Play on! Haydn Lewis finds the food of love at Cafe Concerto in York.

CONSISTENCY is so important for restaurants wanting to attract custom and keep it.

There is nothing worse than having a near-perfect meal out at a restaurant the first time you go, only to feel let down next time because the food was nowhere near as good.

Such was my feeling of apprehension when I dropped in to York's Cafe Concerto for a meal with my friend Vicky.

It's a place where in the past I have had some superb evening meals and I was desperate not to be let down.

Sitting as it does in High Petergate, looking out on York Minster, the business has established a well-earned reputation for good home-made grub in friendly surroundings.

I live in the centre, so it took us a matter of minutes to get there on foot. Drivers, however, would have had to pay for parking at one of the nearby city-centre car parks.

Outside, the building has had a recent lick of paint but, that aside, looks much as it has for years. Unfortunately, the step up to the entrance and narrow corridor to get in could put off disabled customers.

Once inside, the atmosphere was warm and inviting with the same old familiar sheet music covering the walls and the walk past the glass-counter desserts display still an eye opener.

We called in on a Monday night and the place was pretty busy, but we were seated quickly and opted for a drink while we studied the menu which comes on a miniature blackboard brought to the table.

I went for a bottle of Budvar beer (£2.95) and Vicky opted for an Elderflower water (£2.50).

I was tempted by the warm "mojo Cuban" chicken and sweet potato salad with roast pepper and fresh mango (£6.95) to start.

The women at the table next to us were tucking into chunky tomato soup (£4.95) and chicken liver pate (£5.95). The generous portions looked like a meal in themselves.

Vicky really struggles when she dines out because she has various food allergies - and has to avoid dairy (including eggs) and citrus.

When our waiter came to take the order this was mentioned and he duly went away and came back with a specially-adapted menu from which she picked the Mediterranean platter with prosciutto ham, salami, olives, hummus and tomatoes at £7.95.

We had to wait about 20 minutes before the food arrived and were just starting to get restless. But the food was worth the wait. My spicy mojo chicken melted in the mouth and was perfectly matched with the sweet mango chunks and healthy salad.

There was enough meat on Vicky's plate to feed a small army. Her only complaint was that the salami was a little too greasy.

When it came to choosing the main course, we spent some time deliberating over the equally appealing sounding grilled sea bass fillets on cous cous (£14.95), Aberdeen Angus beef cottage pie (£10.95) and locally-made leek and pork sausages with mash and onion gravy (£10.95).

I went with the bangers and mash which Vicky ordered too after the waiter reassured her the butter-laden mash could be substituted for oil-fried sweet potatoes and a fresh gravy could be made, again without butter.

I have been out to eat with Vicky a lot and witnessed the disappointment she has to go through so often when restaurants can't or won't be flexible with ingredients.

When the meals came they were immense. Large plates full of steaming mash (or in Vicky's case yams) and gravy with huge sausages and beautifully cooked veg.

The silence that fell on the table for the next 15 minutes spoke volumes. We ordered another two drinks - I stayed with my beer, but Vicky went for a ginger ale (£2.50).

The attention to detail and top-quality food really made our night and Vicky was overjoyed that she had not had to settle for second best.

Vicky ordered a peppermint tea (£2.75), but I couldn't leave without a pudding.

I went for duet - half a portion of two choices from the dessert menu (£5.95). I opted for strawberry cheesecake and Belgian chocolate cake.

The portions were more than ample and were so good I had to finish them despite my burgeoning waistline. The cheesecake was loaded with real strawberries and the rich chocolate cake certainly lived up to its name.

The bill was £56.40. Considering how we savoured every mouthful, it was more than worth it.

It's good to see some things never let you down, Cafe Concerto being one of them.

Cafe Concerto, 21, High Petergate, York Yo1 7EN.

Tel: 01904 610478.

Haydn visited Cafe Concerto on Monday, September 18, 2006.

Fact file:

Food: excellent.

Service: top-notch.

Value: good.

Ambience: warm.

Disabled access: No