Clapham - a lot cheaper than Venice but just as tasty

BELLINI'S RESTAURANT, CLAPHAM

BY SUE BRICKAY

Memorable though Harry's Bar in Venice is, £14 for a small glass of sparkling white with a dash of peach juice is a jolly expensive tot of Bellini nostalgia.

So it came as a very nice surprise to order the same drink at Bellini's Restaurant in Clapham for a fraction of the price.

But then Bellini's came as a very nice surprise too.

The pace of life in Clapham has slowed since the A6 was diverted on to the by-pass. Not that you'd have noticed in the High Street restaurant the other Saturday night.

A party of nearly 200 celebrating guests were already tucking into the wedding breakfast when we arrived at 7.30pm. But Bellini's enjoysTardis-like proportions and although the place was buzzing, it never felt as though the revellers were too close for comfort.

By 8pm the place was at capacity. Like a huge Italian family gathering the atmosphere was noisy but friendly. And while the staff must have been enormously stretched they were always cheery, efficient and polite.

Snails are not my favourite things - either in my garden or served with garlic butter. But for one for whom they are, they were juicy, garlicky little delights.

Formaggio di capra, on the other hand, is right up my Appian Way. Warm goats' cheese served with a walnut salad is the perfect starter for me. Not too filling but with enough taste to whet the appetite for the main course.

Sardine alla griglia - three huge grilled sardines served with a wedge of lemon - would have been a perfect main course for me. As a starter portion for a companion they were a struggle but the taste was so good he valiantly persevered until every last flake of fish had disappeared.

Pizzas can be good, bad or indifferent. At Bellini's they are good - and come sizzling to the table straight from the roaring heat of the pizza oven.

The pasta menu has enough originality about it to make me want to return to try something else but the quattro fuochi spaghetti in a four chilli sauce with bacon, onion, garlic and parmesan and the penne zucchine e pancetta pasta cooked with courgettes, bacon, onions and a dash of cream were excellent.

A huge tomato and red onion salad - more main course than side dish proportions - was enough to confirm us of the opinion that desserts would have been a dish too far.

The bill for four, which included a very acceptable bottle of Bellini's house red, sparkling water and two Bellini cocktails came to £87.