A lively, modern Italian restaurant with a passion for pizza.

The Venue
This newish Italian restaurant is located right around the corner from Leicester Square tube station - an area overcrowded with ordinary mid-range eateries. Sartori manages to stand out with its restrained and contemporary decor – think plain wood tables and large glass windows, rather than brick walls and hams hanging from the ceiling.

The Atmosphere
With a lively, relaxed vibe and modern, cosy décor in earthy tones complemented by colourful wall paintings, this restaurant is buzzing with tourists and theatre-goers. It's not overly crowded though, thanks to its spacious two-floor seating area, which also features a magnificent wood burning pizza oven. The Italian staff will do their best to seat you quickly and provide you with fast but friendly service.

The Food
Although the menu features an assortment of appetisers, pastas and meat dishes, the brick-oven pizzas and calzones win the day. The crusts are full of flavour and well puffed up, as well as being generously topped with a wide array of high quality ingredients. Prices start at around £7 for classic pizzas, but Sartori is better known for its premium-size pizzas (up to one metre long), served on a wooden chopping board. The pizzas are covered with strips of different ingredients to meet everyone’s tastes. These pizza rolls and folded calzones are also very good value at under £10 each. Starters are a bit pricey in comparison (£7-8), but dishes like the aubergine Parmigiana are pretty damn good, and definitely worth a try. Main courses come at around £13 and include a good, if not astonishing, selection of chicken or veal fillets cooked in mushroom sauce or topped with ham and cheese.

The Drink
Wines are slightly more expensive than average Italian restaurants and the selection is hardly mind-blowing, but a glass of chardonnay at £6 will wash down your pizza nicely. They also have a choice of Italian beers and digestive spirits to finish off your meal.

The Last Word
The traditional 'pizzametro' might not be not a surprise anymore, as many Italian restaurants now offer pizzas by the metre, but it is still a great way of bringing people together. It works especially well at Sartori, where good food is matched to a convivial atmosphere in a restaurant that's definitely a better bet than many of its neighbours.

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