Latium Restaurant - Bloomsbury

Chef/patron Maurizio Morelli opened Latium Restaurant on Berners Street to great critical acclaim in 2003 and since then it has scooped several awards and honed its reputation as one of the most respected regional Italian restaurants in the West End.

M. Morelli still has strong links with his home town of Latina near Rome and sources many ingredients direct from artisan producers in the area. The result is a repertoire of dishes with a pronounced northern Italian accent and a genuine feel for the ebb and flow of the seasons.

In the sleek, well-groomed dining room you sit on black leather chairs and receive courteous service from dark-suited waiters who guide you through the competitively priced menus. Meals begin with an array of excellent canapés, before first courses like carpaccio of wild sea bass, cauliflower soup with Gorgonzola or foie gras terrine with Morello cherry bread.

Pasta is a highlight: look for the four-fish ravioli (each colourful parcel filled with a different fish and embellished with sea bass bottarga). Main courses are split between land and sea, so expect anything from braised veal with ceps and radicchio to roast monkfish with Savoy cabbage and beetroot sauce. Cheeses are well chosen and desserts might run to tiramisù with coffee sauce or almond and chocolate tart with Amaretto sauce. The top-class wine list plunders Italy's vineyards large and small, with a strong showing from Tuscany and Piedmont.