Don Salvo, Wolverhampton

Since we'd both been to Italy for our holidays this year, when my friend and I decided to dine out in Wolverhampton, we decided to look for somewhere that might re-create the magic that made our summers.

Now there's not a great many comparisons that can be drawn between Wolverhampton and Rome or Capri, but we were willing to give it a go without being too judgmental.

I visited Don Salvo's when it first opened last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. But since then I'd heard mixed reviews. One friend said they believed it was over-priced, while another had a bad experience with the service. On the other hand, a colleague is so smitten with it she dines there at least once a fortnight.

So I decided it was high-time I went back to try it again, and I'm very glad I did.

Any less than great experiences people have had might have been down to teething problems of a new business, because I can honestly say my second visit was filled with excellent food and impeccable service, and my friend agreed. We had a lovely night, a real Italian experience that kept our mind off the cold Tuesday night outside.

For mid-week it had a healthy crowd of diners in - not too quiet, but not busy enough to be ignored by stressed-out waiting staff.

We were greeted by two very friendly members of staff who showed us to our table. I'd forgotten how large and varied the menu was. There are no less than 22 starters, so it was no surprise we took ages to decide what to have.

I eventually settled on mozzarella verde (£5.95), buffalo mozzarella, tomato and avocado drizzled in olive oil, a dish I had devoured many a time on holiday.

Thankfully it did not disappoint when it arrived on the table as it was a large helping of soft mozzarella and juicy tomato that was not dissimilar to that served to me in Capri.

My friend chose Insalata Di Mare (£7.25), a mixed seafood salad. Packed full of prawns and other fish, she said it was luscious. For the main course you can choose from 15 meat dishes, including chicken, veal or steak dressed in delicious sauces. Or there is a choice of 10 pasta and risotto dishes.

Surprisingly perhaps, there is only a handful of pizzas available and the menu states these are not available on Friday or Saturday, but I suppose who needs pizza with a menu this varied?

I went for the Rigatoni al Salmone Fresco (£9.45), fresh fillet of salmon in a white wine and cream sauce with rigatoni pasta. It was full of flavour and included large chunks of fish. It was so delicious and filling that I had to leave a bit to make room for pudding.

My friend had pollo sorrento - chicken breast pan-fried in a white wine sauce with prawns, mushrooms and ham. It also said on the menu there was a hint of tomato.

That was an understatement because it tasted mainly of spicy tomato, which I think for my friend might have been a bit overpowering, but when I had a taste I thought it worked really well together.

The dessert menu included profiteroles and other sweet treats, but we just fancied a bit of Italian ice-cream.

We both chose chocolate and strawberry and it arrived in large glass bowls, covered in cream. Very bad for the diet, but we were prepared to throw caution to the wind on this occasion.

I had too large glasses of wine and my friend had a couple of soft drinks as she was driving, and the bill came to just over £50, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

Throughout the evening the staff were very attentive to us and other customers, and the man who I presumed was the manager made his way around every table ensuring everyone was ok. While it didn't quite match the romanticism of Rome or the serenity of Capri, the Italian experience Don Salvo boasts about was there in abundance.

Becky Sharpe

Don Salvo

Darlington Street, Wolverhampton

Telephone: 01902 712 819

www.wolverhampton@donsalvo.co.uk