Special menu, wonderful Italian quirks, but not quite the Big Mama experience

Il Portico trades on mystery. With its curious cloistered courtyard and rambling interior this is a restaurant which gets many tongues wagging in speculation. And especially at the start of the month. This is when Stefano, the wonderfully ebullient proprieter, lays on his special evening of surprises.

Surprises they certainly are. We knew it was a Sardinian night, but that was it. Menu, cost, duration - everything was to be discovered. Should it remain to be discovered by the waiting staff too though? Nobody seemed to have any idea what was going on, which is kind of a shame when you're trying to order some wine to go with your meal.

Speaking of which, Stefano had managed to get his hands on some Sardinian wine about which is spoke only in endless streams of superlatives. Alas they weren't justified but then the Italians are a passionate race of course.

Fortunately, passion did seem to flow in the kitchen. There was a great plate of fennel-laced charcuterie to start followed by the highlight of the meal, thick ribbons of pasta in a rich sauce with beans, chilli, spinach and lardons. Two fish courses followed: a beautiful piece of hake with blushed tomatoes in an olive marinade and then gurnard (we think) with clams. Perhaps the carrot, orange and apricot accompaniment didn't quite come off but it was interesting idea. No dessert sadly - just a plate of rather disappointing Italian cheese with a tradition dribbling of honey. OK if you like that kind of thing.

Sadly there was a sense of an opportunity lost. Where was the Sardinian music for a start? We'd have given anything for a chorus of launeddas instead of the Eurocrap which bellowed out for most of the evening. And if only the whole staff had been signed up to the concept of the meal it could have been a real night to remember. It's probably still worth it for a fun night out but don't take those Italian relatives just yet.