"This restaurant deserves some recognition," said Rob, as five of us polished off our three-course meals, a bottle of wine and sundry drinks - for around £55 in total.

It was a bill not to be sniffed at yet, sadly, Quaffers was virtually empty.

Apart from us - there to celebrate Tracy's birthday - there was a foursome and a couple, who appeared to stay only for drinks.

Quaffers is in the old public baths, a quirky old stone building in the heart of Shipley which, let's face it, isn't exactly buzzing in the evenings.

We might have caught the place on a particularly quiet night, but it was a Saturday and you would have expected it to be busier. It certainly deserved to be.

I kicked off my early bird - they were understandably lenient about the usual time stipulations - with garlic mushrooms while the others went for chicken and ginger soup.

I moved on to a beautiful piece of trout coated in toasted almonds. Other main courses chosen by my party included halibut and chicken, all accompanied by a more than generous supply of vegetables.

The food was simple but fresh and not over-cooked, and the menu also offered a wide selection of vegetarian options.

Things got even better when it came to dessert and it's no exaggeration to say my cherry pancake with ice cream was absolutely heavenly.

It was all washed down, in the main, with fruity, red Blossom Hill and, as I said, the bill came to just under £55 for all of us.

Although it was nice to have the restaurant to ourselves so we could be as noisy as we wanted without annoying fellow diners, it would have been nice to see more people in there.

Now I've been, I'll certainly be back.

Catrina Dick

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