Janet Hewison enjoys Sunday lunch in Stamford Bridge

THERE was something strangely familiar about The Three Cups when we arrived for lunch at the Stamford Bridge pub on Sunday. It was something about the lettering on the signs outside, the real fires burning in the hearths inside, the apparently random, but surely carefully-chosen collection of mis-matched chairs and tables, and the chalkboards pinned up around the place.

But it was when I saw the pot of numbered wooden spoons on the bar (more on these later) that I realised where I had seen it all before - at the Dormouse in Shipton Road, York.

Both pubs are part of the growing national Vintage Inns chain and if you've been to the Fox and Roman in Tadcaster Road, York, you will have seen it there too.

I've taken visitors to York to the Dormouse several times, with great success on each occasion, whether with friends and their under-tens or with extended family and my nearing-90-year-old grandma.

After our visit to The Three Cups, it seemed it, too, was succeeding in the same way, using the same formula.

The roadside pub, just outside Stamford Bridge on the York side, is very roomy, with three separate areas, and the tables are arranged far enough apart for plenty of privacy. There are varying sizes of table too, catering for different sizes of groups.

Some clever partitioning, room decoration in warm colours and country-cottage style patterns, pictures, knick-knacks, open fires and that "random" furniture all lend it a cosy and informal air.

Before sitting down we were allocated one of the afore-mentioned numbered wooden spoons to take to the table, enabling us to put all our drinks and food on the same bill.

The Sunday menu is available between noon and 9.30pm and includes three roasts - two meat and one vegetarian - as well as seven starters and ten other main courses. (There is a more extensive main course menu available on weekdays between noon and 10pm, as well as sandwiches available between noon and 5pm).

I opted for the Prawn Cocktail (£3.35) and Mike went for Our Caesar Salad (£3.25). Both arrived promptly and were served on wide dishes with plenty of dressing. My prawn cocktail was fine, fresh and tasty prawns topped with two cheese straws as well as the usual lettuce and lemon and accompanied by fresh, crusty brown bread. Mike's salad had a generous amount of Parmesan and tasty croutons.

We were less satisfied with our main courses. I chose the 8oz Grilled Rump Steak (£8.50), served with onion rings and button mushrooms, and asked for medium. But when it arrived, while flavoursome, I felt it was a bit too tough.

Mike chose the Roast Mushroom & Spinach Loaf (£6.95), "stuffed with creamy Brie and accompanied by a mushroom and Mascarpone sauce" - the vegetarian Sunday roast option. Although the rich, creamy sauce was very tasty, the loaf itself was a little bland, he felt.

The accompanying "freshly steamed vegetables" we both got were the most disappointing part of the meal. They consisted of soggy leeks and rather dry carrots which neither of us managed to finish.

Things were looking up again though when the desserts arrived. I had warm chocolate Brownies, with pouring cream, and Mike had profiteroles. Both were delicious.

The bill, with two glasses of red wine each, came to £42.85. The service throughout was extremely friendly and the informal atmosphere was enhanced by the fact that we felt we could have sat there all afternoon if we had wanted to.

The food may not have been perfect and the decor may strike some as being a bit too formulaic, but our overriding impression, as we walked back out into the drabness of a cold January afternoon, was still of having visited a warm and welcoming place.

The Three Cups, York Road, Stamford Bridge. Tel 01759 375901.

Janet and Mike visited on January 12.

Fact file:

Food: Fine

Service: Friendly

Value: Average

Ambience: Very comfy

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Updated: 10:10 Saturday, January 18, 2003