THE citizens of Well, a village betwixt Masham and Bedale, have good reason to revere a certain D Brier of Her Majesty's Planning Inspectorate.

Mr Brier may be the absolute epitome of the faceless bureaucrat or may be a thoroughly nice chap. Whatever is the case, he was certainly switched on when the planning appeal papers for the village pub, the Milbank Arms, landed on his desk in the summer of 2002, no doubt with a hefty thump.

For it was Mr Brier who had to decide whether the then owner of the Milbank Arms would be allowed to convert the place into a house on the grounds that it was no longer viable as a pub. On the grounds that someone else might be able to make a go of the place, Mr Brier refused to grant permission for the change of use.

Cue much jubilation in the village and the arrival of new owners who, after a goodly amount of ballyhoo and optimism, set about proving that perhaps Mr Brier had been wrong all along. They left the pub and the area some time in 2003.

Enter Tony Lee and his wife, Jan, previously owners of the Masons' Arms at Bishop Monkton, who, despite the history of the Milbank Arms, saw the place had potential and bought it from the Official Receiver early in 2004.

After a five month top-to-toe refurbishment which saw the kitchen and dining room extended, it reopened in June last year - and has done very nicely thank-you.

Mr Lee says he has set out to develop a reputation for good food while still allowing the Milbank Arms to be the village boozer. There's a dart and doms team (which has just won its league) and also a quoits team.

The atmosphere's unmistakeably that of a pub but the dining room is comfortable in an understated rustic way.

The reputation for fine food's coming along nicely. On the Friday evening we called, the place was packed Mr and Mrs Lee have brought their head chef, James Hudson, and assistant, Karen Barber, from Bishop Monkton and it is clearly a good team, both in the kitchen and front of house where Mr Lee is behind the bar and Mrs Lee is in charge in the dining room.

Mr Hudson's cooking tends towards the classic and is reliant on good quality ingredients, all sourced nearby, notably fish from Carricks of Snape and meat from Sykes House Farm, Wetherby.

Sylvia's king prawns sauted in garlic butter and served with a pesto salad and balsamic tomatoes (£4.95) were plump, juicy and not overcooked. My Parma ham with buffalo mozzarella served with a similar salad garnish (£4.25) was notable for the decent-sized slices of ham.

My main course choice was a delight just because of what it was. It is rare to see coq au vin on a menu these days and this was a faithful attempt at a French classic (£8.95), served on a bed of creamy mash and served with an excellent selection of vegetables.

Sylvia's Henri Lamb with caramelised onions and a redcurrant and port jus (£10.95) was similarly authentic. Shoulder of lamb is an underrated cut and this was beautifully moist and mutton-ey.

Other main course choices included steak and ale pie (£8.50) and a seafood saut -monkfish, king prawns and scallops (£12.95)

The dessert menu was short, if a little predictable (sticky toffee pudding, cheesecake etc), but the rhubarb crme brulee (£4.25) was fine and Mrs Lee was happy to provide a bowl of strawberries and cream (also £4.25) for Sylvia when they were not on the menu.

Coffee and a couple of drinks were included in our final bill of £45. Service, led by Mrs Lee, was seamlessly assiduous.

No significant gripes can be reported and we have to say the Milbank Arms is one of the top three establishments we have visited this year.

We trust the locals, and the diners who increasingly travel to Well from afar, will raise a glass to Mr Brier.