Cafe Casita Trattoria, Upper Gornal

Who put the pig on the wall to see the band go by? Was it Billy the Boy, Jimmy the Go, Clockweight, Billy on Tho'b, The Pokey Mon or Jacko?

That's the type of question that sorts the men from the boys. To probably more than 90 per cent of readers, it will merely confirm the long-held suspicion that The Insider is two vegetables short of a casserole. Or has maybe been watching too much Bonanza.

But the enlightened minority will realise it relates to the famous Gornal legend, which originated in a postcard picture taken in 1875.

Sadly, The Pig On The Wall is long gone. And not just the swine himself, who presumably made the metamorphosis into a bag of scratchings many moons ago.

As well as being a porker with a penchant for marching music, The Pig On The Wall was, before its demolition in 2002, one of eight pubs along a one-mile stretch in Upper Gornal.

The "Gornal Run" was always a mixed bag. The Pig itself, demolished to make way for a drive-through McDonalds, was a glitzy theme pub, with pink neon lighting, a red phone box in the lounge, and a DJ who regularly proclaimed it to be "Upper Gornal's Premier Nightspot." In the same way that Jethro is the world's funniest Cornishman.

Others, such as The Jolly Crispin and The Britannia, were, and still are, excellent real-ale hostelries, preserving a fine local tradition. Then, at the very end, was arguably the least appealing of the lot.

I think I only went in the Cottage of Content once, but that was enough. The abiding memories are of loud music, gaudy disco lights, and lager-swilling teenagers standing around a pool table. "It's a youth club," was a friend's verdict.

Then, 10 years ago, it became Cafe Casita Trattoria, promising to bring "a taste of the Mediterranean to Upper Gornal." Which part of the Mediterranean is an interesting question; it clearly says "ristorante Italiano" outside, and the menu is clearly Italian - so why does it take its name from the Spanish for coffee house?

Palm trees in the car park are certainly something you would never have seen in the old Cottage of Content. It has been given a fresh lick of paint, and the fence around the old car park gives it a slight continental look, but in truth it hasn't changed that much.

On entering we were greeted by a cheery, animated gentleman who took us to a table. There is quite a step up to the door, but I imagine the friendly staff would be more than willing to help any wheelchair users. While the outside of the building is pretty low key, the transformation inside has to be seen to be believed. The once-drab walls are adorned with stunning water-colour murals, which are hard to do justice to in this feature, while foliage decorates the top of the bar. An impressive collection of cast iron candlesticks, pots and pans is on display in the open fire grate, while the pastel-coloured tablecloths, light wooden flooring and pale olive wooden chairs mean it really does feel like you are in the back-streets of Sorrento or somewhere. Which seems strange when a Travel West Midlands bus stops outside the window.

There is also something about the place that seems to make Black Country folk seem more Italian; customers seem to pick up a touch of Latin passion, talking fast and excitedly, painting pictures with their hands. It is a place that seems to liven up as the evening goes on: it was almost deserted when we arrived just before 7pm, but about half an hour later it was heaving, and intriguingly, virtually all the customers were female - I would be surprised if there were more than half a dozen blokes in there during our visit.

There is a list of 22 wines available by the bottle, but we settled for a glass each of the house wines, though, myself preferring white while my dining partner went for rose.

We tucked into some excellent, if a little expensive at £2.95, ciabatta bread, served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, while waiting for the main courses to be cooked. Regular readers will not be too surprised to hear that I opted for bistecca al pepe, sirloin steak cooked in brandy and peppercorn sauce.

There is something about the way the Italians do this dish which makes it that little bit special, and this was no exception.

Normally I would have preferred a fillet steak, but this was one of the finest sirloins I have eaten, succulent, tender and beautifully cooked. It came with some very pleasant saute potatoes, carrots and greens, and the sauce was superb, spicy without being too hot. My companion delivered a similar verdict on the baked salmon in herb crust from the day's specials menu.

There was no written sweets menu, so a friendly young waitress instead ran through the choices of the day with us.

We both opted for the New York vanilla cheesecake, a refreshingly simple affair which managed to taste delightful without any extraneous garnish.

The total bill came to £48.45 including the two glasses of house wine and two coffees; not the cheapest by any means, but I think given the standard of food and service, it was good value. This was the first time I have been in Cafe Casita, but I doubt whether it will be the last.

During the last 10 years I will have driven past literally thousands of times, and barely given it a second thought.

Perhaps I was sceptical about whether a not-particularly-pleasant pub can really be transformed into somewhere serving a truly memorable meal. I now know I was wrong.

As we left, the cheerful man who had greeted us on arrival shook me by the hand and wished us well for the evening. "Hope to see you soon," I replied. And I meant it.

Oh, and if you didn't already know, the answer to the opening question was Johnny Longstomach.

Cafe Casita Trattoria

Clarence Street

Upper Gornal

DY3 1UP

Phone: 01902 676754

Starters: Funghi trifolati: mushrooms sauteed in butter, garlic and white wine £4.95

Filo formaggio: goat's cheese wrapped in filo pastry and served with a tomato salsa and red onion chutney £5.45

Salsiccia Piccante: spicy Italian sausage oven baked with mixed sweet peppers, onions and tomato £5.95

Main courses: Cannelloni: oven-baked pasta sheets, rolled and filled with spinach and ricotta cheese, topped with mozzrella and tomato £8.95

Spaghetti bolognese £8.95

Pasta and mince beef lasagne £8.95

Pollo affumicato: chicken stuffed with smoked cheese and served with a paprika, smoked cheese and cream sauce £10.95

Filetto barolo: fillet steak served with a barolo wine sauce, infused with smoke bacon and chopped onions £17.95

Bistecca stilton: sirloin steak flambed in brandy and stilton sauce £14.25