Thida Thai,16 George Hudson Street, York.

A LITTLE piece of Thailand is the last thing you expect to uncover on a night out in York's lively drinking and dancing quarter at the junction of George Hudson Street and Micklegate.

But here, nestled among the retro-music and cocktail bars, you will find Thida Thai, one of the city's newest restaurants.

Inside, it's as if Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen had been let loose from Changing Rooms. The walls are deep purple, there are large oval shapes painted mustard and orange descending from the ceiling. These shapes are echoed in the flooring.

The design is east meets west, with the dark wooden furnishings and wood panelling on the walls creating more of an authentic feel. However, there is no getting away from the fact this is a large square room, with little opportunity to create intimacy.

When we arrived shortly after 7pm on a Friday night, only a few tables were occupied.

Our polite waiter took our drinks orders - Singha, a delicious, but strong, Thai beer (£2.60) - and allowed us to study the comprehensive menu.

We munched on a small bowl of prawn crackers which were on the table and decided to share a Thai Cuisine Platter (£6 each) for starters, which featured satay chicken, spring roll, chicken and prawn on toast, fish cake, prawn spring roll and golden parcel with an array of dips.

For our mains, we ordered Pad Khing, chicken and vegetables stir fried with fresh ginger (£6.95) and a chicken Gang Panang, described by the menu as a 'smooth and soft dry red curry in coconut milk with lime leaf flavour' (£6.95). We also chose some Kaow Suay, Thai fragrant plain rice (£2) and Pad Thai, soft rice noodles with chicken topped with peanut (£5).

Most main dishes come in a choice of chicken, pork or beef. The curries are also available with prawn or duck for an extra £1.55.

There was a good selection of vegetarian meals on the menu and also side vegetable dishes and rice and noodles as well as set dinner meals, starting at £16 per person.

Our starters deserved full points for presentation. Each item was skewered on a cocktail stick and laid like sun rays around the plate, which also had a flower intricately carved out of turnip for decoration.

This is a good dish to begin with because it provides a whistle-stop tour through the tastes of Thailand, combining fish, meat and chicken with spicy peanut sauce and delicate, yet fragrant dips. A fine beginning.

Unfortunately, our main courses did not follow suit. My chicken curry looked appetising and the sauce was suitably tangy, with a welcome kick mellowed by the flavour of lime.

However, there were two faults. The first was that it was served on a leaf of lettuce upon a lukewarm plate. The food lost its heat too quickly. Secondly, the chicken had an unpleasant soft texture - almost like tofu - as if it had been boiled rather than fried.

My friend Janet's chicken had a similar texture, and was also served on a tepid plate. Her sauce was bland and it was hard to detect the 'strong taste of stir-fried fresh ginger' which the menu had promised.

However, our rice and the Pad Thai were very good. The noodles were soft and glossy, with a sweet, peanut flavour.

For dessert, we chose banana fritters and ice cream (£2.95) to share and liqueur coffees (£3.75). The banana fritters were very good. The batter had a coconut coating and the banana inside still had a bite.

Our coffees added a decadent touch to the end of the meal, and they had plenty of liqueur and cream in them, so much so that mine was cold and had to be returned to the kitchen. It was soon back at lip-burning temperature.

Our efficient and friendly waiter seemed to be distracted as our meal wore on. Our table wasn't cleared promptly, or cleaned between courses, and we had to ask for our bill.

This is the third Thai restaurant to arrive in the York area. Following my visit, I'd have to conclude although it has made a promising start it has some way to go before it can match its competitors.

Thida Thai,16 George Hudson Street, York. Tel: 01904 625855

Maxine visited on Friday, May 21, 2004

Updated: 10:48 Saturday, June 05, 2004