NEWS of the refurbished caf and shops complex at Castle Howard was enough to send us out into Ryedale on a gorgeous autumn afternoon.

Car parking is free. Access to toilets, separate farm, gift and chocolate shops is possible without paying the House entrance fee.

The caf has an automatic door giving excellent access for wheelchairs.

We were wrong in our assumption that this was a self-service caf. Although we had picked up a menu at the entrance, it was ten minutes before one of the staff of four came to take our order.

One glance at the prices suggested this is no place to bring a hungry family.

It was about 3pm. Should we have afternoon tea? At £11 per head - no thanks. A cream tea then - £6 seemed a bit much.

Sandwiches, Castle Howard Aberdeen Angus, smoked salmon or Wensleydale ploughman's were priced at £5-£6. Ladies at an adjoining table commented on the thickness; two to three inches at a guess. They ended up by eating their order as open sandwiches.

The cheapest main dish (£6.50) was pork pie with beetroot and horseradish relish, rocket and endive salad.

And so to our order. For Ann, chicken and fresh tarragon soup with bread (£4.50). For me, a fat rascal (£2) and tea £1.50. My choice came first. Ann's followed after a short delay.

The soup was hot and flavoursome, the bread fresh. The rascal was crumbly as I expected. However...for Ann no serviette, no knife, no separate plate for the bread and no butter. For me, no milk, no sugar and no hot water. Repeated requests eventually produced more or less all we required.

We observed two male snackers foraging for forks to allow their female companions to tackle substantial slabs of gateau.

Sadly we were not impressed with hygiene. One waitress licked her fingers; another rubbed her nose with her hand. And there were uncovered cakes at the counter where customers paid.

Although the seats were comfortable our round table rocked.

All in all, with the surroundings and prices charged, this venue struck us as having pretensions and failing. The experience was a disappointment.

Updated: 16:25 Friday, November 12, 2004