La Vecchia Scuola, 62 Low Petergate, York

I'LL probably remember La Vecchia Scuola on Low Petergate purely for the piano man.

As Louise and I sat down at our table, a pianist commenced tinkling a few romantic classics, which was pretty apt for those who, like us, skipped the Valentine's night crush and went out on Wednesday.

He went on to play anything from Coldplay to My Way and in between times went around tables asking for requests.

Bizarrely, all we could think of was Prince's Alphabet St (Louise), The Jitterbug by Wham! (me) and the Ace Of Spades by Motorhead (both of us), none of which we said out loud, so we basically passed up the opportunity. Nevertheless it all added to the chattering atmosphere.

We arrived at 7.50pm and were asked to wait in the little bar to the right of the entrance, where we ordered a bottle of the cheapest house red - a light but flavoursome Terre al Lago Cabernet Sauvignon at £11.95.

There were only four seats and all were taken so we sat on the low windowsill by the door. Had any more people turned up early it could have been quite a squeeze, so it was odd another room on the other side of the foyer remained unused. The plan might be to make that a sitting room but it was wasted as was.

Perhaps the owner Abdu Naeb is still getting his feet under the table. Naeb already has a track record on the culinary scene in York. He owned Caesars in Goodramgate for 15 years and last year opened One19 in The Mount.

The foyer entrance at his latest venue was a bit unusual and we were unsure where to go as there was no immediate reception.

We also didn't quite know what to make of the unique surroundings. As befits its name (La Vecchia Scuola means 'the old school' in Italian), there is a school theme throughout, albeit one that acknowledges the premises' former life as the York College for Girls as opposed to any old comprehensive (it certainly bore no resemblance to the big Catholic high school I went to, though that's probably a good thing).

The toilets were especially unlike most schools, being absolutely pristine, even if the taps took a bit of working out.

There were old class photographs and school reports in glass cases in the foyer, as well as big soft-focus photos of posh schoolgirls on the dining room walls - which we were a little perturbed by but weren't quite sure why.

We were taken to our seats next to piano man bang on time for our 8pm booking; one of 15 tables in the brightly-lit main dining room (there are another eight or so in the conservatory).

We waited more than 15 minutes before deciding to ask for a menu, though the service was okay thereafter and there was no prolonged wait for our meals, even though the place was full.

The menus were big, both literally and with their selection - though not for vegetarians. There were 19 main pasta dishes (four veggie), 20 pizzas (four veggie) and 23 chef specialities (no veggie), plus several starters and a separate 'caf society' menu. There were also three fish dishes plus four more starters on a separate specials list.

I chose the fritto misto di mare (£5.95) as a starter and thought it was lovely. The calamari and king prawns were perfectly done, while the light batter and garlic mayo were second to none.

Louise had her old favourite of goats cheese (£5.95) but was not impressed. The three 'cakes' did taste of goats cheese but had a frothy, whipped-up consistency, while the breadcrumb covering was like that on a Findus crispy pancake. The accompanying onion marmalade was nice.

Lou was also disappointed with her tuna with capers and pesto dressing (£12.95). The fish itself was a good texture but the pesto was weak and she found it all too bland.

I was slightly more content with my flattened sirloin steak in a sauce of French mustard, mushroom, Cognac and cream (£12.95). I was lured in by the French mustard, but could barely taste it over the mushrooms. I had no complaints with the sirloin which was medium cooked.

The portions were ample and we were both pretty full, but nevertheless found room to share a pudding. We chose the lemoncello and amaretti torte (£3.95) for two reasons. Firstly, I like lemoncello and amaretto and, secondly, we were intrigued because its description - "white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry topping" - did not match its name.

We discovered it was actually one small portion of white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry topping alongside a small portion of almond (amaretto) torte, served with synthetic cream. Lou liked it more than me.

The total bill came to £41.75 - which we thought was a bit low, until we realised they'd forgotten to charge for the wine. I defied my natural tendencies and pointed out the error.

Peter visited on February 15, 2006.

La Vecchia Scuola, 62 Low Petergate, York. Tel: 01904 644600

Food: disappointing

Service: forgetful

Value: fair

Ambience: busy

Disabled access: No

Updated: 15:59 Friday, February 17, 2006