La Parmigiana

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

This has been in the same family since opening in 1978, and whilst not the cheapest restaurant in town it’s one of the best. When the fresh butter, not portions wrapped in foil, and great Italian bread with delicious olives arrive on the table, it’s the first clue you’ll get to the class of food you’re about to experience here. Quality in everything they do is very much in evidence. The MacDuff Scottish beef, for example, is served in a number of ways. To start, the carpaccio or raw fillet, with rocket and parmesan is light, moist and allows the flavour of the meat to shine. If you were to judge an Italian restaurant on its tomato sugo – then you’d give the Parmy 10 out of 10 for the sauce that envelopes the home-made tagliolini pasta with prawns and courgettes. For a rich hearty main the fillet of venison served on a porcini and sausage ragu packs a knockout punch. Chocolate fondant to finish is perfectly cooked, the chocolate sauce oozing from the centre of the light sponge.

• High point: The food
• Low point: Having to leave