While the city contributes richly to the food culture of Yorkshire, the rise in number of Asian restaurants has not been mirrored to any significant degree by those from other cuisines. And while curry may rank among the country's favourite dishes, man cannot live by chicken tikka masala alone.

At least this one, an unashamed spice fan, can't. So it's good to see that the lights have gone back on in what was formerly Clark's Bistro in Heaton. And the hand that flicked the switch knew exactly where to find it.

Bradford-born Andrew Bradley, who trained at the Box Tree in Ilkley and runs his own bistro in Huddersfield, was restaurant manager here in the early 1990s. When the business came up for sale last year, the temptation to expand proved too great to resist and after a thorough makeover, the row of converted stone cottages reopened at the beginning of this month.

It looks fresh, clean and, in the angularity of its lines and the spareness of its accessories, every inch the modern diner. More surprisingly, it looks full. This was week one and there's hardly a table to be had in the cream and aubergine ground-floor dining room. The crush bar teems with people meeting and greeting and polished wooden floors and low ceilings serve only to amplify the
sociable buzz.

A blackboard by the entrance offers a small number of specials to supplement an à la carte of sensible length and an early bird menu. And it's the board that first catches the eye. To continue the "where in" theme, where – within a couple of miles of Bradford city centre – can you find daily specials like flash-fried baby squid, smoked haddock with champ, charred halibut, or fillet of plaice with lemon butter sauce?

In restaurants in Leeds, the temptation is to look for the unexpected; in Bradford, to find even the expected is a minor revelation.

Take, for example, the scallops which are presented with utmost simplicity on a scattering of diced bacon. Scallops and bacon rub along well, and the more so when the fish is seared to demonstrate the contrast between a brown, vanilla- scented surface and a middle of ghostly translucence.

This is splendid fish cookery by chef Tommy Mulkerrin, formerly of the Grove, Ilkley, and the wild seabass, served with olives on crushed potatoes, shows this skill is not merely a flash in the squid's pan. A salad of black pudding, peasant food now elevated to the starter section of almost every regional brasserie, earns its place here through the quality of the rich, crumbly pudding, the smoky bite of the chorizo and the emollience of the dressed salad. A poached egg would do its texture even more favours.

A daube of beef, cooked so slowly that it can be carved with a spoon, is still beloved in those households and restaurants of France that prize flavour over convenience. I'm not sure, however, what a typical grandmère would make of this one. The meat, in large pieces looked right; so, too, the dark sauce.

But the stringiness of the beef suggested that it had been cooked at a gallop at some point. More seriously, its flavour had leeched away, and not entirely into the sauce. It arrived with mustard mashed potatoes that were, to be kind to them, some distance from a creamy purée.

Winter comfort links other dishes: roast pork belly with apple mash; oak roast salmon fish cake with chive crème fraîche; smoked haddock and leek gratin; calf liver with bacon, onion and rosti; and slow roast shoulder of lamb with honey-roast celeriac and rosemary.

If the kitchen can master the detail, there's no reason this place should not emulate the early success of its former owner, Brian Clark.

Whether it will regain the quirky character he brought to it remains to be seen. Perhaps that's not the aim.

That said, the pudding menu is not without quirks. Fruits of the forest, whatever they are, in January? Strawberry pancakes? In January?

Even the coconut and raisin pudding with boozy prunes sounds a misfit
until it arrives as a lovely, light, integrated construction. More memorable still is the "no flour" chocolate pudding, an intense but helium-light affair slicked with an equally intense chocolate sauce.

As a choreographer of service, Andrew Bradley has few equals locally and the mostly young staff may be wondering what's hit them as they dance about at speed, managing a smile on the way.

The wine list offers something of interest at most price points from £13.50 and it's good to see vintages and producers listed.

All in all, a brave venture.

Bradley's Restaurant, 46/50 Highgate, Heaton, Bradford, BD9 4BE, tel 01274 499890. Open Monday to Saturday. Early bird menu: three-courses, £16.95. With half bottle of wine per person, £18.95. Street parking.