A meal at Beetie's was designed as a rejuvenating mid-week pick-me-up - and it lived up to expectations.

The downstairs restaurant was fairly full, giving a pleasant atmosphere rather than what I feared would be a quiet Wednesday night out.

Menus are chalked up on boards all around the pleasant bar area where meals are served and our starter - we chose a selection of seven taster dishes of tapas - was picked because we were advised it would go well with the large jug of sangria which had tempted me and my husband.

There was a range of veggie, fish and meat starters and our tapas included prawn risotto, mini spring rolls, tiny jacket potatoes with cheese, squid and we were given a huge bowl of bread too.

Despite being non-meat-eaters, there was a wide range to choose from and I opted for the Wensleydale and chive tart, served with chips and tomato chutney. Martin went for the filo tart with tomatoes, marscapone cheese and basil pesto, with a crispy side salad.

He loved the filo tart, which was delicately flavoured, but I couldn't really do justice to the Wensleydale tart, having eaten rather too much of the tapas!

The tart was well-flavoured, but although it sounds daft, its cheesiness defeated me. The chutney was nice, and something a little different, and went well with the chips.

Our main courses cost £6.95 and that was fairly typical of the price range, although the restaurant's early-bird menu sounds very tempting.

We were too late the night we ate, but every evening from 6 to 7.15pm, you can have a three-course meal with half a bottle of wine for £13.50. And on Sunday and Monday nights, it's available from 6 until 9pm.

Skipping the pudding, I had a coffee which the cheery waitress brought with a flourish.

Our total bill came to £36.85, which included a £7.50 jug of sangria.

Jan Winter

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