Piccolo Mondo

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £9.95 (set lunch)
   £21 (evening meal)
• House wine: £14.50 per bottle

• High point: Friendly, efficient service
• Low point: Portions too gigantic?
• Food served: Mon-Sat noon-2.15pm, 5.30-10.45pm. Closed Sun.
• Private dining: Up to 15 covers
• Open since: 2006
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu

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

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Meaning 'small world', Piccolo Mondo opened its doors near Central Station in 2006. A large painting of the Tuscan hill town Barga (in a nod to the ancestry of the restaurant's management) dominates the main dining area. But the owners say they would like guests to feel as if they were attending the theatre when eating here. Given the luxurious dark red and gold interior - not to mention some meals that are dramatically flambéed tableside - it almost lives up to that billing. Dishes are cooked fresh to order, with nothing seemingly too much trouble for the cheery staff. The extensive menu often incorporates locally sourced ingredients in traditional Italian dishes; the carpaccio starter, for example, headlines tender, wafer-thin fillet of marinated Scottish beef, with flakes of rich parmesan and some spicy rocket leaves in supporting roles. Main courses include several chicken, veal and fish dishes, such as a duet of plump scallops and king prawns cooked in white wine and served with saffron rice. Among desserts, the tiramisu is made with semifreddo (literally 'half cold' or semi-frozen) mascarpone cheese.