GOING on a friend's recommendation to a restaurant can be a hit-and-miss affair. The first time I booked at York bistro Four High Petergate, I was relying on just that - and, as it happens, my faith was totally justified with a superb night out and the friendship is still going strong.

Two years on, and I went back to the same restaurant with my reviewer's hat on and different company.

A lot can change in two years and at Four High Petergate that includes the recent introduction of a new kitchen team, with head chef David Pawelec and sous chef Stephen Carr taking over the ropes.

I went back to the 18th century town-house bistro this time with a friend, also called Haydn, to sample its delights once more.

Tucked away as it is in the shadow of Bootham Bar, it might be easy to miss this little gem of an eatery, because as size goes it isn't palatial.

Its charms lie in the intimacy of the venue and, once inside, you are greeted by a warm, plush interior which is tastefully decorated and very welcoming.

It is perfectly placed to catch passing trade, sitting as it does on the entrance to High Petergate, and for us it was only a short walk from home.

For people coming into the centre by car or bus, there are bus stops at nearby St Leonard's Place and car parks in Bootham and Union Terrace.

Having been shown to our table, we quickly set about the menu as we both have good appetites and were looking forward to tucking in after a hard day's work.

We were in the mood for wine and took a look down the wine list and selected a glass of the Heartland Estate Shiraz (£5.65) for Haydn and a glass of the Chablis Domaine Dampt (£5.50) for me.

The bistro offers a good range of daily specials and on our visit the choice included starters of tomato and basil soup (£5), deep-fried spiced whitebait (£6.50) or cooked mussels (£6), with pork cheeks and black pudding (£14) or monkfish served with pak choi (£15.50) for main courses.

Being a huge fan of fish, the whitebait with tomato and coriander salsa was enough to tempt me to order.

Meanwhile, friend Haydn plumped for breast of wood pigeon (£6.50) from the main menu.

I don't know if it's something in the name, but neither us are great mathematicians. That said, it didn't take us long to realise that sticking to our £50 budget for three courses and drink was going to be a toughie.

Still, we didn't have long to wait for our starters to arrive and I tucked into my fish, while Haydn made short work of his pigeon.

The whitebait was plentiful and was complemented by a tomato and onion salsa, which was just a little on the sharp side, but otherwise excellently cooked and full of flavour.

Haydn's pigeon came with black pudding, pear puree and a port reduction. The bird was succulent and well-matched with the fruity accompaniments, although he would have liked a bit more of the port sauce.

After a brief pause between courses, we went on to a main of breast and Ballontine of guinea fowl (£15) for the other Haydn, and slow-roast belly pork for me (£14.50).

My pork came served with apple and shallot compot, sage jus and pomme anna - thinly sliced lightly cooked potatoes.

The pork was so tender it barely needed a knife to get through it and the potatoes were a revelation.

Speaking as someone who thinks potatoes can be the most boring food on earth, I found them cooked to perfection in a really interesting way.

Haydn's guinea fowl was served with sage and onion rosti, baby spinach and a cafe au lait sauce.

The fowl was beautifully cooked and balanced on top of the rosti.

The sauce, however, was mistaken for ordinary gravy and only afterwards did we realise it was supposed to have had something of coffee about it.

When it came to the pudding selection we were spoilt for choice, but after much deliberation I went for chocolate fondant with griottine cherries and Chantilly cream (£6), while Haydn had vanilla panacotta with roasted figs (£6).

The bill came in at a budget-busting £65.65, but it was well worth it. The food was first rate and although the wine could have been cheaper, the overall quality of the meal could not be contested. I think in future it will be me who does the recommending!

Four High Petergate Hotel and Bistro, High Petergate, York. Tel 01904 658516.

Haydn visited on March 8, 2007.

fact file

Food: excellentService: very goodValue: goodAmbience: intimateDisabled access: NO