Not what I expected
A tiny restaurant in an area where there's a lot of competition. I'd looked at the menu online when booking and again the night before we turned up, and saw that the menu was indeed compact, but there was sufficient choice for us to have a meal of snacks, appetiser, and main, with dessert if either of us needed it. When we got there we were very surprised to discover that only the (even) more restrictive set lunch was going to be available - just one snack , and reduced options available for starter & main. Having driven an hour each way to get there I have to say I was not impressed, and it was difficult to put together meals that we might each enjoy. Having decided to make the best of it, the next surprise was the food itself. The starter was essentially pulped peppers on a bed of rocket- a promised anchovy emulsion wasn't a big part of the meal. This dish wasn't on the online menu and frankly was very basic- almost perfunctory and not something I'd expect in a restaurant. My main course - described as their signature pasta, was an agnolotti with filling of mixed meats, butter & sage. The pasta was good, but the filling had little flavour and the dish was served in a bowl so that most of the agnolotti weren't in contact with its sauce. We enjoyed our bottle of Cortese. Service was brisk and smiley.
Frankly the food we ate today was about of the standard I'd expect in a chain restaurant, which is sad because the pasta itself was good. A few words about the place itself- it's very small, with only a few tables. It was a hot day & there didn't appear to be a lot of air so it wasn't a place to relax. We left after two courses and wine, having paid a bill of £75. I can't honestly think of any reason to go back. They need to make it clear on the website that a restricted menu only is available at weekend lunch, and given those restrictions they need to spell out accurately what customers can eat- for the less choice they offer the greater the chance that you'll simply be unable to choose anything- so my wife could not choose any of the starters offered, but could have made a choice from the menu online.