choice, with something to suit most budgets, but not much for anyone who doesn't like fish or seafood (but why come in that case?).

There are oysters (try one for £1.50, six for £7.95, or a dozen for £13.95); shellfish platters featuring crab, lobster, langoustines, mussels, scallops and the like (£29.92-£39.95); mussels (£5.95 and £9.95) as well as various smoked salmons (from £6.95).

Kippers (£6.95), lobster bisque (£5.95) and mackerel paté (£4.95) are some of the starter choices.

Main courses range from fish stew with chorizo and olives (£11.95) to char-grilled Scottish halibut with tomato, olive and caper salsa (£17.95) and Bradan Rost (kiln-roasted salmon) with whisky and wild mushroom sauce (£9.95).

To begin, my husband Nick ordered the lobster soup and I chose moules marinieres (£5.95). AJ brought us a basket of bread and butter, a jug of tap water and two glasses of the house white, an acceptable sauvignon blanc (£3.25 a glass).

Nick's soup was delicious: thick and golden with a rich, creamy taste and deep fishy flavour. It is served with croutons and little dishes of garlic mayonnaise and shavings of parmesan. The idea is to stack the mayo and cheese on to the crouton and let it sink into the soup. It is a heavenly experience and Nick wished he'd been given more croutons.

My mussels were a more down-to-earth affair; a mix of small to medium-sized moules in a thin sauce flavoured with white wine and garlic. Passable, but not the best I've had (that honour goes to Meltons Too many moons back).

For seconds, Nick had poached smoked haddock with mash, spinach, pea and wholegrain mustard sauce (£9.95). It was a towering helping with two meaty pieces of smoke-kissed fillets tottering on a heap of perfect mash. The sauce was just the right consistency and the mustard did the job of enhancing rather than enveloping all the flavours. Very good.

I chose the fillets of bream with olive oil mash and watercress pesto (£12.95). It was a fish I'd never eaten before and AJ said it was a bit like cod. In reality, it was more like seabass, with thin, quite delicate fillets. It was nicely pan-fried and the mash was oozingly soft, but the watercress pesto was pretty tasteless and the plainness of the dish demanded a more robust accompaniment. We also ordered extra vegetables, oven roasted turnip (a first for me and absolutely fantastic), roasted carrot and red onion (£2.25).

We were full, but decided to share a pudding. After such a bland main course, my taste buds were crying out for some action, so I chose lemon cheesecake (£4.95).

It was of the old-fashioned variety, a mousse-like topping with a crumbly biscuit base. Its slightly sour taste, along with its look, colour and texture reminded me of the packet cheesecakes I used to make as a kid in the 1970s. I enjoyed it in a weirdly nostalgic way, although I don't think it would win any culinary awards.

Unfortunately for Loch Fyne, just two weeks earlier I'd managed to get myself a table at J Baker's Bistro Moderne, a short walk away at the top of Fossgate, and sampled its three-course evening menu for £25 a head. It was sensational. The best food I've had in York (and the service, ambience and wine list is exceptional too - especially the excellent house champagne at under £25 a bottle).

With that in mind, Loch Fyne - where we paid £48.50 for our meal - rates as rather mediocre on my gastrometer as well as my value-ometer.

No doubt it's a fabulous setting, with a decent menu, but the food lacked that wow factor which would have me fall for it hook, line and sinker.

Loch Fyne Restaurant, Fossgate, York. Tel: 01904 650910 Maxine visited on Wednesday, December 13, 2006.

Fact file

Food: DecentService: CharmingValue: OKAmbience: LonelyDisabled access: No