Buongiorno

Send us more details about this place.

The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

A daytime café, takeaway and night time restaurant, Buongiorno has been an established part of the Southside eating-out scene for over a decade. It has the feel of a café you come across in Italy, complete with a picture of the Italian national football team. Plus there’s a poster of Marlon Brando as the Godfather, it greets the customers to remind them of the Italian family nature of the restaurant. A simple small dining space made larger by the clever use of mirrors, it’s cosy and unfussy. An extensive snack, brunch and lunch menu is served throughout the day. The evening menu has a range of pizzas, pastas and house specialities. Starters include cozze steamed in tomato and chilli – a large bowl of fresh mussels with the gentle heat of spice. The mozzarella sticks served with salad and a dipping sauce makes a simple tasty starter. A main course of beef stew is slow-cooked tender meat with an intense tomato flavour. Most desserts are bought in and range from tiramisu to a limoncello sorbet. A more authentic Italian desert is affogato – a scoop of ice cream, an espresso and amaretto. The sweet almond-liqueur, the chill of the ice cream and kick of strong coffee is a great end to a meal.

• High point: Bellissimo beef stew
• Low point: A lack of real art on the walls