BANGERS and mash once ruled the day at a cosy retreat in York, but the mighty sausage has now given way to a far more exotic offering.

Where MaziMaz was once a cafe by day and SPO (sausage, potato, onion) house by night, it now offers a tantalising menu of traditional Thai dishes from its position on the summit of Micklegate.

It is about to be re-named The Old Siam.

Having tried and tested the fare with fellow mums-to-be after our weekly yoga classes nearby, I decided to treat my dad and brother to a feast after they put in some hard graft on our new nursery.

My husband, Gary, and three friends joined us on a Saturday night after York's last race meeting at Knavesmire and shortly after the England versus Macedonia football game.

The usual suspects were snaking their way along Micklegate in glad rags and footie shirts when we piled into MaziMaz. And several groups had to be turned away during the evening, while those of us who had booked ahead sat smugly inside, tucking in.

Our cafe-style surroundings were simple and fresh with white walls providing a backdrop for brightly coloured Thai prints, wooden carvings and pictures with a decorative screen discreetly hiding a drinks fridge in the corner.

But, decor aside, our attention was more taken with the menu.

Most of the starters were £3.95, while the mains varied from £5.50 to £6.50 except seafood offerings which were £8, making it easy to split the bill if there's a group of you.

There was a choice of soups and starters, such as prawn spring rolls served with sweet chilli sauce and tempura of deep crispy vegetable plus a MaziMaz platter (£10) to share between two.

With all the advice on what not to eat when pregnant, I went for vegetable spring rolls which were piping hot and crispy with a sweet chilli dipping sauce served with side garnish of salad.

Our party also ordered mussels, satay chicken, three portions of Tom Yum soup and one Tom Khar soup, which both came with a choice of chicken, prawns or mushroom.

The Tom Yum was spicy hot, with a distinct taste of lemongrass coupled with lime leaves and galangal.

The amount of fish or meat in the portions varied somewhat, but Gary said there were sufficient prawns because they were so meaty.

The soups were devoured quickly, a testament of their tastiness, and worked well with a side portion of steamed rice (£2) for those who couldn't muster the heat.

The Tom Khar was equally flavoursome but very different and considerably milder as its main ingredient is coconut cream.

The steamed mussels (£4.95) were meaty and generous in size. The accompanying juice was made with Thai herbs which was unusual but brought a mixed response from those who sampled a spoonful as the distinct aniseed-like taste wasn't to everyone's taste.

The satay dip provided a pleasantly crunchy, peanut accompaniment to the tender barbecue chicken which came on sticks with a side garnish.

For our mains, five of my dining companions plumped for the Pad Thai, a simple traditional Thai noodle dish.

The consensus was that it was very enjoyable, with a sweet sauce coating the noodles, which were sprinkled with peanuts and served with yet more succulent prawns.

In the bustle of the kitchen on what was a very busy night, my brother's Pad Thai was overlooked.

We had to gently remind our waitress twice about the missing dish before it arrived half-way through the course. But, our friendly waitress was so apologetic it was difficult to be anything other than charmed by her manner.

The Pad Thai, when it arrived, was steaming hot, but my brother found the noodles a little overcooked and was disappointed not to have ordered a curry - his usual choice.

My friend Liz's yellow curry also seemed to have been forgotten, but was served after a short delay and was delicious with a coconut sauce and a variety of vegetables to add interest.

Liz ordered steamed coconut rice to go with it (£2.50) which was sweet, almost like dessert rice, and a pleasant change from plain rice.

My stir-fried beef in oyster sauce was a sizzling hot, hearty portion and deliciously sweet with fresh broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and peppers adding variety.

I chose egg fried rice which seemed a little steeply priced at £2.50 but was enjoyable nonetheless.

No one could manage any sweets although there was a choice of ice-creams (£2.50) with an invitation on the menu to ask the waitress for a list of alternatives.

Instead, we opted for large mugs of tea to round off the meal (£1.50) with Singha beer (£2.75) for the boys.

Our food bill just topped £78 - a reasonable price for a very enjoyable night out in welcoming, relaxed surroundings.

Fact file

MaziMaz Cafe and Thai Noodle Bar, 126 Micklegate, York.

Food: flavoursome
Service: friendly
Value: good
Ambience: relaxed
Disabled access: No

Nadia visited MaziMaz on Saturday, October 7.