At last! The definitive pronunciation of bruschetta — not “broo-shetta”, as most people say, but “broo-sketta”. The staff at Piccolino know their stuff.

The Venue
Having cleared that up, you can relax and enjoy Piccolino. It sits in a corner of Exchange Square, behind Liverpool Street station, and has a rather unprepossessing entrance. You step from the square into the glamorous bar area, which stretches along the short side of an 'L'. The revenue from Piccolino is, apparently, 40 per cent bar and 60 per dining - which means that the 40 per cent are missing out.

The Atmosphere
The 60 per cent ensure that Piccolino is doing a good early evening trade. The restaurant is all red leather banquettes and inward-sloping mirrors (which are slightly disconcerting to begin with) and several tables are already filled. Down the centre of the restaurant, four banquettes are arranged in a serpentine - like enormous loveseats — with each one seating up to six people. One is occupied and there’s a couple of lively tables of four, including someone who looks compellingly like the actress who plays detective Sarah Linden in the American version of The Killing. It couldn’t be, could it? You never know...

The Food
Anyway, enough of the rubbernecking and on to the food. There is indeed broo-sketta, with the classic pomodoro topping, but there are so much other lovely things on the menu, why go for tomato on toast? Four plump king prawns (£9.25) pack a delicious garlicky punch and have a hint of chilli heat too. They are served peeled and deveined, so all you have to do is eat. A portion of risotto primavera packs a punch of a different kind — a starter-sized serving (£7.50) is extremely generous. It comes dotted with creamy goat's cheese and is exactly how risotto should be: rich but not claggy. You may well find yourself eating more of it than is wise.

Equally moreish are the onion rings that accompany the calves’ liver (£17.95). Forget the thick, soggy variety in fast-food outlets, these are light and crispy and come in their own serving dish. It's almost impossible not to eat the lot. But the liver is worth savouring too — sliced paper-thin, it's perfectly cooked and well seasoned. Piccolino’s chef clearly knows how to cook meat — a rib-eye steak, on the bone (£21.95), is requested medium rare and is just right, pink but not bloody. It comes with exquisitely thin chips, and if you go for a side of buttered spinach (£4.25) you might be able to kid yourself you're being healthy.

If you think you cannot possibly manage a pudding, do think again — either the warm raspberry and almond tart or the limoncello cheesecake (both £6.75) are worth loosening your belt for. And with great food at these prices, you won’t have to tighten it too much again afterwards.

The Drink
As you would expect, Piccolino’s list is bursting with Italian wines, but is none the worse for that. A catarratto is bright and clean and particularly good with the rich risotto and, at £15.75 a bottle, is good value. The house red is a sangiovese, at the same price. There are also wines from France, Chile, South Africa, Australia and Spain, with a good selection offered by the 175ml or 250ml glass.

The Last Word
Piccolino, of course, was a little number performed by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers way back when. Whether the restaurant chain was named after the ditty is unknown, but its food is right on song.

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