LOOKING for somewhere to eat before a visit to the theatre entails finding a place that opens early and because of this we had booked a table at the Pastiche Bistro in Bath.

Opening at 6.30pm on a Saturday evening allows adequate time to eat and leave sufficient time to stroll along to the theatre for an 8pm curtain up.

We were advised to book in advance, which we did, but when we got there we found we were only the second couple to arrive that evening.

In a pleasant setting with wooden floors and wooden tables our table was nicely positioned to give a prime view overlooking the river at the weir near Pulteney Bridge. The service proved speedy, but with only four diners at that stage it couldn't be anything else, though it appeared to be just as swift for those arriving later.

Pastiche, part of a franchise chain, pride themselves on the simple concept of good food at affordable prices.

They have devised a two-course menu of £5 for lunch and £10 for dinner and claim never to have increased their prices since 1977.

But its as well to be aware that our £10 dinner menu did include a few price supplements, such as an extra £6 for char-grilled fillet steak, an extra £2 for seasonal vegetables and the odd extra £1 for other items on the quite varied menu.

The dinner menu covered starters and mains only and included meat, fish and veggie options.

We chose smoked chicken salad and a crispy duck salad for starters which were served without bread or rolls and I was surprised to see how small the portions looked.

Was this the catch, I wondered, in the £10 menu but in retrospect decided not.

We are all so used to well-sized portions these days we forget that they are, after all, meant to be appetisers.

The crispy duck was tasty but I found my tiny pieces of chopped chicken a bit dry and heavy going and for us it was slightly disappointing as both meats were cold.

However, our main courses were entirely different.

A very well loaded plate of lamb steaks with saut potatoes arrived and looked and tasted excellent, as did my escalope of pork on a mash base that was served with a Mediterranean sauce.

There was plenty of meat on both plates and we shared a bowl of delicious vegetables. They were nice sized portions without being monstrous as can so often be the case and all of this was served, without too much of a wait, by friendly young staff.

It transpired we had time, and room, for puddings we aimed to leave about 7.40pm and were well on course to achieve this and I'm so glad we did as it seemed we'd left the best till last.

My chocolate fudge cake with ice cream and a white chocolate sauce was splendid. The light but very chocolatey sponge, but without being too sweet and cloying, served with ice cream and a rich white chocolate sauce was just what I needed to round off the meal; the lemon tart with blueberries and crme fraiche was equally appreciated.

With the mission accomplished all in good time and at a very reasonable £33, which included a bottle of beer, we felt we had done well.

With the menu offering a good choice and changing monthly we would certainly return to the bistro for another helping perhaps next time for a more leisurely meal.

By Rita Sangster

Pastiche Bistro

16 Argyle Street

Bath

Tel: (01225) 442323