Salvo Caffè Restaurant

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses: £5.95

• High point: The mind-expanding décor
• Low point: The waist-expanding food
• Food served: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm. Closed Sun.
• Open since: 2001
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of menu), Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Take away

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Located on a busy throroughfare and in the less than salubrious area of Tollcross, it would be easy to miss Café Salvo. It would also be a shame. After you've braved the inauspicious entrance, the interior is welcomingly cute. Top to bottom, the walls are crammed with framed black and white pictures of Hollywood stars, classic movie posters and, best of all, Marilyn Monroe fairy-lights. The charismatic owner, Salvatore Rosso, has turned his place of work into a place he wants to be, and the effect is kitsch or tasteful, depending on your level of ironic detachment. The food is likely to divide palates as well. The Italian menu is extensive, covering all the expected starters and main course options: pastas, pizzas, many varieties of meats, fish and more, and incorporating a large number of American dishes, too (burritos, burgers, etc). The quality may suffer a little from the sheer size of the menu, but the experience balances any lack in culinary panache. It's the kind of retro Italian diner where you can feed a hangover while indulging in fantasies of glamour. And with its proximity to the King's Theatre, you may even run into a cast member or two.