Tomato proves ripe for dining

This review was published in October 2001.

Tomato is a good name for an Italian restaurant, conjuring up images of al fresco meals in sunny Tuscany. The Soho reality is necessarily bleaker but the designer has made a brave effort at lightness and warmth, while staff are breezy and friendly. The modern Italian menu offers an authentic selection of three courses plus pizzas and desserts.

The pizzas looked properly thin, crispy and tasty but we sampled the rest of the menu, starting with a risotto that was near perfection, apart from an over-abundance of that Soho weed, rocket. Rocket also dominated an uninspiring though adequate dish of baby octopus.

Main courses tuna and sea bass were both pan-fried in olive oil and accompanied by oil-heavy potatoes and a suggestion of tomato salsa. The fish seemed fresh but both had been overcooked and our meals really needed some salad to lighten them up. Desserts were a decadent affair: a chocolate-heavy tart and a delicate panna cotta.

With Italian cuisine so fashionable, Tomato should do well in its prime Frith Street location but a lighter, more imaginative hand in the kitchen would be welcome. As would a better ventilation system; the chain smoker next to us - the only person smoking in the busy room - meant our £70 meal tasted mainly of second-hand smoke. Though I suppose it's churlish to blame the restaurant for the bad manners of one of its customers.