I WOULD be a liar if I said I didn't have a chip on my shoulder about Italian restaurants. Well, they are just a bit wooden sometimes aren't they? All red and white check tablecloths, jumbo pepper grinders and piped Pavarotti.

Italian cuisine seems so commonplace on English plates, with parmesan battling it out with cheddar for our bolognese, and ciabatta shelved alongside granary loaves in supermarkets, that the country's formidable reputation for fine food has been dulled.

But in Helmsley Gepetto's owners have crafted something better than average from the worn clichs of a modern Italian eatery and perhaps other proprietors should sit up and take note.

The restaurant has an enviable location a few metres from Helmsley's market square, tucked between two popular streets. It serves as an excellent stop-off point for hungry visitors to the North York Moors border town.

We arrived at 8pm on a beautiful sunny weekday evening after a scenic drive across green countryside from York and took our table beside the window.

The interior of Gepetto's - in the fairy tale he's Pinocchio's 'father' - is uncluttered despite being decked out with, inevitably, a lot of Pinocchio and other Italian paraphernalia. There are wooden puppets, plates and pictures galore with, strangely, a wooden cannon next to my chair.

A five foot tall wooden bear stands at the door to welcome, if that's the word, customers and perhaps on my next visit I'll pluck up the courage to ask why.

Once seated in the half-full restaurant we ordered a glass of medium dry house white wine and a bottle of Moretti beer to wet our palates before the starters arrived.

Our waitress didn't get off to a great start when I asked what was included in the antipasto starter. She wasn't sure, but thought salami might make an appearance. It wasn't the only raised eyebrow in an otherwise excellent evening, but fair enough, she did offer to go and find out.

Our starters, both chosen from the specials menu, arrived quickly. Mine was a roasted pepper and goats cheese ciabatta while Catherine chose a cozze marinara, mussels sauted in garlic with hot peppers, white wine, fresh tomato sauce and crostini at £4.95.

My expectations were fuelled by an above average price of £5.65 for the roasted peppers. It proved a mighty starter with a great slab of mild and creamy goat's cheese topping two warm roasted peppers on freshly toasted ciabatta.

Catherine pronounced her large plate of mussels excellent and said the tangy tomato sauce with crunchy crostini was memorable.

For main course I was feeling less adventurous and chose spaghetti alla bolognese at £6.45, or spag bol to me and you.

It proved fresh and filling with a strong tomato flavour and far too much pasta for a mere mortal to consume in one session.

Catherine opted for the risotto al asparagi, again from the specials menu at £8.25, which we decided must have been made with fresh asparagus.

Risotto is not much of a dish for the eyes and she tucked in straight away, saying the rice was "just right" with a wonderful balance of texture and taste. Gorgonzola cheese added a strong vein of flavour through the dish which was never too heavy.

Laden down with two substantial courses we shared a Gepetto's coupe dessert, which consisted of raspberry and vanilla ice-cream with Amaretto liquor. It was chosen from a substantial dessert menu which would have left a sweet-toothed child with tears in their eyes.

The bill, including drinks, came to a painless £34.55, so painless in fact that we didn't notice the £1.75 garlic bread which never arrived but we were nevertheless charged for.

When I contacted the restaurant's owner Dino Valenghi afterwards he apologised profusely and said it was his fault as head chef. He said: "It's one of those things which has happened but shouldn't, I'm very sorry."

It was a small oversight and may be explained by the party of 25 that arrived just after we ordered it. Overall Pinocchio's creator seems to have carved out a special niche in this North Yorkshire market town.

Gepetto's Restaurant, Bridge Street, Helmsley. Open every day except Monday and Tuesday for lunches from noon and dinner from 5pm

Tel: 01439 770479

Food: fresh, wholesome

Service: attentive

Value: reasonable

Ambience: friendly

Disabled access: No

Updated: 11:18 Saturday, June 08, 2002