A NEW venture has brought a breath of fresh air to Flintshire's restaurant scene - a breath of sea air, to be precise.

56 High Street Restaurant, Mold, specialises in seafood. It is situated opposite the increasingly cosmopolitan market town's handsome parish church, having taken over the former Chez Collette bistro premises.

It's a compact eaterie, with no more than a dozen tables, and a measure of its immediate popularity - it opened last month - is the difficulty I had in securing a table. You'll have to book well in advance to make sure you get to sample its delights.

56 High Street boasts a friendly and attentive atmosphere and the limited space is saved from pokiness by subtly shaded modern décor, including work by local artists on display and for sale.

The cuisine is modern, too, with an interesting fusion of ingredients (tomato salsa served with a Welsh rarebit fondue; goat's cheese hash brown served with apple and vanilla purée; honey and rosemary duck breast with a caramelised apple tatin and juniper and red win jus, to name a few).

The aforementioned duck, Jamaican jerk chicken, Welsh beef fillet and braised lamb are among the meatier options on the menu, although vegetarians have a tougher time of it - I counted just one veggie starter and one main on the usual evening menu.

But it is with fish and shellfish that 56 High Street excels. On the night I visited with colleague, Alan, the restaurant was hosting a special Lobster Week with each lobster main course priced at a very reasonable £12.99.

I had never eaten a whole lobster before and was wary of tackling a big bug with a pair of nutcrackers - my own assumption of how one goes about it - so chose to limit my sampling to a safer-sounding starter, a lobster and parmesan risotto with wild rocket and white truffle essence.

This proved delightful and I savoured every mouthful, particularly impressed with how the subtle infusion of truffle added an earthier note to the seafood.

Alan enjoyed more homely smoked haddock fritters with a mature cheddar and mild mustard mayonnaise. Battered smoked fish can be over-ripe in my experience but there was nothing overpowering about these crispy morsels. The starters were all priced at £5.25.

Alan was brave enough to go for one of the lobster mains, a classic lobster thermidor. I kicked myself when I saw that the shellfish had already been split and the meat conveniently separated out - no need for 'nutcrackers'!

The whole was swimming in a rich cream of lobster sauce, flavoured with brandy, mild mustard, cheese and parsley and topped with a gratin. Alan generously allowed me a forkful, and I was intrigued by the rich and complex flavours I was briefly allowed to try.

My own less adventurous main course was a steamed lemon-sole fillet wrapped round a crab and herb stuffing with a lime hollandaise. I was more than happy with my choice, however, thor-oughly enjoying the delicate flavour of the sole offset by the zesty lime and the tongue-tingling, sea-fresh tang of the crabmeat.

Considering the ingredients, I feel this was very fairly priced at under a tenner. Accompanying vegetables are priced separately, however, all at £1.95. Alan ordered steamed greens (asparagus, fine beans and sugar-snap peas) and I opted for creamy mashed potato, which soaked up the hollandaise beautifully.

There's an extensive wine list which allows the purchase not only of full bottles but also 250ml glasses as well as the usual 175ml. This is a very sensible innovation, I feel, especially when one or more diners are driving (like me on this occasion).

Alan enjoyed a couple of glasses of a bright, grassy Australian Chardonnay from The Mill, Windowrie estate (£15.95 the bottle, £5.20 for 250ml, £3.95 for 175ml). My big bottle of mineral water came in at a reasonably priced £2.20.

Not wishing to swamp the light flavours of my main course, I chose a fruit salad to end with - a well-presented selection served in a (rather underripe) half melon. Alan went for something more substantial; somewhat of a fan of bara brith, the traditional Welsh fruit loaf, he ordered the Sticky Toffee Bara Brith pudding, a luxurious variant on the usual, although the butterscotch sauce proved a little bland. Each sweet was priced at £4.50.

All in all, 56 High Street offered a very satisfying selection of complex and expertly created dishes in bright, cheerful surroundings and, considering the high quality of the cuisine, very fair prices. Three courses times two plus drinks came in at £57.69 - good value.

Later I spoke to the owners, Karl Mitchell and Kirsten Robb. I learnt that both are experienced chefs who have learnt their trade in a variety of top restaurants and five-star hotels, but this is the first restaurant they have owned themselves. Karl is in charge of the kitchen, while Kirsten looks after front of house.

Karl told me: 'We're both from Liverpool originally but we saw an opportunity here in Mold. There's lots of lovely people here who we felt were starved of a really good restaurant.'

Karl and Kirsten share a love of seafood. 'We were disappointed at the lack of seafood in the area, it seemed impossible to get really good fish ingredients,' said Karl. 'So we decided to specialise and also to use local ingredients wherever possible.

'All our shellfish comes from Anglesey, for example. The vegetables are all locally grown and we buy our meat from Swan Farm at Treuddyn - it's expensive but absolutely beautiful. The fish is hand-picked out for me by a fellow restaurateur when he visits the markets.

'It was important to us not only to provide top quality food made with top quality ingredients but to keep the prices affordable. Seafood doesn't need to be so expensive and we are determined to carry on providing a good deal to our diners.'

Good value, top quality ingredients and imaginative, expertly prepared food - no wonder it's hard to get a table!

Factfile

Location: 56 High Street, Mold

Telephone: 01352 759225

Menus : Separate evening and lunchtime menus, which include sandwiches at lunch. Several regular specialist evening menus, such as Anglesey mussels and simple grills, and occasional special weeks. Side orders priced separately Vegetarian choice limited to one starter and one main (evening).

Costs: Lobster and parmesan risotto, wild rocket, white truffle essence - £5.25
Smoked haddock fritters, mature cheddar and mild mustard mayo - £5.25
Lobster thermidor - £12.99
Steamed lemon sole fillet, crab and herb stuffing, lime hollandaise - £9.95
Steamed greens - £1.95
Creamy mashed potato - £1.95
Sticky toffee bara brith pudding - £4.50
Half melon and fruit salad - £4.50
Large mineral water - £2.20
Chardonnay, 1 large glass, 1 small glass - £9.15
Total - £57.69