Orso

Slick, suited and booted service gives a first impression of formality at Orso. However, this is countered by folksy hand-painted crockery and the ebullient chatter of the well-dressed continentals who fill the tables in this basement venue. The enduring popularity of the place slightly baffles us, as the food, though undoubtedly appetising and nicely presented, hardly merited a standing ovation on our visit, and some dishes were priced somewhat above their station. We resented paying £17 for some grilled calf's liver with broccoli and balsamic vinegar, and our £10.50 goat's cheese and grilled vegetable ravioli, though delicious and punchy with roast garlic, was gone too soon - we wanted more. Of the starters, warm baby artichokes with roast tomato and mint were a little bland and weirdly textured, but the grilled sardine fillets with salsa rossa scored highly with their crisply grilled finish. Glasses of Puglian Salento negroamaro and Umbrian cabernet sauvignon (£8.50 and £7 respectively) were unremarkable, and we were left cogitating over whether to order pudding - although we fell for the blood-orange cake with vanilla sauce in a big way.