Italian Caffè

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Styled on the Italian enoteca, literally meaning 'wine library', this recent Merchant City arrival knows its Chianti from its Montepulciano. With 24 labels by the glass and double that number by the bottle, it may be easy to overlook the tapas-style menu of small meat, seafood and vegetable dishes. That would be a mistake. The anatra al forno is a warm duck leg with tender flesh that slides off the bone with little prompting into a pool of rich madeira and onion sauce. A touch of balsamic vinegar sets off the flavour of roasted potatoes with thyme, while the mozzarella pizzette – around the size of a outstretched hand – is topped with deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes. These mini pizzas also come with fennel and sausage or mushroom and dolcelatte. The idea here is to order two or three dishes per person and enjoy sampling them all. Service is enthusiastic and the surroundings stylish but comfortable, with large windows letting in plenty of light during the day. This worthy offspring of the popular Italian Kitchen along the road on Ingram Street has been enjoying a well-deserved success.

• High point: Home-cooked Italian flavours
• Low point: Not enough table space