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Outwardly The Fitzwilliam Arms in Castor would not immediately strike you as the country cousin of nearby Stamford-based Fratelli's. To add to any confusion there is another Fitzwilliam Arms only three miles away, such is the staunch loyalty to the family who own the picturesque 20,000 acre estate to the west of Peterborough upon which both pubs are located.

Since 2001 however, the transition from gentleman's country pub to smart Italian restaurant has been accomplished with spectacular and award-winning apparent ease. Ours was a business lunch and the momentum of service was subtly changed to take account. The antipasto Italiano contained a worthy array of delights with some particularly delicious salami.

Opposite me I witnessed the appreciative passage of some very good-looking asparagi con proscuitto and just hoped that the asparagus was the result of local enterprise. My colleague's spaghetti alla carbonara caused me one of those moments of indecision but it was, as ever, too late and when my risotto marinara arrived I was reassured anyway. It was delicious, creamy and flexible, full of body and flavour. Coffee was of the same ilk.

The wine list is unashamedly Italian and our modest and law-abiding glasses of the Sicilian house wine very good value.