Signor Sassi

Once upon a time London had masses of cheerful, bright, friendly Italian trattorias, where you could always be assured of a warm welcome, assiduous service and interesting food. There was the Mario and Franco chain that set the trend, and San Frediano in the Fulham Road, where the inimitable Franco, the finest host in London, who had an encyclopaedic knowledge of names and faces, ran a superb place.

Sadly they seem to be slightly a dying breed, at least I thought so, until a rejuvenated Signor Sassi came to my attention; for many years the former owner Mario held sway there, until he sold it to Carlo Distefano, who has transformed its rather tired image and décor, improved the food, with a fish selection that would put many a seafood restaurant to shame, and generally brought back some of the charm that was missing.

Managers Donato and Jo greet their many regular customers in a truly Italian manner, immediately you know that you are going to enjoy the whole experience, as it runs the gamut, with the occasional singing waiter, and the fake cappuccino coffee cup trick - I won't reveal any more in case it spoils it for you - through to an inspired menu with some old favourites and many more modern touches.

There is a £2 cover charge, this may seem steep, but you will change your mind when you see what you get for it, a bowl of wonderful olives, a selection of breads, bruschetta with tomatoes and shavings of a good quality parmesan cheese, almost a meal in itself.

A light starter of salmon tartare caught my eye, though the carpaccio of tuna ran it close as an alternative, it was finely chopped, and beautifully presented with a delicious orange and dill dressing, just right, and not too filling, as I followed with the giant prawn - it was at least three or four times the size of the normal Mediterranean prawn - and scallops in garlic, chilli, lime and lemon.

My companion went for carpaccio, but the beef one, so finely sliced that you could almost see through it, with a mustard dressing, rucola and parmesan flakes, and spaghetti with lobster next, again the portion size was excellent with a generous quantity of meat.

All the food was presented with style and standards were high throughout for a neighbourhood Italian, while the wine list is enterprising, fairly short, but with a good choice between £20 and £30 a bottle, including most of the usual culprits, Verdicchio, Orvieto, Pinot Grigio, Frascati in the whites and a decent selection of reds also.

So there is much to recommend about Signor Sassi, if you want to enjoy a lively evening out with genuine Italian hospitality at its best, combined with cooking of real quality, and leave feeling pampered and full, it should be the perfect choice for you.