Arta

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

When the smart restaurant within the G1 Group's Arta complex of bars and opened its doors in 2000, the menu was largely Spanish and in keeping with the design of the building (although it's a former cheese market, the interior has been modelled on a grand Mallorcan townhouse). Over the years, pizza and pasta made inroads, and the current culinary nods to Iberia are a paella dish, a couple of tapas-style starters and a crema catalana for afters. There's a fairly pricey pan-Mediterranean selection, with dishes such as grilled fish with couscous, Tuscan sausages with polenta, the aforementioned pasta (eight kinds) and pizza – the latter stone-baked and authentic. The menu can be needlessly creative in naming dishes. The Spanish 'frittata' is essentially a Spanish omelette, making the use of the Italian word rather mystifying. The otherwise French beef provençal is curiously labled 'Andalucian', while a 'trio' of sausages is not, as you might expect, three different sausages but three of the same kind. Still, the cooking is generally solid. One enterprising feature is the 'make your own antipasti' section, which allows you to choose a mixture of charcuterie, fish, cheese and vegetables. It's a little like browsing in a deli to put together a picnic.

• High point: Choice of well-prepared dishes
• Low point: Pretentious and mystifying menu

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