Osteria dell'Angolo

Pulze group veteran chef Massimiliano Vezzi has settled into this Westminster 'corner' of high-end Italian restaurants. Calm reigns in the highly visible kitchen, and is reflected in the food. There's a clear and enjoyable focus on melding Italian - largely southern - tradition with prime British ingredients.

Where Italian produce features, it does so purposefully, as in the darkly grilled strips of cinta senese (rare-breed 'belted' Tuscan pig) pancetta providing crisp contrast to a bright, creamy pea soup. A generous board of cured meats was top-notch, as was an unctuous buffalo mozzarella.

On the British side, a 28-day-aged Galloway 'beltie' T-bone steak would have matched any Tuscan Chianina. Accompaniments were strikingly simple and apt, though some sweet-sour zucchini was rather too sweet.

The wine list is extensively Italian, with a nod to classical France; a fair selection by the glass features a tantalising and affordable set of Italian sweeties. Service was brisk but warm, quick to correct mistakes, and child-friendly. On a warm summer evening with the sun brightening the terracotta-wash walls and a welcome breeze streaming through an airy expanse of open windows, a cross-section of affluent Londoners created a buzz of contentment.