ALRIGHT. There is something you should know from the outset. Deep breath, here goes ... The Waiting Room is a vegetarian restaurant.

But surely it is not a big deal these days? After all, at least one in 20 people is supposed to be vegetarian.

OK, vegetarianism may not be a popular option among livestock farmers. But even setting aside supposed health benefits, anybody with a vaguely curious palate should surely welcome the variety of a good vegetarian alternative once in a while.

And The Waiting Room is certainly that.

A vegetarian restaurant turns a herbivorous human into the proverbial child in a sweetshop - "What, I can have anything on the menu?" - such is the novelty of escaping the standard pasta/pizza/mushroom stroganoff veggie options when eating out.

Nobody ever claimed nostalgia was a good dining companion, but this return to The Waiting Room was a bit of a wander down mealtime memory lane.

We started visiting this establishment, nestling in its terrace off the busy road between Yarm and Stockton, as teenagers, soon after it was opened by Jenny Harding.

It was a time when vegetarians really were second-class diners pretty much everywhere they went, so back then a true meat-free alternative was even more of a treat.

But saying that The Waiting Room is not, and never was, a sole preserve of veggies. Then, as now, people appreciated something a little different.

In those early days, things could be haphazard. It was fairly small, almost always busy, and brilliant.

Its erratic nature did sometimes extend to the service, which although always charming and friendly, could be slow: in those days many diners must have pondered whether the establishment's name had more to do with the amount of time spent in between courses than the restaurant's proximity to Eaglescliffe railway station.

Last summer Luke Harding took on the restaurant on his mother's retirement.

For some years he had been "borrowing" the venue for Sunday evenings of music in the large rear, conservatory-like room. That weekend musical tradition continues, and extends to poetry reading.

A lot of money has clearly been lavished on the place, and it is money well spent. The Waiting Room is airy, tasteful and comfortable.

The extensive menu is, as it was, chalked up on the wall (a duplicate at the front of the dining room would be welcomed).

On our Thursday night visit chef/manager Mark Ruddick was offering a choice of about ten starters and ten mains.

They ranged between £3.95 and £4.50 for starters, while main courses were £8.50 or less decisive diners have the option of choosing portions of two items off the main course menu for £9.90, thus continuing a Waiting Room tradition.

The drinks menu was no less varied. No fewer than eight organic beers were on offer alongside six conventional ones, and 19 organic grape wines ranged between £9.90 and £14.95 per bottle, to complement seven varieties made from alternative fruits such as gooseberry and birch.

Nick started with a fried halloumi salad and followed it up with a slightly underwhelming Hungarian mushroom goulash. But there was little complaint from this particular meat eater.

Jo had a roasted vegetable and mozzarella tart, chased by courgette, spinach and four cheese pancakes. The latter was particularly full of flavour, despite sounding relatively simple.

For Anna came spice potato wedges to start with - she found them a little too spicy - then spinach, wild mushroom and pine nut roulade.

I made a bad choice with spicy guacamole and tortillas to start with. This provided the only real sour note of the evening - literally. The avocado was bitter.

But I'm not, and I went on to enjoy the sensory delight that was fennel, leek, lemon and parsley crumble.

Sesame-coated roast spuds (another Waiting Room favourite), braised vegetables and plenty of salad completed the line-up on the table which, like us, was left groaning a little with the weight of such delights.

This meant only two of us staggered back to plunder the dessert menu board, but the results were excellent.

Service was efficient and smiley, although perhaps slightly indifferent later on in the evening.

I know there is a fine balance between pestering diners and leaving them to feel neglected, but leaving table candles left unlit as the night drew in was an unfortunate oversight, as was the fact the CD player remained unstoked for much of the evening.

Good, but unobtrusive music can be an important ingredient, especially in fairly quiet restaurant, and to hear Gomez tracks apparently escaping from the confines of the kitchen rather than the dining room's speakers was a little tantalising.

All in all though, The Waiting Room provided, as always, a refreshing change.

And I'd be happy to count nostalgia among my dinner guests again.

* The next musical event is on July 4, when singer-songwriter Andy Johnson appears with drum and bass player on secondment from The Wild Cats of Kilkenny. Another blast from the past: it turns out to be the same Andy Johnson who was a junior school friend of mine at Kirklevington Primary.

* The Waiting Room features in a new guide to vegetarian eateries. Among the 500-plus entries in The Grapevine Great British Where to Eat Vegetarian Restaurant Guide (ISBN 0-9547243-0-5) are omnivorous eateries that offer a particularly good selection of vegetarian food, as well as the exclusively meat-free restaurants. It is available priced £9.95 from bookshops or direct from the publisher via www.grapevineguides. co.uk.