STEPHEN LEWIS braves the wrath of Dick Turpin and is pleasantly surprised at what he finds

When a pub chef has just been named second best in the country in a prestigious national competition, it's got to be worth checking out.

Stewart Parker, right, chef at York's recently-opened Pitcher and Piano off Coney Street, picked up £250 and a certificate of merit when he won the runner's-up spot in the Pub Chef category of the British Meat chef awards on March 20.

Now the Pitcher and Piano isn't my colleague Dick Turpin's favourite watering hole. He's more your pint-in-a-glass, beer-down-the-local type of sharp northerner. The Pitcher's all a bit twee for him.

"Call that a pub?" he scoffs, before moving on to choicer and less printable turns of phrase.

But each to their own, I thought. There's surely, in a city as sophisticated as York, room for different types of pub and wine bar. So why not give it a try?

At first, though, things didn't look good. I rang to try and book a table for two on Friday evening, only to be told by a friendly girl on the other end of the phone it probably wasn't a good idea.

It does get very crowded and noisy on Friday evenings, she said. We wouldn't want you to book and be disappointed.

Images of the only time I'd been to the Pitcher - on a boozy night out with colleagues - sprang to mind. Sharply-dressed bouncers guarding the entrance to a heaving mass of young, designer humanity sipping stylishly-bottled beer to the sound of loud but bland music. The views out over the river through the glass frontage would have been great, if only I could have seen them.

Then the young woman on the phone relented a little. It should be OK if you come a bit earlier, she said: before seven, say. You won't need to book anyway, then. So there we were, rolling up at the Pitcher straight from work, 6.15 on a cold, blustery Friday evening. I'd had visions of trying to eat perched at a tiny table surrounded by heaving bodies: but it wasn't like that.

The stripped wood tables on the ground floor were almost empty: the views through the glass just as good as I'd thought they would be. The lighting was warm, the music not too loud. We relaxed instantly.

Upstairs, we settled at a wooden table beside the window. We ordered drinks. My glass of draught Kronenberg was expensive at £2.50: but Lili's pitcher of iced tap water, complete with slices of lemon, lime and orange, was free and gratis.

The starters weren't half bad. Lili opted for mushroom soup: me for potato wedges with bacon and cheese and a garlic mayonnaise dip. The wedges were delicious: skins crisp, centres perfectly cooked, the whole oozing with melted cheese and covered in crispy bacon. Lili's soup was thick and mushroomy: and there was plenty of it, too.

Then came the main courses. They were expensive for pub grub at £7.50 each, but sounded succulent. Chargrilled chicken breast on stir-fried vegetables with ginger and chilli butter for Lili; chargrilled lamb with roasted Mediterranean vegetables for me; a side dish of chips. When they came, they were symphonies of colour and texture.

The meals nestled inside huge, flaring white bowls which set off the colours. My lamb was arranged tastefully on a bed of rich-coloured, roasted peppers and other veg: Lili's chicken similarly displayed against a multi-coloured stir fry. But though they looked like the newest of nouvelle cuisine, the portions were actually decent-sized: and the taste delicious. My lamb a little tough, the way good lamb usually is, but full of flavour; Lili's chicken perfectly set off by the vegetables, which she pronounced some of the best stir-fry vegetables she'd eaten since coming to England. Even the chips were good.

Best of all, because we'd come so early, we'd beaten the crowds. We relaxed, stretched and browsed through the papers while we ate, feeling totally at home.

The bill came to just short of £26: a mite expensive for what's really a pub, but then there was that view. Just remember, though, if you're coming on a Friday or Saturday, come early.

Pub: Pitcher and Piano

Address: off Coney Street, York

Telephone:01904 658580

Reviewed: April 1, 2000

Food: Pretty tasty

Service: Friendly

Value: Reasonable

Ambience: Relaxing early on

Disabled Access: Yes