YORK'S high street may be struggling. But the city's restaurant scene has probably never had such a buzz.

The likes of Roots and Skosh may or may not be your thing. But they have drawn national attention (by which we mean reviews in London-based newspapers) to York's eating out scene. And just this week, Harden's Best UK Restaurants Guide included York in its top ten destinations for diners for the first time.

Despite its rise up the foodie rankings, one thing York hasn't had up until now is a Vietnamese restaurant.

Step forward the Coto Kitchen in Swinegate.This was opened by 37-year-old Anh Dao earlier this year. Anh, who grew up in Hanoi in northern Vietnam, moved to the UK with her husband 13 year ago. She quickly fell in love with York which, she said in a Press interview in October, reminds her of home: particularly the old quarter of Hanoi, with its 'tiny, twisty streets'. But she recognised a gap in the city's food scene - and decided to fill it.

On its Facebook page, the Coto Kitchen says that Vietnamese cuisine 'combines the best of oriental cooking methods and... French-colonial flavours.'

Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, and fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables. All of that will be familiar from your favourite Chinese restaurant. But a bit of research (OK, a quick look at Google) revealed that many Vietnamese recipes also use lemongrass, lime, Thai basil leaves, bird's eye chilli, and 'Saigon cinnamon'.

It all sounded exotically different. So my Chinese wife Lili and I turned up for lunch with a Chinese friend, Guanyu, not quite knowing what to expect.

From the outside, Coto is neat, unpretentious yet somehow welcoming. Inside, the walls are decorated with bright murals - including a street scene from the former port town of Hoi An. We immediately felt at home

The menu is fairly simple: a selection of street bites, mains and 'Coto's specials', plus a 2-course lunch menu for £12.95 per person, which looks great value but sadly wasn't available on Saturday, the day we visited.

I began with the Goi Cuon, or summer rolls, which came stuffed with avocado and served with fresh herbs and a peanut dipping sauce (£5.50). They were a surprise: cold, for a start (well, they were summer rolls, for which read salad rolls) and wrapped in an almost translucent rice flour pastry. But they were enormously tasty - piquant and flavoursome, with hints of lemongrass, lime and other tastes I couldn't identify.

Lili and Guanyu were equally pleased with their starters of Muc Chien (friend squid pieces with salt, pepper and sweet chilli sauce, £6.50) and Banh Xeo (a Vietnamese savoury pancake shaped rather like a Cornish pasty with a beef, beansprout and vegetable filling and served with a nuoc cham dressing of sweet fermented peanut butter sauce, £6.95). "Good!" said Lili of her squid. "Very tasty!" added Guanyu of her pancake.

For mains, being a veggie, I opted for the Com Chay - braised tofu served with fresh salad and herbs, topped with soy sauce, crispy onion and roasted peanut and served with jasmine rice (£9.50). The tofu was excellent: chunks of tender and slightly crispy beancurd, with a wonderful aftertaste of coriander from the herbs. The rice, too, was first rate: sticky and fragrant.

Lili chose the Com Ga Nuong (grilled honey-spiced chicken with tamarind sauce, again served with fresh salad and herbs on a bed of jasmine rice, £8.50) while Guanyu opted for the Com Ca Ri, a chicken coconut curry with jasmine rice (£8.50). Both polished their bowls clean, and their satisfied expressions spoke volumes.

The puddings were a little disappointing. I liked the look of the soy pudding in rich ginger caramel sauce (£3.95) and we also ordered a slice of coconut cake. The cake was so-so - fine, but nothing to write home about. The soy pudding never arrived, however. After waiting for perhaps 20 minutes, we asked what had happened, to be told that it was only served in the evening. Clearly, there had been a mix-up.

The service, while friendly, was a little brisk, too: plates were being cleared away before Guanyu had finished eating her curry.

But these are minor niggles. The food overall was satisfying without being too heavy: sweeter, lighter and more fragrant than Chinese food. Unlike with Chinese food, the mains were served plated up, which meant we couldn't share each-other's dishes, as we would have done in a Chinese restaurant. But presumably that's the way it is done in Vietnam.

The Coto Kitchen is a relaxing, pleasant place in which to eat food that is exotically different and fragrant. And at just £60.50 for a three-course lunch for three people (including a pot of jasmine tea and a coffee for me) its pretty good value, too. I might well be back...