Paparazzi

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• Average price 2 courses:
   £5.95 (set lunch)
   £13.50 (evening meal)
• House wine: £11.90 per bottle

• High point: Huge menu and quick service great for big groups
• Low point: Décor missing a bit of character
• Food served: Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm, 5.30-11pm; Sun noon-10pm.
• Open since: 2005
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Childrens high chairs, Wheelchair access, Take away

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Smart white awnings and a door flanked by lollipop-shaped box trees gives Paparazzi a confident, continental-style presence on largely residential Gilmore Place. Although the slightly rustic cream and terracotta interior lacks the same pizzazz, the busy staff are affable and the brightly lit space is neatly laid out. An archway links two separate sides of the restaurant, happily putting a little distance between lively parties and more low-key diners, while keeping a bustling atmosphere. Whatever the buzz in the restaurant, however, it's worth concentrating on the vast menu, which lists a comprehensive range of hot and cold antipasti, pasta, pizza, meat and fish, raising your eyes only to study the daily specials chalked on a blackboard. Try a generous serving of fresh ravioli, filled with intensely flavoured porcini mushrooms and smothered in a cream sauce, or treat yourself to scaloppina paparazzi, an oven-baked dish of tender veal, topped with cured beef, asparagus and mozzarella. Standard offerings of ice-cream and tiramisu will satisfy those with a sweet tooth, but the excellent, strong Italian coffee, served with a plate of almond-packed biscotti, makes for a more grown-up finale.