The town has a national reputation for its liberal, artistic and creative community and tourists flock there for its cosmopolitan atmosphere and stunning backdrop.

It is a vibrant place to be during the day, of that there is no doubt. But what about on an evening when the street entertainers have disappeared and the cafes, galleries and shops have closed? Has it got anything to tempt hungry gastronauts away from Halifax or nearby cities?

There are a fair number of successful restaurants that have been here for years and have a loyal following, but new ones are pretty thin on the ground. Which is surprising, really.

The reason seems to hinge on the diet of a lot of those living there. They are into healthy eating, which means new restaurants have to cater for a mix of tastes if they want to fill their seats.

One new restaurant which has quickly discovered this, is Copa House in Market Street. Its owner, 21-year-old Amber Gatehouse, started off washing up there four or five years ago. She went on to be a waitress and then a cook at weekends. She bought the business – which opens as a cafe during the day – with the help of her parents, Philip and Cheryl, and six months ago, put her own stamp on it by changing the name and menu.

Copa is the first letter of her four family members, Cheryl, sister Olivia, Philip and Amber and is a real family concern, with both her mum and younger sister working there too. The restaurant opens every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and serves modern European dishes created by Jamie Quirola, who used to work at the Mill Bank and had his own deli in the Piece Hall, Halifax.

Amber, who cooks during the day and is front of house at night, keeps the evening menu pretty basic with five starters and eight mains, which change every three or four weeks. Six of the dishes are now vegetarian/vegan or gluten-free – down to demand – and included, when we visited, pan-fried haloumi with chutney and toasted brioche, baked field mushrooms topped with lentils, braised in red wine and polenta fritters, and herb-crusted feta with tomato and courgette cous cous and water cress salad.

So I had a meat-free night with beetroot and Yorkshire blue cheese salad to start, followed by halibut with ratatouille and sauteed potatoes. The other half had salmon rillette with avocado fritters and then wild boar and apple sausages, with mustard mash and onion gravy.

He had never tasted avocado in batter before, and said it was a nice twist with the salmon. While his main was not wildly exciting, it was tasty and very filling. Beetroot and creamy cheese are a good mix in my book, so I could not fault that, and the halibut, a bit of a boring fish really, melted in my mouth and was given a lift by the stronger tasting ratatouille. We shared a rhubarb crumble with vanilla cream afterwards, which again married well.

Copa House has a limited wine list – three house wines with a choice of six others, plus a sparkling wine and Champagne – but it is adequate and well priced.

We tried the Up A Gum Tree (Australian, of course) house semillion chardonnay at £9.50, which was soft, fruity and light and went perfect with my fish.

Very few people on the night we visited were drinking alcoholic drinks and those who were appeared to have only one glass. Which means turn-over is pretty fast.

This was not to my liking, because I like to linger over my meal with a drink and soak up the atmosphere. As it was, we were on our way home by 10.30pm, which is very early for me.

Copa is not a place to head if you like a wild night, but perfect if you are after good food in pleasant and peaceful surroundings.

A meal for two with the wine cost around £50.

Ratings
Name: Copa House
Address: Market Street, Hebden Bridge.
Phone: 01422 845524
Food 4/5
Atmosphere 2/5
Service 3/5
Value 4/5