How to do Italian cuisine, with love from Ikea and Greece: Giorgio's, Headingley

This time, Tom and I were determined not to get carried away. For the second in our dual-authored two-parter, hereby christened, "The notafuckingfoodie Banqueting Bonanza", we were most definitely dedicated to sticking to a student-esque budget. Sod's law, therefore, that the bill came to £60. Definitely not our fault. Yep.

Once again, our feelings came out as a very mixed bag. To help illustrate this we'll keep with the same format from before, for continuity's sake:

Tom over here...

... and Marianne over here.

NOT A MEAL FROM GIORGIO'S, BUT SOME DARN TASTY LOOKING ITALIAN GRUB.

Perhaps what struck me about Giorgio's was how plain it seemed. Every British city is swamped by Italian-inspired restaurant chains, from Ask to Zizzi, meaning any independent really needs to stand out. While Giorgio's red leather seats and trendy colour prints on the walls put one in mind of a fairly racy foreign bistro, the laminate flooring and Ikea door handles made it feel like so many of the newly-outfitted Hyde Park student houses we've come to know over the last three years.

Hmm, think I disagree here. Headingley is not just for students, honest, and Giorgio's sets itself out as a classy if unintimidating venue that even your grandma might well enjoy on a special occasion. And the waiters. They topped up our wine! They swept the crumbs away after every course! Maybe I should be more used to it but I am such a sucker for attentive service.

A disappointing starter for me - based on the assumption that the quality of a restaurant can be found in the way it approaches the basics, I ordered the classic Caprese salad. Sadly, at £6.50 it proved to be more of a Ca-pricey. The tomatoes were one-dimensionally sour and needed as much salt as possible to bring out any depth of flavour. The mozzarella had the texture of damp shortbread and was nowhere near creamy enough, while the basil leaves in an insufficient amount to provide the dish with any actual flavour.

My starter was mussels in cream and white wine sauce, which the accompanying sourdough lapped up (and it was a nicely olivey ciabatta. Came with a good, thick balsamic too). Can't go wrong. The mussels were huge and I hadn't eaten for at least half a day so wolfed the lot down. And, in fairness, they were cooked very well - not a sloppy or rubbery one in sight - but it was pleasant rather than spectacular.

Going again with the simple flavours, I had the gnocchi in a saffron and parmesan sauce. By far the highlight of my meal, the dish was a beautiful earthy yellow, and subtly flavoured with onion, garlic and parsley. Subtly to the point of not imparting any particular onto the dish, but the gnocchi's gutsiness was marvellously counteracted by the creamy sauce in an fairly irresistible combination that didn't fail to satisfy.

Main for me was fruita de mare with linguine, tomato and chilli. For someone that's awful at dealing with spicy food, I was surprised at how intense yet manageable the kick was. The tomato shone through, as did the clams.

This appears to be the order of the day with Giorgio's; everything is flavoured tastefully. It's not new, it's not particularly exciting, but it succeeds well in what it does.

Pudding was a tiramisu, and instead of pull[ing]-me-up, it let me down quite considerably. Although it was priced at £4.25 and the size of D battery, these failings may have been overlooked if it tasted of anything. It may be a criticism to level at all kinds of meals, but it just needed more alcohol and coffee. Even at that small size, it was just too spongy and creamy. Still, at least it came with an attractively sliced strawberry on the side.

My panna cotta got better throughout. The berries were... well they weren't sharp, but they were "not sweet" enough for there to be a contrast, and once I started taking bigger spoonfuls of panna cotta I managed to discern a genuinely wonderful vanilla undertone. If only there had been more of it, then it would have been worth the £4.75 listing.

Giorgio's is run by a lovely Greek fellow, and while the menu is varied and the food is good, it is inauthenic, standard Italian fare. Considering the restaurant's proximity to the fairly excellent Salvo's, it is quite a wonder how it manages to compete. However, for a quick meal out when you don't want to cook but want something a little more upmarket, it's perfect. There's a lunch menu available from 12 - 2 at £11 for two courses and £13 for three, making the prices ok enough to bring the family or a group of friends. For what it is (an unfussy, relaxed meal out) it's definitely worth a look-in.


Giorgio's Ristorante Italiano
70-72 Otley Road
Headingley
Leeds
LS6 4BA
0113 278 2030
www.giorgiosrestaurant.co.uk