SIMON RITCHIE overdoses on mushrooms and garlic at a pizzeria in a village pub

Vampires should steer well clear of Pizzeria Medici at the Blacksmith's Arms at Newton-on-Ouse if they know what's good for them.

But for us mere mortals who love the pungent-tasting bulb it's heaven.

Fresh garlic was spread liberally on our dishes when we visited mid-week, and as I'm writing this review almost 20 hours later, I'm still sucking extra strong mints to spare my colleagues from the distinct aroma.

We had expected the pub to be pretty quiet on a Wednesday night so we were quite surprised when we pulled into a rather full car park.

The pub itself was busy, but luckily the restaurant area was fairly quiet and we had a choice of tables. Although efforts are made to make the Pizzeria a romantic setting - red candles and flowers are placed on the tables - it is not however very intimate.

You can't get away from the noise of the busy local pub and we had the added problem of having a bunch of rather loud would-be Top Gunners from the nearby Linton-on-Ouse RAF base sitting quite close.

The restaurant/takeaway is owned by Beirut-born chef Camille Chehab, who has been cooking Italian food for 17 years.

He set up his enterprise inside the pub two years ago, and works closely with landlord Glenn Mimms.

After ordering a few drinks from the bar we quickly scanned the menu. Starters had somewhat of a fungal flavour, which pleased my vegetarian partner, Jayne - who has had a bit of a raw deal on eating-out forays lately.

We could choose from garlic mushrooms, mushroom Napolitana, creamy mushrooms and seafood mushrooms, which came with mussels, cockles and prawns.

Jayne went for garlic mushrooms (£2.20), her favourite, while I chose the Napolitana mushrooms (£2.50). Both portions were fairly large - and piping hot!

My button mushrooms came topped with a hot cheese and tangy tomato sauce. They were delicious.

Jayne was equally impressed with her mushrooms which were heavily coated with crushed garlic.

Choosing a main course was more difficult. The menu was extensive - there is something for everyone, including vegetarians.

As well as the pasta dishes, which included chicken Napolitana (breaded chicken breast with pasta and Napolitana sauce), both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and spaghetti carbonara, there were 39 different pizzas to choose from.

These ranged from the traditional ones such as margherita, pepperoni and marinara to the more adventurous such as curry, donner kebab and the aptly-named vento (tomato, cheese and baked beans!)

They come in two sizes, ten-inch and 12-inch and there is a also an option of 12-inch deep pan.

The prices were pretty impressive too. The cheapest, a ten-inch margherita was only £3.40, while the most expensive was the deep pan version of the Medici special, which was only £6.80.

There is also quite a choice for those not fussed with Italian fare.

Twelve ounce steaks are available, as are moussaka, deep fried scampi and gammon steaks, as well as a choice of reasonably-priced burgers and kebabs.

In the end I went for spaghetti carbonara (£4.60), a dish I'd not had for years. It was excellent.

I got a mountain of spaghetti cooked with butter, onions, cream, wine, mushrooms and bacon and topped with parmesan cheese. It was never ending. The bowl was a bottomless pit of pasta.

Jayne picked a ten-inch funghi pizza (tomato, cheese and mushrooms, priced at £3.80) and nearly died when she saw the size of it. It could have done for the both of us. She gave it the thumbs up, saying it was one of the best pizzas she had eaten for a while.

She too struggled to finish, especially as we had also ordered garlic bread which was the same size as Jayne's pizza and topped with fresh garlic and basil (£2.20).

Thankfully our waitress put our leftovers in a takeaway pizza box which we enjoyed later at home!

With a few drinks the total bill came to just over £20 - excellent value.

Restaurant: Pizzeria Medici at the Blacksmith's Arms

Address: Cherry Tree Avenue, Newton-on-Ouse

Telephone: 01347 848070 (Pizzeria), 01347 848249 (pub)

Reviewed: February 27, 1999

Food: Very good

Value: Excellent

Service: Friendly

Ambience: Busy country pub, not the place for an intimate, candle-lit supper

PICTURE:The Blacksmith Arms: excellent value