If music be the food of love, does music actually help your love of food?

Allow me to expand on that rather tortuous bit of wordplay. When, if ever, is live music appropriate in a classy restaurant?

Last week we visited the Bossa Nova on Saltaire Road, Shipley, which is one of the area's finest restaurants, in our humble opinion, with its fusion of European and Mediterranean cuisine and its relaxed, convivial atmosphere.

It's undergone some slight changes recently, the Bossa Nova. The kitchens, which were downstairs, have been brought to the restaurant level so that a new, separate bar called Fubar. Like its parent venue upstairs, it's a classy place, full of clean lines, cool furniture and a nice line in cocktails.

Upstairs, the addition of the kitchen has meant that the toilet area which once separated the casual drinks bar from the diners has been pushed back and the eating area seems to have been made a little smaller to accommodate the kitchens at one end.

Having been to the Bossa Nova a few times since it opened, we were looking forward to our much overdue visit. The staff there are friendly and efficient and it's always a pleasure to browse the mouthwatering menu while enjoying an unhurried drink before you're taken to your table.

It was at our table that the first pangs of - dare I say it? - disappointment set in. The restaurant was probably a third to half full and the best tables near the windows, which afford views over the low rooftops of the buildings opposite to the darkening skies above the moors, had been taken.

No problem - one table's pretty much as good as another one, right?

Well, probably. We were seated just in front of the live act of the night, two pleasant-looking and talented gentlemen with a guitar and a couple of microphones.

We chatted while we waited for our food. For starters I had ordered the mullet, which was beautifully done, while the other half had the moules mariniere. She's generally a big fan ofthe old mussels, although the juice it came in was a tad salty.

She persevered with the maritime theme throughout, reeling in a red snapper on a bed of couscous, which was "gorgeous" and more than made up for the mussels.

Overtaken by the Mediterranean mood, I went for kleftiko, a dish beloved of my visits to the Greek islands. It's basically big chunks of lamb and root vegetables done in a thick, pungent tomato and red wine-based sauce. It was delicious but I found it a bit heavy, which was no reflection on the food but more on my snap decision-making. We also had some excellent chunky chips with sea salt and cracked black pepper and a leafy salad to accompany.

The side orders weren't the only accompaniment to our meal, however.

We had found ourselves having to speak more and more loudly throughout the meal due to the live music on offer, the aforementioned duo.

Music in restaurants has to be just right. Too low and anonymous and there's no point having it. Too loud - as this was - and it detracts from the experience. No aspersion cast upon the talent of the two gentlemen - far from it, in the right setting - say, an Irish pub - they would have been very enjoyable. But when one is trying to have an intimate meal then a rousing rendition of Dirty Old Town is not always appropriate.

So a great restaurant, good food, but a night out that was slightly marred.

Other diners may not be of the same opinion, but if we have to have music while we eat, I think it should be something you listen to voluntarily, during lulls in the conversation.

WHAT WE ATE Starters Moules Marienere Mullet Mains Red snapper on couscous Lamb kleftiko with root vegetables Side orders Chunky chips with cracked black pepper and sea salt Bossa Nova salad Drinks Three glasses of dry white wine Three bottles of Peroni lager Total £54

  • 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.