This second branch of Liverpool Street’s La Tagliata occupies the old Sardo premises near Warren Street tube and does the site’s Italian heritage proud. The dining room is decked out in wood panelling and white leather and is as well suited to a low-key business lunch as a midweek supper with friends. Pasta and the namesake tagliata steak are the top draws, although our very rich carbonara had been made with such a generous quantity of butter we were grateful we’d ordered it as a starter rather than a main course. The steak is excellent, charred and smoky around the edges, tender and full-flavoured within, and needing no accompaniment beyond a sprinkling of salt and a slick of the olive oil served in a small bowl – although it would take an iron will not to order a portion of garlic and rosemary potatoes, which are the roasties of your dreams. Slow service is the only downer at the sort of neighbourly local everyone would be glad to have on their doorstep.