Latium: just what we want

Latium says Antonio Cerilli, "is the posh Latin name for Lazio - you know, like the football club".

Lazio also happens to be the home region of both Cerilli and the chef partner in this new venture, Maurizio Morelli.

From the moment you step off Berners Street into this rather stark-looking restaurant the signs are good. Waiters and waitresses bustle about, the place has a cocky, very Italian, air to it. Plenty of passion. The room is white, very white, but the chairs are comfortable and no-frills is good, always providing the food passes muster.

An inch or so back down his CV, Morelli was chef at Ibla - a firm favourite - so expectations are high. The pricing is also simple. At lunch two courses cost £14, three £18 and four £22 (even in the pre-Christmas frenzy you probably have to be Italian to go for a four-course lunch, but perhaps we could all try and loosen up a bit).

At dinner the ante escalates to two courses for £19.50, three for £23.50 and four at £28.50. Perm it anyway you like, this is a bargain.

The food is strikingly good, unfussy, with a marked personality, and simply presented.

Antipasti range from a terrifically good stew of whole baby octopuses with chickpeas and escarole to a shockingly green dish - a salad of veal tongue with a celery-and-tuna sauce.

Pasta dishes are from the top drawer. Tagliatelle comes with a ragout made from hare, a perfect balance between sauce and pasta, rich and satisfying; or there are ravioli filled with Swiss chard, Taleggio cheese and walnuts, served with butter and sage.

The "secondi di pesce" appeal - roast squid with prawns and mussels, sautéed spinach and roast tomato - but not as much as the meatier mains.

From the daily specials a dish of roast calf's liver is a tour de force, the small brick of liver cooked crisp outside and soggy within before being sliced and served on an onion sauce (which nearly brought things crashing to earth by being a little too salty). Or how about a dish of stewed pork belly wrapped in a radicchio leaf and served with saffron mashed potatoes and red wine sauce? A grand combination of tastes and textures.

Puds are serious - maybe an almond-and-chocolate tart with amaretto sauce.

Wine list? Sound bottles at sound prices, including some delicious Italian obscurities.

Service is proud and efficient. Latium offers a telling combination of passion, well-cooked, honest dishes and sensible pricing. It's just the sort of restaurant that we need to stick around - and it probably will.

Latium
Berners Street, London, W1T 3LP