THE luxury log cabins which overlook Ann Duffield's racing stables at Constable Burton, on the fringe of Wensleydale, have become a personal favourite destination as a bolthole for a spot of relaxation.

And one of the attractions is that there's no shortage of nice places to eat out in the surrounding area. The last time my wife, Heather, and I stayed at Sun Hill Farm, we'd followed local eating out recommendations and tried the Wyvill Arms, half-a-mile up the road towards Leyburn, and the Wensleydale Heifer, at West Witton.

This time, as we passed through Bedale on the way to Constable Burton, we'd spotted a place we'd enjoyed 25 years ago when it was known as Plummers. Since then, it's been taken over by Nino Curia and his wife Karen – formerly of the Romanby Court restaurant in Northallerton – and renamed Panetti's. We made a point the following night of heading back to Bedale to give it another try.

According to its website, Panettti's Cafe Bistro is the realisation of Nino's dream of bringing traditional Sicilian fayre to the North-East, although the restaurant is also proud to serve British dishes. Be warned – the website uses ludicrously small text for its menu, so much so that you'd need the best eyesight in the world to come close to making any kind of advance selection. In mercifully bigger writing, the site also says Panetti's prides itself on supporting the local economy, with fruit and vegetables sourced from Carricks, of Snape, and all the meat coming from Cockburns butchers across the road. It goes on to say that, while it is not necessary to book, it is advisable and we were glad we did because, on the Saturday night we were there, it was brimming with customers.

Panetti's is certainly a warm, homely place and its clear popularity with the locals gives it a nice atmosphere but what of the food?

Wary of our tendency to over-indulge, we set out wisely by agreeing to share a starter of baked flat mushrooms topped with melted Stilton cheese (£5.95). Very nice it was too, and plenty to satisfy the two of us.

From a richly varied list of mains, my vegetarian wife opted for the Melanzane Parmegiano, baked aubergines in tomato and basil sauce with Parmesan cheese and oregano, served with garlic bread (£10.50). Had she been starving, we'd have had a problem because it came so hot that she had to wait a while for it to cool down enough to eat. Once she was able to tuck in, Heather's verdict was that the aubergines were "lovely and soft" and the cheesiness of the dish was just to her taste.

Although I'm always tempted by steak and ale pie, I felt compelled to try something more authentic and the Sicilian chicken with a bacon, mushroom, tomato, cream and pesto sauce (£11.95) seemed to fit the bill. Pleasant enough but, in all honesty, not as exciting as I'd hoped. A bit more of a Sicilian sizzle is required.

We finished off with a perfectly set crème brulée to share, and with a bottle of Rioja thrown in, the bill came to £49, which seemed reasonable for a pleasant evening.

Hopefully, it won't be be another 25 years before we make a return visit.

Food Facts

Panetti’s Cafe and Bistro, 7 North End, Bedale, DL8 1AF
Tel: 01677-425270
Ratings (out of ten) Food 6 Service 8 Ambience 8 Value 6