Maranto's

59-63 Lark Lane, Liverpool, L17. Tel: 0151 727 7200

This long established restaurant is situated in Lark Lane, which is a part of the city well known for its wine bars and restaurants. We went along on a Monday evening, and were immediately seated without a reservation.

The most striking feature of this restaurant is the decor - an unusual blend of Oriental, Edwardian and traditional public house. The next most striking feature is the wine list, which is packed with unrecognisable wines from unheard-of producers. Only the Lanson Black Label NV and Moët et Chandon NV Champagnes offered any familiarity.

The only way forward in this situation was to drink beer, and that's what I did, partaking of a certain well known brand of lager, which was probably more tasty than many of the offerings on the wine list.

The service was brisk, and within five minutes of ordering our starters they arrived. The deep-fried Brie with redcurrant jelly and a green salad was very good. The Bruschetta (toasted bread, covered with chopped tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and garlic) was very edible, although I've frequently produced a better example of the dish in my own kitchen (it's not difficult).

For the main course, we had penne in a tomato, pepperoni and chilli sauce which was quite delicious, and spaghetti carbonara, which was also good. Interestingly, the carbonara was completely devoid of mushrooms, which is not how I would make it - but for fungi-haters I suppose it would be perfect, in a weird kind of way.

Maranto's must be complimented with regard to the size of the portions - neither of us could finish our meals. We did have some delicious side orders (the garlic bread is good), but here they must be chastised - gentle prodding of the restaurant staff was required before these arrived at our table. And it wasn'r as if the restaurant was heaving with demanding diners. Just one dessert, a banoffee pie, was sampled, which was clearly not prepared in-house. It was vile, and was sent back.

To summarise, this restaurant serves decent food in generous portions. I suspect it is quite popular with the local inhabitants around Lark Lane, which includes a significant number of hungry and thirsty students. The wine list, though, is sadly lacking, so I suspect many opt for beer instead, or possibly even the occasional bottle of non-vintage Champagne, although neither have a great reputation, and Lanson certainly improves dramatically with bottle age, something I'm sure it doesn't receive here. As with many restaurants, rather than make their own deserts they buy them in, and it showed. Maranto's is worth a visit if you're hungry, and don't care too much about wine or pudding.

Prices: about £12 per head for two courses, not including drinks.

Maranto's

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