Restaurant review Cotidie, 50 Marylebone High Street, London.

Despite its ubiquity on our high streets and in our shops, most of us know very little about real Italian cuisine. This is mostly the fault of pasta and pizza which, being relatively easy to cook well with only a few basic ingredients, have become a British staple. Across the country, people are munching through endless variants of these two dishes and thinking, deep down, that what they're really tasting amid the tomato and basil and mozzarella is a distillation of Italy.

What with being a lucky rascal, I went to Florence not all that long ago, and sat in a restaurant which may be my favourite on mainland Europe. It's called Cibreo. The menu there is an exquisite selection of poached fishes, broccoli emulsions, aromatic marinades and cured meats. The emphasis was on freshness of ingredient and stern avoidance of overly processed dishes. That is: exactly the opposite of what you get in your local Pizza Express, never mind Pizza Hut. Italian cuisine is subtle, textured, romantic; the version we eat here is generally clogged, clumpy and full of cholesterol.

This is particularly true at supposedly high-end Italian restaurants, such as Locanda Locatelli, which is a joyless experience if ever I knew one. Your best bet if you're desperate for an affordable Italian, in the capital at least, is somewhere such as Ciao Bella on Lamb's Conduit Street. Cotidie aims to be something in between. It misses.

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