Fornata

A 'small plates' menu, faux-rustic decor, vaguely Italian bar-diner vibe. Si, another new eatery in Soho, perhaps more inspired by the likes of neighbour Dehesa (Italian-Spanish hybrid) or Spuntino (faux New York Italian) than anywhere in Rome or Milan.

But wait! Before any accusations of bandwagon-hopping can be levelled, there are promising signs: the staff speak Italian, and the menu requires concentration - if not an Italian-English dictionary.

Fornata's big menu is littered with terms such as 'tramezzino' (sandwich), 'fettina' (cutlet) and 'alla Braccia' (your guess is as good as ours). Such obscurantism can sometimes be a measure of authenticity - but it can also be a way of making mundane-sounding dishes seem more enticing, more exotic.

We ordered three diverse-sounding main courses, so were surprised when three remarkably similar dishes arrived: on identical wooden platters, with the same tangled garnish of leaves and roasted potatoes; all three were variations of stuffed bread.

In each case these freshly baked bread variants (ciabatta, piadina) were exemplary, clearly recently plucked from the forno prominently displayed in the corner of the restaurant. The fillings of each were fine too: some shredded pork, crab with two soft cheeses, or endive and anchovies in a burrito-style roll.

Ingredient quality and the cooking were impressively good, even though the advertised 'beef ragu' with our crisp, saffron-rich arancine turned out to be a speck of mince in the centre of these deep-fried rice balls. Another good dish was the agnolotti - a type of ravioli - with a rich, sweet beef sauce.

The prices seem reasonable - 'stuzzicare' ('teasers') cost around the £3-4 mark, while the larger 'per mangiare' ('for eating'- as opposed to 'for steadying the table legs'?) cost £6-9 or so.

However, portions are smile-flatteningly small, best described as varying from mini snacks to big snacks. Our tiramisu cheesecake was indeed excellent and only cost £2.50, but it was also a sliver that wouldn't satisfy a bambina.

Fornata claims to serve breakfast, though on my return visit at 9.30am staff were utterly unprepared for customers and couldn't even find a menu. But this is a nice enough place for a daytime pranzo, or evening snack - and somewhere to practise your Italian.