Bar 38, Coney Street, York

WHEN bosses of popular city watering hole Bar 38 decided to update its menu, they enlisted the help of the people who matter most - customers.

Chefs spent four months researching the snacks and meals for the new menus then got feedback from punters in order to refine the final dishes.

Besides offering run-of-the mill pub grub such as fish and chips, the updated menus promised to tantalise taste buds with some more exotic-sounding fare such as black olive bruschetta and charred cod, burnt lemon and chardonnay risotto.

When I turned up one balmy summer evening to try them out, I was turned away. "We've run out of food," said the waitress. Turns out the pub had been so busy during the day that they had no option but to close the kitchen.

Undeterred, I returned last week, straight from work, on a rainy Thursday night. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe it was the time, but the vast bar was almost empty.

My friend Vanessa was already sitting by a window seat enjoying a large glass of chilled Chardonnay (a whopping £4.95).

As I joined her a waitress came over and took my drinks order: a white wine spritzer (£3).

We chatted over drinks and then studied the new menus which are hard to miss - tall and narrow, like a broadsheet paper folded lengthwise. The selection of food would suit most people's palate, appetite and wallet.

You can choose dishes to share such as corn chips with dips, chicken satay sticks and potato wedges, opt for a simple snack such as a sandwich, soup or salad, or go for a three-course blow-out featuring starters, mains and puds.

By the time we'd made our choice, we were the only people in the place and yet I still had to go to the bar to ask if someone could take our order. However, that was the only glitch in service. Paul, our waiter, couldn't have been more attentive, and he was pretty impressive too when we asked him to explain some of the unusual items on the menu such as candied bacon (sweet bacon, it turns out).

When he reassured me the Chilli Prawn Cakes (£3.95) weren't rubbery in the style of Thai fish cakes, I decided to order them for starters; Vanessa had the corn tortilla chips and dips (£3.25).

The Chilli Prawn Cakes were two patties packed with mashed potato and prawn. They were over-done, giving them a brown crispy crunch, but when bathed in the accompanying sweet chilli dip they were quite tasty. But the side salad was a shameful affair - dried out and limp.

In contrast, Vanessa's dish looked impressive, but was rather bland. Expecting a dish of triangular tortilla corn chips, she was surprised to be presented with a bowl full of giant maize-coloured strips. They came with small dishes of salsa, guacamole and sour cream. The corn chips resembled a heavy-duty flaky pastry, but that makes them sound nicer than they were. Imagine layers of pastry deep fried then left to go stone cold. Now you are getting closer.

Our mains arrived and were equally uninspiring. I ordered fish, chips and mushy peas (£6.50); Vanessa, a chicken burger with fries (£6.50). The chips were a couple of shades past being perfectly cooked and tasted dried out. The fish was slightly better; a fillet of cod in a shell of deep-golden batter. But again, the fish was on the verge of toughness, a sign of being in the fryer a tad too long.

While the green peas added colour to my plate, Vanessa said her dish desperately needed some garnish to lift its monotone. One bite into the burger and she immediately piled on some of the guacamole she had reserved from her starter to add flavour.

We finished off with two lattes (£2.15 each) and noticed that there were a couple of more tables with punters.

Our parting thoughts were if Bar 38 forgot about fancy-pants fare and concentrated on offering just a few classic meals, but doing them absolutely fantastically, then they might pull in more customers - or at least entice us back. Roll on the next menu review.

Fact file:

Food: Uninspiring

Service: Friendly

Value: Average

Ambience: Vacuous

Disabled facilities: Yes

Bar 38, Coney Street, York, tel 01904 674428

Maxine visited on Thursday, August 28, 2003

Restaurant reviewers aim to be fair and accurate. Any comments on this review should be addressed to Chris Titley, Features Content Editor, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN or e-mail features@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 08:46 Saturday, September 06, 2003