Rawson Place has been a sad old street for the past few years. It's still not looking all that jolly, with far too many shops remaining empty. But things are moving ahead for it as the top end of town begins its slow revival.

In the wake of the opening of Wilkinson's and B&M's stores in the fine rebuilt premises of the Rawson Quarter, new businesses are starting to move into the area.

There's an opticians alongside B&M's in a new unit. And now, across the street, the Willow Chinese restaurant has moved back in.

It was a relief to see it open again.

It arrived on the scene in Rawson Place in a former shop towards the end of 2004, offering a variety of dishes from Peking and Canton and giving a different dimension to the eating scene at the top end of town.

But then, thanks to work on the Rawson Quarter, the street was virtually shut down. It wasn't a place many people wanted to venture to eat lunch or for an afterwork meal.

When Willow closed down with a pledge to open again when the work was competed, people tended to shrug. Would that really happen?

Well more than a year on, it has.

Willow is back in business. And this week it opened in grand style by offering its buffet meals at half price - for three days only.

It was an offer members of the T&A Features department couldn't let themselves miss. Seven of us took ourselves up there last Tuesday and found that plenty of other people, too, had been tempted by the offer of a three-course eat-all-you-can buffet luncheon for only £2.25.

We hadn't booked, but we were welcomed cheerfully and were soon ushered to a table large enough to accommodate our party. The furniture was, modern, clean and fussfree, the ambience minimalist.

There was a pleasant buzz about the place.

When our drinks order was taken it must have become clear that not a lot of money was going to be made out of us on extras: six glasses of tap water (free) and one lemonade.

But the cheerfulness remained as we were invited to make our way to the buffet area and fill our plates.

Chicken and sweetcorn soup was a starter, as it is in most Chinese restaurants, with an alternative containing strips of beef. The chicken and sweetcorn was good - tasty and not too glutinous.

Other members of the party instead chose to add starters of onion rings, spring rolls and wantons to their plates of dishes such as beef curry, sweet and sour chicken, pork in a black bean sauce with green pepper and barbecue spare ribs.

The vegetarians among our party were a little disappointed with a choice of onion rings, vegetable spring rolls, egg fried rice, thread noodles in black-bean sauce, chips and stir-fried mixed vegetables but the rest of us had plenty of options to go at.

Willow is one of those places where no-one looks at you disapprovingly if you go back for seconds, or even thirds. And for afters, if you have room, there is ice cream and fresh fruit.

The staff were helpful and friendly, making sure that everyone understood the self-service system - which ensures that no time is wasted, something that's important to those people with limited time to spare in the middle of a busy day.

And if you prefer to eat at your desk you can have a take-out box of two main dishes with fried rice, chips or fried noodles plus a trio of starters for £3.60.

Whether Willow will remain as popular now it's reverted to its full prices remains to be seen, or how it will fare in the evenings when main-course prices are around £6.

But the seven of us agreed that even at £4.50 for a three-course buffet lunch it's still good value.

Willow is open lunchtimes until 2.30pm and evenings from 5pm to 11pm.

Rawson Place, Bradford.

Tel 01274 724960

  • Our writers comment on what they find during a single visit. They accept standards vary from day to day. In the interest of fairness, they do not reveal their identities, and they pay for their meals in full. Each venue is judged against other restaurants of a similar type.