The gastropub goes to Italy

The Salusbury has worked hard for its reputation and is now one of London's better gastropubs.

Broadly speaking, the pub is a U-shaped space.

You go in one door through the bar and continue round the bar to come out in the dining room - a quieter room filled with the kind of tables your mum had in her living room, stripped and scrubbed, and a display of eclectic art lining the walls.

If there's one niggle, it's that portion sizes can be daunting.

In Yorkshire they call it being 'over-faced', but if sound, Italian-accented cooking coupled with excellent value is what rings your bell, you'll like The Salusbury a lot.

The varied menu follows a mainly modern Italian theme rather than the more predictable Modern British bias of so many gastropubs.

Starters (and a wave of dishes that could either be starters or mains) may include sautéed prawns with chilli and garlic; red onion soup with Pecorino Romano; smoked goose breast with mushroom tartare; pappardelle with swordfish, black olives and fresh oregano; or artichoke risotto with pesto.

There's a practical emphasis on pasta and risotto.

Main courses may include monkfish cartoccio with roast peppers and mussels, or confit leg of duck with lentils.

Moving on to pud territory, Amaretto, ricotta and almond pudding vies with sgroppina - a soft lemon sorbet doused in grappa - and pure chocolate tart.

The wine list is not large, but it is well chosen; service is friendly and un-pushy.

And there is the Salusbury Foodstore at no.

56 - good deli, and pizzas to go.

The Salusbury Pub & Dining Room
Salusbury Road, London, NW6 6NN