Carluccio's, Birmingham

One was the master, one was the apprentice. Two of our favourite telly chefs have now brought their magic to Birmingham, leaving fans of fine Italian food spoilt for choice,

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Since Jamie's Italian, the brainchild of Mr Oliver and latest restaurant to arrive in the Bullring almost three weeks ago, people have been braving the bitter cold and queuing out the door to get in. Now his one-time mentor has brought his new venture just 10 minutes walk away - Antonio Carluccio's self-titled cafe.

The restaurateur and food expert is the latest celebrity chef to mark out his territory in Brum.

Carluccio's occupies a prime spot in Brindleyplace, and opened earlier this month, just days after his former protege's enterprise. And in contrast to Jamie's no-show, Carluccio himself turned up to the launch night of his latest restaurant - the 55th branch in an empire which stretches from Canterbury to Qatar.

"You've got to be kidding me," my friend moaned, when I told him the man himself had been within the four walls just three days earlier. I'd been lucky enough to have been sent an invite for two to the official launch, but was struck down with man flu on the day and couldn't face the schmoozing, despite the promise of free champagne.

Little did I know my pal was a huge admirer of Carluccio, and was a bit miffed my sniffles had stopped him coming face to face with his hero, famed for his relaxed, friendly manner and dedication to authentic Italian grub.

Our visit was on a Friday night and followed a chilly visit - and three gluhveins - at the city's marvellous Frankfurt market.

The website describes Carluccio's as a 'caffe' where you can dine at any time of day, from breakfast to an intimate three-course meal.

While it is just a stone's throw from Pizza Express and a host of other chain restaurants, Carluccio's offers something a little different. The doors open up into a brightly-lit deli, with everything from proscuitto, olives, cheese and breads lying behind vast glass counters to take away.

Shelves are jam-packed full of Carluccio's branded merchandise, from elaborate salt and pepper mills to juicy-sounding pasta and sauces.

Opening just before Christmas was a clever idea - you'd be hard-pushed not to find something to fill a stocking - but be warned: for some of the products you'd need the salary of a celebrity chef to be a regular customer at the shop because it's all very pricey.

A packet of parpardelle is £3.50, with ragu sauce for £4.95 and pesto selling for a whopping £4.95.

We were led to a dimly-lit table in the corner by the floor-to-ceiling windows, which will be opened up, Mediterranean-style, onto a terrace when the weather gets substantially warmer. Looking out on a couple of smokers shivering on the tables outside, we felt extremely cosy indeed.

Like at Jamie's, the staff serving us at Carluccio's had not come from far-flung corners of Sicily, Capri and Tuscany - more like Sheldon, Cape Hill and Turves Green. They were a friendly bunch though, who did everything to try and make the experience an authentic one.

The interior is modern, minimalist and stylish - wooden floors and simplistic white tables and chairs, nicely spaced out around the room. There's certainly a festive feel about the place, with red, white and blue boxes scattered and wrapped up like presents and 'Bianco Natale' (White Christmas) posters, specially commissioned for the festive season, hung up (which, incidently, you can buy for £19.95).

At the opposite end to us, chefs toiled away behind a grey-tiled counter, passing dish after dish to servers.

A friendly waitress read us a list of specials and we chose a Chardonnay from her list, which was a bit more expensive than most on the normal menu at £19.95. There are cheaper options, however, with a Sicilian house red and white each at £12.95.

The seasonal menu is full of rich, comforting winter warmers that exude Antonio's penchant for classic Italian home-cooking.

Our meal, which came within around 15 minutes, was excellent. We shared 'antipasti massimo' (£9.95), a large sharing starter which arrived, beautifully presented, on a block of wood and contained foccacia, salami, stuffed chicken, roast ham, peppers, olives, tomatoes and green bean salad. It sounds huge, but was actually perfectly proportioned and did not leave either of us too full.

I'd been tempted by both the tortellini with white wine-braised venison and the fillet of sea bream, but instead I decided on the seafood risotto (£11.95) on the specials menu. It was perfect - rich, creamy, plentiful with a generous morsels of mussels, clams, prawns and squid rings.

My friend chose bistecca (£14.95) - a10oz rib steak, cooked rare. It came with roasted potatoes and red pepper sauce, and according to him, was "gorgeous". A perfect cut, it was just the right thickness and was wonderfully tender under the steak knife. He also had a mixed side salad at £3.95.

Desserts being brought to tables around us looked delicious but we were happy with two courses, although if I return I will go for the lovely sounding cioccolato fondente, a soft chocolate pudding that is said to melt in the mouth.

The bill came to just over £60, bumped up by the more expensive wine but reasonable for what had been a truly excellent meal.

If you've been to one of Carluccio's restaurants before, you might not be surprised by what you find at Brindleyplace.

But the high standards and relaxed atmosphere left a good taste in the mouth for us. I just can't believe Carluccio has taken such a long time to come to the second city. Let's hope the arrival of two top chefs attracts even more big names to this part of the world.

ADDRESS

Carluccio's, Water's Edge, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HP

Phone: 0121 633 9262

Web: www.carluccios.com/caffes/birmingham

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Zuppa di prosciutto e piselli - thick soup of peas and roast ham served with focaccia bread £4.60;

Mozzarella dell-isola - long cured parma ham topped with rocket leaves, roasted peppers and melted buffalo mozzerella £6.50; Tortino di tonno - homemade tuna and caper fishcake with garlic mayonnaise and salad leaves £4.95;

Besaola - thin slices of air-dried beef served with rocket leaves and parmesan shavings £5.75;

Calamari fritti - rings of deep friend calamari served with lemon £5.95

MAIN COURSES

Tortelloni di cervo - handmade fresh tortelloni filled with wine braised venison £8.95;

Pasta alla puttanesca - small tubes of pasta with a traditional spicy sauce of tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies £7.50;

Ossobuco alla Milanese - braised shin of veal with tomato sauce, served with a creamy saffron risotto £13.95

DESSERTS

Panna cotta £4.7; Tiramisu £4.95; Gelati £3.75