DISCOVERING A COSY LITTLE GEM THAT HAS LOTS OF BOTTLE

Henry Yeast & Son

Where: 6 Newland Avenue, Hull.

Call: 01482 493557

Open: Tuesdays to Fridays, 5pm to 11pm (food served 5pm to 8.30pm), and Saturdays and Sundays noon to 11pm (food served noon to 8.30pm). It is closed on Mondays.

Accessibility: Ground-level restaurant

Vegetarian: Range of choice

Family friendly? Yes

Parking: On neighbouring side streets

T ucked away in Newland Avenue, it could be easy to miss Henry Yeast & Son. With its slim frontage, this elegant venue seems to blend into its surroundings.

While I'm a resident of the Avenues, I'll confess I didn't even register its existence until a couple of months after it opened.

The venue seemed to have arrived suddenly and fully-formed, as if dreamt into being by a beer-lover – given the racks of bottled brews lined up in the window like a series of invitations.

And while it has an encyclopaedic range in that respect – some 67 bottled beers, including white, pilsner and fruit are available – much else awaits.

Once you're inside, it reveals itself to be a snug restaurant with candles flickering on wooden tables.

With its bare brick walls and quirky decor, including a specials list written on a series of guilt-edged mirrors, it looks like a little corner of continental Europe annexed to west Hull.

On the night we visited, the building was buzzing with life by early evening. Some had stopped by to sample the bottled beers or one of the draughts – Henry Yeast & Son has a range of ten, including a locally brewed hand pull ale.

Others were happily settled down for a meal.

After a long deliberation – the set menu includes steaks, moules and frites, and duck breast dishes – we decided to order a starter before making our final decision.

The decision to share a Baked Capricorn cheese (£4.95) proved shrewd. This dish, of small individual goat's cheese baked and served with pesto croutons, proved the perfect appetiser – a hint of sweetness, with the savoury tang of the pesto offset by the creaminess of the cheese.

My dining companion settled on the fresh king scallops (£7.45), served on a bed of black pudding, pomme purée with a garlic white wine and parsley sauce.

Unusually, the black pudding was in a mash – a little twist that she said was surprising but welcome.

I settled on the stripped beef/wild mushroom stroganoff (£10.95).

Cooked in a rich sauce of shallots and mushrooms, which was livened with red wine and paprika, it was a pleasantly hearty dish for a winter's evening, served with frites.

For pudding, we both went for chocolate brownies (£3.95) – mine served with custard, my companion's with cream.

After the richness of the European-style mains, it was a pleasingly sweet way to conclude the meal – and, with a slathering of custard, comfortingly traditional.

As we exited into the evening air, other revellers were making their way up Newland Avenue.

If they hadn't thought of popping in to Henry Yeast & Son's, then they were doing their evening a disservice.

Type: European dining

Quality of food: Excellent

Atmosphere: Warm

Service: Prompt and friendly

Value for money: Good

Best for: Dining out with friends

Would you go again? Yes