Aperitivo comes with instructions

This review was first published in January 2001

"Have you eaten here before?" asked the waiter at Aperitivo and proceeded to explain the concept of what is the creation of the chaps who own Assagi in Notting Hill Gate. Dishes listed under the headings of carne, verdure, pesce and salads are designed for sharing. The menu helpfully adds that: "The farmers and artisans who first ate these dishes often used their fingers, feel free to do the same." Mercifully, the waiter did not feel the need to demonstrate the tactic.

"Have you ever been to Italy?" might have been a more pertinent question. In which case you will know that countless bars serve these sorts of plates of food as a drink-accompanying snack, not as a meal in premises where tables can be booked.

Trying to fashion dinner from the various sections proved curiously unsatisfactory not least because many of the items come wrapped in breads, pancakes or filo pastry. A much more casual structuring of the room, which was briefly Beaks and for longer Leith's Soho, and a much broader selection of wines by the glass would loosen up and enliven what is fundamentally an appealing format.

The most interesting item of those we tried was a poached egg and tomato baked in a parcel of that poppadom-like Sardinian bread called carta da musica, the least interesting a plate of cold meats served with a dollop of mostarda di Cre-mona, which is much better in its traditional role as an accompaniment to boiled meats. Prawns wrapped in bacon, one of the most expensive choices at £6.75, were pleasant enough, although more of the creatures would have been welcome. I have had much better fried calamari than the rings served here. A salad of celery, fennel, endive and walnuts was a well-thought-out gathering.

We turned the outing into a three-course event by finishing with panna cotta served with fresh berries and flaked almonds - a delicious confection - but still left thinking: "Now where shall we go to eat?" Aperitivo, open from noon all day, is ideal for light lunch, a drink, a bite to assuage hunger, not really to the point for a premeditated meal which, perhaps needless to say, tends to add up, even though individual dishes seem inexpensive.

Aperitivo
41 Beak Street, W1F 9SB