Everybody knows a restaurant where diners can get a good meal without paying over the odds, somewhere that is always reliable and where the owners always recognise regular customers. Such a place is Casa Becci, just off Baker Street.

The Venue
At number 32 you’ll find the little Italian bistro Casa Becci, a family concern that obviously has its own regular clientele. Seating no more than about thirty covers, plus a small conservatory at the back for maybe a dozen more, Casa Becci is one of a rare breed, a local family place that’s not a branch of a well known, indistinguishable chain. Here instead there is individuality and an obvious eagerness to please. It may look like a small cafe but in fact it is a real restaurant with linen table cloths, a place offering good Italian food made with fresh ingredients.

The Atmosphere
Casa Becci attracts diners of all types, from residents to all sorts of local workers. One table might be full of young office girls out for their daily or weekly lunch treat, another might be occupied by an elderly couple who live nearby or a third might have visiting tourists, as this is an area that brings customers to the specialist shops on Marylebone High Street and Baker Street. It’s a place where diners enjoy their meals with an obvious relish because of the high quality of the food, which is good without being pretentious.

The Food
Prices are, by today’s standards, fairly reasonable: starters from £2.50, main course pastas from £6.45, other dishes around £10 complete with a full complement of vegetables, plus there’s a daily set menu at £9.95 for two courses, with a drink and coffee or tea included. There’s a choice of twelve first courses (£2.50 - £6.95) including avocado prawns, smoked salmon salad, antipasto misto, tricolore salad of avocado, mozzarella and tomato, calamari fritti, and melon, with or without prosciutto ham. A daily special might include a huge plate of mozzarella, aubergine and tomatoes garnished with salad. This is a tasty, cold starter that would amply provide enough for two appetites, hearty with a nice combination of textures and ideal for vegetarians. The set menu for £9.95 offers starters of garlic bread, minestrone soup or a mixed salad. Sharing the garlic bread and the aubergine special completes a fine first course for two.

The set menu offers a good choice of pasta as a main dish. The penne Amatriciana (normally £7.45 on the main menu) has a lovely rich accompaniment for the pen-nib shaped pasta pieces, comprising bacon, onions and parsley in a thick, tomatoey sauce. Other pasta dishes include linguine marinara with seafood and chilli, spaghetti carbonara with cream, bacon and egg, and tortelli Napoli, pasta shapes filled with spinach and ricotta, plus lasagna and gnocchi. There is also a choice of three risotto dishes with seafood, chicken and mushroom and mixed vegetables.

Main courses (£9.95 - £13.95) present the usual range of veal, steak, chicken and fish dishes such as veal with rosemary and white wine, with Parma ham and cheese or with tomatoes, capers, olives and anchovies. Steaks offer a choice of sirloin or fillet, whilst the chicken can be ordered in breadcrumbs, in lemon sauce, stuffed with garlic butter, with Parma ham and cheese or as the house chicken, Pollo Becci, in a tomato, cream and mushroom sauce. If you fancy something plainer, the pollo alla piastra is grilled breast of chicken served with mixed salad. Not everywhere can do a decent chicken salad these days, but Casa Becci’s is a delight, just plain, tender chicken breast char grilled and served simply with a good, fresh, crisp salad. Sometimes that’s all you want and here it’s just fine.

All the other main course meat dishes are served with broccoli, carrots and sauteed potatoes unless otherwise requested, or you can have a side order of pasta for just £1 extra. For dessert the apple pie seems very authentic, served with either custard or ice cream, while the chocolate mousse is very rich but also sickly – perhaps just a little too chocolatey for its own good., but nice nonetheless.

The Drink
There’s a good range of Italian wines from under £3 a glass for a very acceptable and drinkable house wine or £8.50 for the half-litre carafe. Soft drinks, fruit juices, mineral waters and coffees are also available. The set menu includes a free soft drink plus tea or coffee after the meal.

The Last Word
It is always a pleasure to find a local restaurant that knows its customers and what they like. Casa Becci may not be the sort of place you would cross London to eat at, but if you happen to be, live or work in the area around Baker Street or Marylebone High Street, then a stop off at 32 Paddington Street would not go amiss.

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