I was in the mood for some hearty Italian fare, this evening, so took myself along to Rigatoni’s, on South Clerk Street, which I hoped would be one of those down-at-heel hidden gems.

The place has a good family feel to it, with premises that are somewhere between smart chip shop and Italian deli.

The menu features a good array of pizza and pasta options. They also have a small board outlining the daily specials on each of the half a dozen or so tables.

I kept things simple with soup to start, which was tomato, and a gongonzola and salami pizza, to follow.

The place isn’t licensed, but you can bring your own. The £4 corkage feels a little incongruous, though. Given they’re not licensed, they’re under no obligation to provide free tap water, but a menu note saying that a “service charge may apply” seemed entirely ill-judged.

Soup promptly arrived. It was a meagre portion to rival the thimbleful I got served at the Curious Tea Rooms. It was OK, but rather underwhelming, so its paucity was no great shame.

The main course pizza was better. The salami was excellent; by far the standout part of the meal. The base was soft and fresh. Sadly, the tomato sauce was pretty uninspired stuff, so there was a constantly nagging sense of disappointment.

So overall, Rigatoni’s is trying to do the “rough diamond” thing, I think, much in the same way as nearby Positano. Unfortunately, there’s no comparison in terms of the quality of the food. Rigatoni’s offers you an adequate feed, but little more, so it wouldn’t be somewhere I’d particularly recommend.

Scores
Blythe scores Rigatoni’s
2.5/5 for food
2.5/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 11.5/20

I ate: tomato soup; gorgonzola and salami pizza

I drank: sparkly water

I wore: traditional pinstripes

Total bill: £13.40