Italian job

It's unfair to prejudge the new Italian restaurant, Piccolino's, that's going to open in Brasserie Blanc's place, but news of its arrival didn't fill me with unbridled joy.

Trouble is, we've got countless Italian restaurants in this region with identikit menus that haven't changed since the late 1960s, waiters who mistake creepiness for charm and prices that just aren't justified. There are few exceptions, but generally our Italian eateries are dismal and don't provide the sort of glorious, regional food that you can eat in that country.

Fingers crossed that the new joint isn't off the same cheesy conveyor belt.