I must say that I went to Pietrasanta with fairly high expectations, having read the many reviews and heard from colleagues who'd dined there. I was told there was two seatings and for the first one, I had to leave promptly at 8.15pm. Fine with me as I prefer early dinners anyway.

We arrived at 7pm on a Friday evening and were the first diners there. By the time we left at 8.15pm, there were still a fair number of empty tables left and at no time was the restaurant at full capacity. It is also interesting to note that when I called the chef for the bill (the waiters were busy serving other tables and the chef happened to see me), he brought over the menu probably in anticipation of my ordering dessert.When I informed him it was the bill I wanted, a clear look of displeasure flashed across his face. Certainly not what I'd expected.

Service and capacity aside, the food at Pietrasanta was alright overall. The house bread were little pieces of soft and warm ciabatta-like rolls. Served with cold, unsalted butter, they were an absolute delight.

For mains, we ordered a squid ink with crab meat pasta, a ricotta and spinach ravioli with butter and sage, as well as a parma ham and rocket salad pizza to share.

The pastas passed muster and were fresh, al dente, and light but still flavoursome in its taste. The squid ink pasta in particular came with a heaped and generous portion of crab meat. My ravioli on the other hand while tasty, was a rather meagre 6-7 pieces for the price tag of $16/$18(?).

The pizza on the other hand disappointed somewhat. Both my dinner partner and I agreed that the ingredients were top-notch - the rocket leaves were not bitter in the least such that we found ourselves eating them on its own. The parma harm was also lightly cured and not lip-numbingly salty. The crust of the pizza however was a little too doughy and spongy for our liking. They could do with a thinner and crispier crust that would have better balanced the delicate flavours of the leaves and slivers of parma ham. In the end, we polished off the salad and ham and left two-thirds of the crust behind.

Overall, Pietrasanta offers quality ingredients in its dishes, allowing the natural flavours to shine through. It just needs to work on giving their food that elusive x-factor that would justify the trek out to Portsdown and the prices. And better service.