Casa Bella Italian Trattoria

I had almost resigned myself to making do with either a burger or waiting 'til we got back home, so I was pleased that the place was serving.

They were only serving pasta or pizza at that time - but that's basically what we were looking for anyway.

Marg ordered the Spaghetti a l'amatriciana, and I went for the Pizza al Tonno.

When the dishes arrived, I was presented with Tagliatelle al Tonno - but what the hell, it looked good. And it tasted good - very good, as did Marg's spaghetti.

Now, I hail from Italian stock, and my mother and I did a good job of educating Marg - I'd put her "everyday" Italian cooking up there with the best of them, so to say we got a meal which tasted "just like Mamma's" is praise indeed. The wine was a standard house wine, but that's what we like with lunch, a good drinking wine - Italian, Red, greater than 10.5%! I had a couple of Italian beers, which went down all the better because, contrary to the weathermens' predictions, the day was superb, warm and sunny. If it hadn't been for the waiter's obvious Liverpool accent, we could have been anywhere in Italy.

A couple of cappucinos finished the meal off, and the bill came to less than £22.

Verdict - Recommended

Sandro

Update

Although Casa Bella provides the standard formula "Italian Restaurant" fare, the setting is one which I find pleasing - very tall ceilings which disperse other diner's smoke (an unfortunate feature is that there is no smoke-free zone) and a bustling ambience.

Four of us had beers, Garlic Bread starters, Pasta, Veal, Dessert, a carafe of House red and coffees for £72.

A pleasant evening.

Sandro