GORDON Ramsay's theory that vegetarians don't have taste buds is well and truly sliced apart with a non-meat cleaver at this well-established restaurant in leafy West Didsbury.

The celebrity chef, ex-professional footballer and Hell's Kitchen presenter has obviously never been to Greens, which lies to the south of Manchester.

The understated decor and friendly but unobtrusive staff immediately put you at ease in a place that, at just 6pm on a Saturday night, is already filling up.

We are given a plate of soft nutty bread with an olive oil dip while we peruse the menu and wine list.

Settling on a bottle of house wine, which is a lightly-spice and fruity Argentinian Chardonnay, we notice other people bringing in their own and ask a waiter, who says: "We got a licence after the refurbishment six months ago, but you can't tell people who have been coming here for 14 years that they can't bring their own wine any more."

The second half of that sentence sums up Greens perfectly - customer-sassy and laid-back enough to realise the value of catering to the wishes of regulars who have been eating at the restaurant since day one.

Most of the informally dressed and in no way overly-smart crowd - wear a suit, come in jeans or a fashionable shirt - appear at home enough to have been here before and the innovative menu goes a long way to warranting a regular visit.

Starters, all at around £5 each, include deep fried oyster mushrooms with Chinese pancakes and plum sauce; asparagus spears, with red pepper sauce, ginger and lemon mayo; roasted red pepper, fig and buffalo Brie cheese salad, and a freshly made soup of the day.

My partner Vanessa went for the pea, mint and parmesan cheesecake with basil syrup which, after just two mouthfuls, she voted the "perfect summer starter". Light, refreshing and minty, it was the sort of palette cleanser that really prepares you for a main course.

I chose the deep-fried puri with potato and pea curry, topped with roasted cumin yoghurt, which turned out to be a pitta-style pancake with a curry of medium spice, tangy but not over-powering and offset with a light yoghurt topping.

Mains, all at £10.25, included a very tempting filo pastry strudel filled with leeks, mushrooms, tomato and cream cheese, served with port wine sauce; a Moroccan spiced spaghetti with chick peas, tomato, almonds, coriander and cinnamon; Indonesian rendang curry with baby aubergines, fine beans and fragrant rice; and a sun blush tomato, basil and Blackstick's blue cheese roulade with sticky onion jam.

It was good that choice was limited to six, as both of us had a real problem in making one.

Vanessa chose the spring green risotto with asparagus, baby spinach and artichoke, which was finished off with cream and parmesan shavings. As a self-confessed risotto fanatic and a meat eater, she declared this vegetarian version of a perilous dish to cook as one of the best she had ever had.

I went for the Italian bean and red wine casserole, which was tasty but not too spicy and arrived with three beautifully crunchy cheese and basil chipolatas.

Side dishes of obviously high quality vegetables and a fresh and tasty rocket and parmesan salad with a spoonful of biting balsamic vinegar were ideal complements.

Puddings all came in at £3.95 and included creme brulee; baked lemon cheesecake with raspberry sauce; chocolate, red wine and orange pots and Bakewell tart.

Pleasantly full, but not overly so, we decided to share what turned out to be a surprisingly light sticky toffee pudding which arrived in a pool of mouth-tingling butterscotch sauce.

With a double espresso the whole bill came to a very fair £54.20, and you can save by bringing your own wine - generously, there's no corkage -, although a well-chosen selection, including Seifried Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc and Firestick Shiraz/Cabernet is worth a look at.

We left vowing to return in the very near future.

Greens Restaurant, 43 Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury.

Telephone: 0161 4344259.

Opening hours: Lunchtimes: Tuesday to Friday noon-2pm and Sunday 12.30-3pm. Evenings: 5.30pm-10.30.

Star rating 4 and a half.