Michael Hepworth discovers a Venetian Chef ready to set London Alight

Why is it that in London certain restaurants are always packed out but others of the same quality seem virtually empty, especially during the week? Maybe it is all about PR or word of mouth or even location. Whatever the reason, this writer has no qualms at all about pushing the claims of Villa dei Cesari, a super Italian restaurant on the waterfront in Pimlico.

It's no newcomer, having been around for over thirty years under the guidance of Angelo Zaro; in the sixties and seventies it was quite the place to be seen with film stars and the in crowd. Fashions change however, after going through a lean spell and lots of upheavals in the kitchen, Villa dei Cesari is ready to climb back up to the top of the pile again. Luisa Zinn, Angelo's daughter, now runs the place with the same zeal that her father did, and she has assembled a top notch staff together with a really exciting young chef from Venice, Andrea Zanella. He left behind a small restaurant in Italy complete with a Michelin Star, and I feel certain that he has the talent to win another star for us here in London.

The ambience is super cool and would fit right in stylistically in New York or Los Angeles. The earth red walls and hanging electric blue halogen lights blend together to create a romantic and very relaxed atmosphere with lots of space. There is a pretty good band called G-String, on every night playing a host of hits from the Eagles to Tracy Chapman, even the records sounded great on their excellent sound system.

It was a shame that there only three other tables occupied on the Thursday night I went, but I was assured that over 150 lovers had packed the place a few nights earlier on Valentine's night.

As usual we left it to the chef to select items from the menu and we started with Culatello with small portions of garlic bread. Culatello comes from the town of Zibello and is the centre for Parma ham. It is cured in brine before being left to air dry for a long time. As you might expect, it is very tender and literally melted in the mouth. What a good start! The white wine that we had chosen to accompany this morsel was the Lugana 95 from the Brolettino vineyard on the shores of Lake Garda in northeast Italy. This was served just at the right temperature, and it was smooth and full of both body and flavour. When you come across a good vintage of this particular wine it's an exceptional pleasure.

Next we had some Gateau di Grancho Tepido, a warm crab flan with asparagus tips and coriander sauce. This was simply fantastic, so light and delicate - my guest who comes from New Orleans and knows a bit about sea food also thought it was brilliant.

From the pasta dishes I chose Taglierini with mussels, spinach and saffron sauce. For this home made dish, the chef used a lot of extra Virgin olive oil which initially gave the paper thin pasta a very oily feel. Initially I felt it was way too greasy for my taste, but after getting used to it after a couple of mouthfuls, I found it to be a pasta combination that was certainly different from anything I had tried before. Later on, Andrea explained in his broken English that the dish needs a lot of olive oil to give it its acidity. I think I will go for it again. It certainly stays in the memory. My guest had Tortelloni, a stuffed pasta very similar to ravioli, topped with shrimp and black olives. Made from 7cm squares of fresh pasta, they usually have cheese or vegetable fillings, but in this case it turned out to be miniature sausage, the original chippolata. Just like the crab flan, this was very light and another sure fire winner.

We both had the same main course of Petto D'Anitra Marinato, marinated breast of duck served with caramelised apples, crosnes and spring onions. Again an unusual combination where the very sweet apples were an excellent complement to the tender duck slices served quite rare in a very light sauce. Our very informed sommelier Mino from Bari, who is also new to the country had advised us to try the red Dolcetto D'Alba 1995 from the Cerreto factory. This is a wine that must be drunk fresh. I rated it worth at least two stars: soft, smooth fruity wine with good body and structure. In fact the impressive wine list which exceeds over 400 items - primarily Italian - is worthy of a special feature of its own.

For dessert we went for an exciting assiege of dishes that included lambrusco sorbet, creme brulée and various chocolates. The pastry chef also comes directly from Italy and also deserves praise, but unfortunately I forgot to get his name.

Villa del Cesari is a wonderful find and must compare favourably with some of the top Italian restaurants in London. As soon as the name of Andrea Zanella gets around then I am sure the place will be hard to get in, so scoot over there now while it is still relatively easy to get a reservation. The service is outstanding, headed up by head waiter Roberto, also extremely knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is great without being stuffy at all.

Villa dei Cesari - 135 Grosvenor Road, London SW1
Tel-020 7828-7543 Fax-020 782l-l569 Not open for lunch.
All major credit cards accepted.
Parking-On street outside. No restrictions Service Charge-15%-worth every penny. Cover Charge-2.50
Typical spend per person - £45.OO - £65.OO for 3 courses including wine.