You’ll also know that top chef Raymond Blanc remains unconvinced of its viability.

Well, this issue was in my mind this week when I paid a visit to Britalia in Retford’s Grove Street. The concept of owner Franco Gugliotta isn’t so much a fusion of British and Italian cuisine, as two distinct culinary styles running side by side on the same menu.

Here though, in this café come Bistro, by night the concept does work. If you fancy a pizza for lunch, but your dining companion is strictly an eggs and two bacon man, then you can dine together and both eat what you fancy.

It looks a bit odd on the menu though, to see tortellini alla crema alongside a jacket potato and beans, and I did notice that the Italian options tend to be more expensive than their British counterparts.

Especially as the British mains come with salad and fries, and the Italian options don’t.

On to the food itself then: my Margherita pizza was a little on the small side for £4.50, but it was very tasty, and my companion’s tortellini was also a relatively small portion, but equally delicious.

So there’s the rub, good food, but small portion sizes and a teensy bit on the expensive side. Choose a British option, and other diners did, and you get a real plateful for, on average, a couple of pounds less.

Pudding-wise the options at Britalia are more limited.

You can go for home-made apple pie with cream or ice-cream, banana split, ice-cream, pancakes, or that Italian favourite Tiramisu (which wasn’t on the menu, but offered when I remarked about it). At a reasonable £2.95 for all but the chocolate pancakes, they were great value for money.

Stepping off the street into Britalia, I was disappointed.

It’s a bit tired round the edges, and could do with a good lick of paint.

I’m not a huge fan of the plastic orange tree either.

The thing is, if you want to go into town on a lunch time and have a good bowlful of pasta or a pizza, or a jacket potato etc and be back at work within the hour, then Britalia is okay.

The only trouble is, there are several eateries within the town centre where you can get good food at lunchtime at similar prices, but the surroundings are superior.

I suppose guests who visit at night and eat by candlelight might not notice that the walls need brightening up.

And the place is designed to offer privacy and little corners for a romantic evening meal, but still, I can’t help thinking that most diners would welcome a fresher-looking environment to eat in.

Mr Gugliotta is a pleasant host and is attentive to his clientele, but really, Mr G, service goes further than a smile.

by Tracy Powell

Star rating H H H