GIVEN that this restaurant sells itself on the strength of its sausages there weren't a great deal of them on offer the day we ate there.

To our disappointment the restaurant had run out of its signature sausauge, The Clifton. So we were left with a choice of four Gloucester Old Spot, beef and real ale, lamb mint and apricot and Glamorgan cheese, leek and mustard.

Alongside this there were five other main courses to choose from traditional English dishes such as pan-fried liver served with bubble and squeak and roast rump of Cotswold lamb.

Personally I would have scrapped these and concentrated solely on the sausages, adding more varieties to the menu.

There are countless restaurants in Bristol and to be a success the Clifton Sausage needs to focus on its unique selling point.

It also needs to learn to cope with the Sunday lunchtime rush.

Clearly it's a very popular restaurant we couldn't get a table until half past three.

And not only had the Clifton sausages run out but there was no more monkfish from the starters menu.

My friend made do with a green salad to start while I greedily went for baked goats cheese with celeriac and red grape remoulade in a red wine sauce.

This was really delicious and the celeriac and red grape was a refreshing accompaniment to the creamy melted goat's cheese.

I was surprised to discover that you couldn't order two different types of sausages to go with your mash.

This and the fact that there is only one type of mash and gravy on offers shows a lack of creativity on the part of the restaurant, I feel.

They should take a leaf out of S&M's book a sausage and mash caf in London where you can order from a long list of different types of mash and gravy flavours and can choose any variety of sausages.

Or maybe I'm just too fussy.

Anyway, the lack of flexibility was made up for by the fact that the sausages and mash were very good.

My lamb, mint and apricot sausages were very good and arrived sitting on a lovely big dollop of mash perfect Sunday afternoon food.

My friend enjoyed her Gloucester Old Spot sausages but said she would have been satisfied by two not three.

The restaurant also prides itself on its fine homemade desserts. We decided to road test its claim by ordering a dark chocolate tart with yoghurt sorbet.

This was truly scrumptious, and the cool yoghurt sorbet a perfect partner to the bittersweet dark chocolate.

We left feeling very full and a little sleepy after two glasses of wine and lots of stodge.

Despite its shortcomings the Clifton Sausage is a lovely place to go for lunch.

The relaxed atmosphere and big pine tables full of jolly diners make it a cheery, light-hearted place to eat.

And at £8.50 for a really good plate of sausages and mash, and £4 for dessert, it's not bad value either.

DIANA MILNE

The Clifton Sausage Bar & Restaurant

7-9 Portland Street

Clifton Village

Bristol

Call (0117) 973 1192