LA Tama is everything you would expect from a quaint village restaurant, friendly staff, peaceful atmosphere, and unique character, the perfect setting for an intimate meal for two.

The size of the restaurant -- it only has about eight tables -- suggests booking would be advisable, but because our visit was on a quiet Friday just after the busy Christmas and New Year period, it was unnecessary.

The friendliness of the staff was immediately apparent as we entered the bar area and were guided to seats by the radiator to warm up, before being promptly furnished with menus and our drinks order.

Although it advertises itself as serving "the finest Italian and French cuisine" don't expect to see pizza and pasta on the menu, but that shouldn't cause a problem.

A wide selection of starters includes French onion soup (£3.50), minestrone soup (£3.50) and chicken livers (£6.50), while main courses centre around continental twists on the traditional meat and veg. There are plentiful beef, lamb, chicken and veal options, with prices ranging from £10.95 to £11.95, as well as four fish/seafood options (£11.45-£12.95).

Vegetarian choices are very limited, although a footnote on the menu states that the chef would be happy to create any of your favourite dishes, but you need to request these in advance. The same applies for children, as there is no separate children's menu.

A well-placed specials board offered a further four starters and main courses including pan-fried garlic mushrooms (£3.80), coqu'lle St Jacques (scollops to you and me, £6.50), rack of lamb (£13.50) and sea bass (£12.50).

To start, my partner and I wimped out of sampling the authentic sounding frogs legs (£6.50) and both chose the French onion soup, served with Stilton crouton (£3.50).

While waiting for our starter we were served a freshly baked bread roll, the ideal accompaniment for our soup,

which we agreed was delicious, rich and very flavoursome, without being too heavy.

For the main course my partner opted for the rack of lamb, served in a red wine and blackcherry sauce, from the specials board, while I chose the sirloin of beef in wild mushroom and Madeira sauce from the main menu (£10.95). Accompaniments were not specified so we decided to try our luck and see what came.

Both meals were well-presented and arrived on warmed plates, with vegetables served on separate side plates.

On my plate were three small pieces of steak smothered in a rich, dark-coloured sauce, which I likened to a peppercorn sauce on tasting. Although not asked to state my preference when I ordered, the meat was cooked to perfection, tender, juicy and pink in the middle.

My partner was slightly disappointed with his "rack of lamb", it would have been better described as lamb cutlets. However, he was pleasantly surprised by the unusual sauce and his meat was tender, although he could have eaten more of it.

Unfortunately the originality of the meat and sauces was let down by disappointingly basic side orders. The thinly sliced, oven-baked potatoes looked promising, but the boiled carrots, cauliflower and sprouts reminded me all too much of the Christmas left-overs I had escaped at home. I tried to eat them, but not being a huge veg fan, it was more a chore than a pleasure and not my idea of a treat.

That aside, we asked to see the desert menu, only to be disappointed yet again. The four choices (all £3.50) confirmed our suspicions that La Tama is geared towards the older generation. Neither the oranges in Gran Marnia, almond log or figs in syrup appealed to us, and since the final option was vanilla ice cream we decided to pass, and finish our bottle of wine instead.

The bill totalled £53.50, which included two bar drinks and a bottle of house white wine at £9, which considering we ate quality steak and lamb, was fairly reasonable. The only part I didn't agree with was being charged an extra £2.50 each for the vegetables.

We did enjoy our meal at La Tama, the food was good quality, the service never faltered throughout and the relaxed atmosphere suited our "end of party season" mood, but we felt the homely flavour, created by the easy-listening background music, simple decor and some of the menu choices, would be more suited to our grandparents.

La Tama, Church Street, Ainsworth Village

Overall star rating ***

Menu ***

Atmosphere **

Service ****

Value for money ***

Vegetarian menu * (can be prepared if requested in advance)