IT is always something of a dilemma when a reader recommends a restaurant for review.

On the one hand, if someone has been so impressed with an establishment that they have taken the trouble to write to the editor about it, then surely it's got to be good? On the other, what if this reader's tastes differ so dramatically from yours that, however wonderful their favourite place may be, it's never going to appeal to you?

Of course, it's the task of the reviewer to keep an open mind and, however highly somewhere has been praised - in this case by a family friend as well as the aforementioned reader - one has to maintain an objective viewpoint.

So it was with some trepidation that we approached our task at The Queen's Head, at Finghall, near Leyburn. Would our expectations be royally rewarded or could the queen lose her crown?

Sadly, as far as we were concerned, it was more a case of the latter.

Things didn't get off to a very good start when, as soon as we had got our drinks from the bar, we were whisked away from its coal-fired cosiness into the somewhat spartan atmosphere of the large and echoing dining room. Having been given the choice, we had booked our table in the dining room rather than the bar - I've never been a fan of eating in crowded bars where cheery drinkers jostle past your table to get to the loo - but in this case I would have made an exception.

To be fair, we didn't ask to move but there didn't seem to be any spare tables in the bar anyway.

The dining room, which appears to be a later addition to the pub judging from its lofty proportions, is elegantly, if a little eccentrically, decorated (I have to say I found the embroidered sampler of the Lord's Prayer and the picture of the Queen with her corgis a little bizarre). But the main problem was that it was just uncomfortably chilly - a situation probably not helped by the cheerless electric fire sitting ineffectively in the enormous stone hearth, as opposed to the TWO cosily glowing real fires in the bar, and the bare and noisy wooden floor. (A subject of mutual dislike touched upon in this column a few weeks ago.) It was also so badly lit that it was almost impossible to read the menu - and this may be one of the reasons why things were soon to warm up a little dramatically.

I chose my starter - spicy duck mille feuille (£5.75) from the specials board in the bar (anything to get back to that fire), which was a bit of a disappointment in that it wasn't in the least spicy. By contrast, Peter's choice of spare ribs (£4.95) from the main menu was so overheated I thought the pub was going to record its first experience of spontaneous combustion.

The menu did make mention of a home-made hot and spicy sauce but one like this so heavily overladen with chilli should carry some sort of warning. As it was, the delayed reaction of the chilli so anaethetised Peter's mouth he was hardly able to taste anything else for some time.

Other starters included, from specials board: moules marinre (£5.95) and seafood pancake with a fish cream sauce (£5.95), and from the main menu: deep fried whitebait (£5.75); Thai style fish cakes with crunchy noodles and sweet chilli sauce (£4.95), and a tossed salad with pancetta, chicken, pears and pine nuts (£5.95).

Our very helpful and pleasant young waiter having come to Peter's rescue with a pint of lager, he eventually cooled down enough to contemplate his main course, which, fortuitously, was a rather soothing fish pie with a white wine and dill velout and creamed potatoes, topped with cheese (£10.95), which he said was excellent.

Again, my choice was from the specials board - monkfish wrapped in pancetta served on tagliatelle with a fish cream sauce (£12.95). This was a hugely generous portion, with massive medallions of fish and a mountain of pasta but the sauce was glutinous and masked the delicate flavour of the fish. The vegetables were crisply done but the chips were so similarly presented as to be mostly inedible.

Other main course choices were beef and haggis tower served with peppered mash and balsamic jus (£13.95); red deer steak with caramelised red onion and wild mushroom risotto with a red wine sauce (£13.95), and grilled lamb chops with Cajun style onion rings, tomato and mushrooms (£11.95), all from the specials board. And, from the main menu: pan fried salmon fillet on dill crushed new potatoes with a pesto sauce (£10.95); grilled chicken served on a honey and mustard dressed salad with a poached egg and garlic bread (£10.25), and peppered duck confit served on a rosemary risotto with a poached raspberry sauce (£12.55).

Undecided on puddings we opted for a selection to share (£7.95) which included very generous portions of a delightfully sharp lemon cheesecake, a wonderful chocolate torte dotted with Maltesers, a banoffie pie concoction and various ice creams in brandy baskets and suchlike.

At £42.55 for two, you couldn't dispute this was good value but, highly recommended as she was, the Queen's Head wouldn't get the nod from me.

But then, chacun son go-t as, no doubt, they say in Finghall.