HAVING done this job for 13 years, the most frequent question I’m asked is the identity of my all-time favourite eating out destination.

The answer is always the same: Santoro in Yarm High Street.

It is by no means the perfect restaurant. But there’s a host of personal, yes, romantic reasons why it’s always going to be a perennial favourite for the Warnes. I’ll not go into all the sloppy details for fear of putting you off your dinner but it will always be a special place for us.

So I probably shouldn’t be reviewing it because that sentimental stuff inevitably will cloud the judgment. But I’m going to anyway. You’ll have to make allowances. I’ve done my best by deducting one mark from the ratings at the bottom of this review to account for blatant bias

However, in order to convince you dear reader of the supreme powers of impartiality deployed every week on your behalf, I’m going tell you all the things that are wrong with Santoro’s.

• The hand gents’ loo must have been made in a Fiat factory circa 1972 because like Italian cars of that vintage it only works intermittently. But who needs dry hands I say?

• The cooking’s not exactly cutting edge. Santoro’s will never trouble a Michelin inspector. A recommendation in itself for some folk.

• The menu doesn’t change very often – but that’s only a problem if you visit as frequently as we do.

• The pasta’s sometimes not as al dente as I would like.

• They stopped doing the complimentary pistachio nuts on the bar about ten years ago. It may have had something to do with Sylvia’s propensity to get through a bowlful with one G&T. They still provide olives, however.

• The soup comes from the Spar next door. Well that’s what the head waiter of more than 35 years Gianni Dorsi has been telling us. Or is that a joke?

• It’s a funny shape. A bit like the boot of Italy only straightened out and very narrow. Avoid the tables at the back close to the kitchen door and the one near the stairs up to the loo - a bit draughty (table 15 I think).

• Sylvia once thought the Santoro signature dish rack of lamb was on the fatty side, But she was just being a wus. No fat no taste, I told her.

So why do we love it then?

Firstly, it is a family-run restaurant in a real sense. Vincenzo Serino is still the boss. Son Riccardo is an ever-present and his son Mikey helps out regularly. When you factor in Mr Dorsi’s sterling service and also senior waiter Chris, there’s a core of people who have years of experience. In short, they are pros and they know what they doing.

The welcome is always warm and that applies to regulars like us as well as newcomers and the service is consistently good, regardless of how many customers they are catering for.

The cooking, based on Italian foundations with some modern British twists, is ever reliable.

We’ve never been disappointed by the richness of lambs’ kidneys in a Madeira sauce served en croute, the lightest and cheesiest of cheese soufflés, fat and succulent queen scallops served in the shell and an antipasto which gets the right balance between meats, cold roasted vegetables and beans.

There are always plenty of fish options and whether it is sea bass, bream or salmon it is always cooked with a deft touch. I’ve never eaten any fish at Santoro that’s been overcooked and after eating there for more than 20 years, that’s some record.

Steaks will always include a New York-style strip 10oz sirloin served in a classic peppercorn and cream sauce and while on the subject of sauces these do tend to be traditionally prepared with lots of cream and cheese but they are expertly prepared – Romano with chicken, Florentine with pork loin and a really special crayfish sauce with sherry and lemon typically served with a supreme of chicken.

Desserts include serviceable crème brulee, sticky toffee pudding and chocolate brownie but for me, the sweet specialist, the standouts are a classic tiramisu which restores one’s faith in this much abused Italian speciality and a Bailey’s brioche bread and butter pudding in which the liqueur nicely tempers the rich vanilla sticky sweetness of the saturated brioche.

The decor is simple but despite the elongated nature of the space manages to be cosy and intimate, especially the inner sanctum beyond the bar.

Pricing is cleverly structured to suit most pockets. With a bottle of reasonable wine, coffees etc eating a la carte can generate a bill for two that can easily top £100 but trading down a little to some of the pasta dishes and glasses of the house vino will more than halve that.

The lunch time deal takes some beating with half a dozen starters at £2.90 and a similar number of mains at less than £6. Considering that last week we paid more than £9 for a lunchtime steak sandwich in Darlington’s Hash, I rest my case.

Finally, I urge you not to visit Santoro on the strength of this review. It’s quite busy enough; if any more of you lot start turning up we’ll not be able to secure our favourite table.

FOOD FACTS

Santoro, 56 High Street, Yarm, TS15 9AH

T: 01642 781305

Web: santoros.co.uk

Open: Monday to Friday: 11.30am-2pm and 6.30pm-10pm; Saturday: 11.30am-2pm and 6-10pm

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 9 Service 9 Surroundings 9 Value 9