IT MUST be a sign of getting old. I can remember a time, not too long ago, when going out for a meal meant a visit to Reece's, a Berni Inn or, if you were very adventurous, a Chinese restaurant.

All that has changed in the last decade and now Merseyside has more than 450 restaurants catering for every price range and taste.

The burgeoning restaurant scene has also made an impact in the suburbs too but it's easy to forget that there are places to eat away from Allerton Road and Crosby.

So this week, I ventured out to West Derby Village to try out Zouk.

Opened just over a year ago, in what was previously a basement cafe in Mill Lane, the restaurant has gone for a Moroccan-themed interior with wall lanterns, lush velvet drapes and accents of the vivid blue Yves Saint Laurent used to such great effect at his home in the centre of Marrakech.

It's split into two sections, with a large bar area filled with cosy two-seater sofas divided from the restaurant by Middle Eastern-style screens. If there was just one niggle, it is the choice of white cushions on the dining chair seats.

In places these seemed to have suffered the odd spillage over the last 12 months, which is to be expected, but with a darker cushion this would not have been so apparent.

It was a quiet Tuesday after a Bank Holiday, so when we arrived at 7pm we were the first diners of the evening.

The restaurant has a fair sized a la carte menu which doesn't strictly follow its Middle Eastern theme. There is a Moroccan lamb filo roll starter (£3.75) but the rest seems to be general Mediterranean cuisine with the odd Chinese and Japanese starter for good measure. Main courses range from £10.95 for aubergine cannelloni filled with spinach and ricotta through to £15.95 for a T-bone steak.

But on the night we visited there was a fixed price menu also, which is available every Monday to Friday, which gives you two courses for £11.95.