WE booked a pre-Christmas lunch at the Crab and Lobster, at Asenby, near Thirsk, with a little trepidation.

Once big fans of the place, it fell out of Warne favour thanks to one of those evenings when everything seemed to go horribly pear-shaped.

That was about eight years or so ago and, fair’s fair we thought, this perennial favourite of almost everybody else in North Yorkshire deserved another chance. Recent feedback suggested good things.

Casting back to the memory of that evening , it all seemed to go wrong with our table in the conservatory positioned directly beneath the suspended figure of the deep sea diver.

Aficionados of the Crab will know exactly what we mean and will no doubt love the rubber-clad mannequin leering over them and their Dover sole. Apart from the food, such slightly bizarre, marine-themed ephemera is absolutely what the Crab is famous for, placed at random all over the place. It’s rather like two elderly, drunken public schoolboys teamed up on Bargain Hunt and bought up everything at the car boot sale that reminded them of their days in the Navy.

That infamous evening, we had the temerity of asking for another table and that was the point when the French maître d’ (aloof as only a French waiter can be when he thinks he’s dealing with trash) lost all interest in us. We were allocated a table in the bar and then studiously ignored. The food might have been quite good but really the evening was killed from that point on.

This time our reserved table for four (Gordon and Jean accompanied us) was also in the conservatory and although our old friend Jacques Cousteau was still hanging on in there, we were a reasonable distance away – a fathom at least.

And it is a lovely room. The curious curios decor which seemed anachronistic eight years ago now seems right for the time. Perhaps that’s because all that bric-a-brac now seems the perfect antidote to that minimalist vibe which has held sway through the noughties and twenty-tens.

There is also a certain timeless quality to the lunch menu. Currently it is called the “festive luncheon” menu but apart from the presence of turkey and plum pudding, you would be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t particularly festive. Which is absolutely fine because who wants to eat Christmas dinner on December 14?

As befits its name, the Crab has always been famous for its fish and there are plenty of piscine options and my starter of steamed Shetland mussels with garlic, smoked bacon, savoy, chestnuts, thyme and Yorkshire ale were as good as mussels can be – plump and still fresh so that the pungency of the other components never quite masked the taste of the sea.

Gordon raved about his light-as-feather goats cheese tart served with red onion marmalade, beetroot salad and Dijon and honey ice cream. Here again the strong cheese maintained its dominance amidst the other complex flavours.

Jean thought her oriental spice beef stir fry with coriander, soft noodles, mushrooms and crispy leeks was a textural triumph but a mighty big portion for a starter.

Sylvia’s duck, ham hock and black pudding served with apple chutney and toasted brioche was a generous slab of coarsely chunky duck and ham interleaved with a smooth black pudding. Very happy with that, she was.

Our mains continued the good work. Gordon and I enjoyed our good-sized fillets of sea bass, lightly seared and placed on top of a wondrously creamy, slightly nutty cured fish risotto with some petit pois, prawns and all bathed in a herb and parmesan cream sauce.

If one was inclined to be unkind then you could say Sylvia’s choice was a turkey parmo but in fact her fried escalope with a cranberry crust was a clever variation on a standard Christmas plateful. It came with a stir-fry of Brussels sprouts, walnuts and smoked bacon. The duck fat roast potatoes were peerless.

Jean’s fish and chips were monstrous – a huge piece of Hartlepool haddock encased in a crisp and golden beer (Theakstons) batter and proper chips – cut chunkily and cooked to a T. There were also minted mushy peas and a stringent tartare sauce.

Gordon and I were clearly on a similar wavelength by this point, opting for the same dessert – a nicely warm pear and almond frangipane tart served with a vanilla custard and a beautifully rich Belgian chocolate ice cream served in a dinky brandy basket.

Jean was happy with some of the same quality ice cream but Sylvia had been beaten by her ‘parmo’ and a couple of those chunky chips that Jean hadn’t been able to manage.

Service was very good, friendly and efficient, but perhaps just a little tardy as the afternoon wore on.

The bill was a shade under £150 for three three-course lunches (£23 each) and a two-course lunch (£20). We also had a bottle of Italian fizz (pricey at £31.60) , three gin and tonics, a Campari and soda and a small glass of Chilean sauvignon blanc which made up a third of the total bill.

The Crab is redeemed.

FOOD FACTS

Crab and Lobster, Asenby, Thirsk Y07 3QL

Tel: 01845 577286

Web: crabandlobster.co.uk

Open: lunch noon-2.30pm; dinner 7-9pm (Saturdays 6.30-9.30pm)

Disabled access. Vegetarian and special diets catered for.

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 9, Service 8, Surroundings 8, Value 8