Il Castello

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £15.50 (lunch)
   £15.50 (evening meal)
• House wine: £11.80 (1l) per bottle

• High point: Bursting with the owner's Italian charm
• Low point: Uninspiring salad accompaniment to meat dishes
• Food served: Mon-Sun noon-2.30pm, 5-10.45pm
• Open since: 1991
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

A large Italian flag billowing above the door of Il Castello on Castle Terrace draws in tourists, theatre-goers and many regulars. It's a combination of diners that gives the place a good-humoured buzz, even on quieter nights. The split-level restaurant is spacious, but seems torn between the homely style of the open kitchen and bar and the more modern upper dining area, lined with chic monochrome photographs. Parts of the busy menu also seem to be similarly at odds, with well-executed home cooking alongside unimaginative side dishes and disappointing bought-in desserts. For a hearty taste of Italy try a starter of melanzane alla parmigiana, with layers of velvety aubergine, baked in a rich tomato sauce and bubbling with mozzarella and parmesan. Bulging calzone and large, sauce-smothered dishes of perfectly al dente pasta will satisfy the healthiest appetite, but succulent, well-flavoured meat dishes are let down by the accompanying insipid iceberg lettuce and French fries. However, quick, good-natured service and the charms of the gregarious owner, Giuseppe Votta, always make Il Castello an enjoyable place to eat.