RETURNING to a familiar theme – the absence of evening dining options in Northallerton beyond Pizza Express, the Golden Lion and the ethnics – it was good to hear that a new restaurant opened in the town in the summer.

Evening meal choices had been reduced further earlier in the year when the excellent (but hopelessly located above a shop) Cafe Natural stopped doing dinner – and then it closed altogether in September.

So the arrival of Quattro Ragazzi in Friarage Street was good news. But early intelligence about it was mixed and we decided to give it time to settle before running the rule over it. We hoped it would be good.

The county town, which despite its recent problems is still considered to be prosperous, deserves and surely can support some decent eateries? The alternative view, no doubt held by some the restaurateurs who have tried and failed to get established in recent years, is that the town doesn’t deserve anything of the sort because it is indifferent to good food served in the town centre and instead patronises the many village pub options around and about. The truth probably lies somewhere between those extremes and we would like to think it is more the former than the latter.

So, we really did want Quattro Ragazzi to be worthy of praise and recommendation; to a degree it is but probably the overall verdict is work in progress.

We had booked for early-ish on a Saturday evening last month and on arrival thankfully found a few other tables occupied because the ambience struck us as a little soulless. The restaurant has been created in what was the Blockbuster video store and has large plate glass windows facing the Friarage Street roundabout with views of the tyre depot and Asda beyond. It is clean and tidy with minimal decorations and adornments but it didn’t have the buzzy look and feel of a chic modern Italian cafe like Imperial Express in Darlington or Cafe Lilli in Norton. Neither did it feel like a traditional cosy Italian trattoria.

The atmosphere didn’t improve much as the evening wore on and most of the remaining tables were taken. The plate glass windows gradually steamed up and the lighting was unsubtle – particularly the brightly white-lit chiller cabinet/coffee making area which had all the charm of a dentist’s waiting room.

And then there was the open kitchen which was the thing in restaurants some years ago but is now thoroughly passé. The opportunity to watch a kitchen brigade at work is only worthwhile if something spectacular going on – and pasta being drained in a colander doesn’t really fall into that category.

Service was willing but inexperienced. When we walked through the door, the welcome was haltingly uncertain. We looked around for somewhere to put coats to no avail. Yes, we were told, there was somewhere where they could be left but the waiter’s tone of voice suggested it was somewhere not designed for the purpose so over the back of our chairs they went.

We had booked but there was confusion as to whether a table had been allocated to us or not. In the end we were just told to take our pick.

Having done so, we ordered drinks, a gin completely swamped in tonic for Sylvia (“no Prosecco by the glass, she noted”) and a perfectly OK small house white wine for me.

Menus arrived in the form of tatty sheets clipped to a clipboard and those of you will remember my recent review of the Foxhole at Piercebridge will know what I think of them. More importantly, we were not told about the specials board ¬– on the wall at the back of the restaurant ¬– but nobody pointed it out to us.

We shared a plate of anti-pasto (£7.50) to start – a good-ish plateful of salami, Parma ham, braesola etc roasted pepper and marinated olives and artichokes. There was also some utterly tasteless mozzarella and no bread. We asked for some olive oil to go with it. It duly arrived but only after the seemingly puzzled waitress had consulted the chef about it.

Main courses, chosen from a list of pizzas, pastas, risottos and grills, were acceptable without scaling any heights. Sylvia’s Pollo alle Creme (£12.95) was a moist and tender chicken fillet in a smooth and creamy white sauce. She had opted for some salad instead of the listed “rosemary potatoes and green beans or chips”. Shouldn’t that say “green beans and rosemary potatoes or chips”? No matter.

My tagliatelle Volare (£12.95) featured a good seafood (prawns and squid) sauce with lots of garlic and finished with fresh tomato, a lot of rocket and some shavings of Gran Padano cheese. The egg pasta lacked a bit of bite for my taste.

I finished off with a ricotta and pear torta (£5.95) – two layers of hazelnut flour sponge sandwiching the ricotta and cubes of pear. It was fine.

The bill was £52.55 which included £13.20 on drinks and a latte coffee.

We would liked to have been more enthusiastic but Quattro Ragazzi (four wives) needs a top-notch head waiter to take the youngsters in hand and some interior design advice. It could be really good.

Quattro Ragazzi

2b Friarage Street Northallerton DL6 1DP

Tel: 01609-258476 Web: quattroragazzi.co.uk

Open: noon-2pm Wednesday-Saturday; 6-9pm Monday—Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Disabled access. Vegetarian options limited.

Ratings (out of ten):

  • Food quality 7
  • Service 5
  • Surroundings 6
  • Value 6