Bella Luna, 105-6 Three Shires Oak Road, Bearwood.
FORGIVENESS is a wonderful thing and I'm willing to disregard Bella Luna its glitches on the night I visited soon after its opening.
First because it's unfair to judge a restaurant too harshly before it's had chance properly to bed down.
More importantly because there's a real sense that its owner cares passionately about his new venture.
"I don't want compliments - I want constructive criticism," he told my wife as he surveyed a plate on which much food remained.
Truth was that Lynn, dieting since the excesses of the festive season, had simply eaten enough.
I, in contrast, was happy to gorge.
My starter - served at room temperature - featured nicely caramelised aubergines, peppers and fennel atop a mound of poached curly cale that provided a good irony contrast.
The dressing, though with a hint of lemon, was a little sweet but not cloyingly so.
Our son Ewan - a veteran squid-eater - said the deep fried calamari here was cooked perfectly so that it avoided the chewiness that can spoil this dish.
Lynn's mushrooms came with pancetta, sun-dried tomato, fontina cheese and a rocket salad and were happily eaten.
The duck breast that I ate afterwards was nicely cooked - slightly pink, moist and flavoursome.
The parsnip mash alongside was wonderful stuff - coarsely textured and packed with taste. Likewise the barola and stock reduction that served as a sauce.
I thought the cherries that topped the duck should have been a little sharper.
Nor was I overwhelmed by accompanying sauteed potatoes (under-cooked) or the green beans (over-cooked). But these are quibbles.
Lynn's chicken medallions turned out to be sort of homemade chicken burgers. They came with an orange, lemon and prosecco sauce and a red chard salad. It was a dish she liked well enough.
Ewan's spaghetti bolognese sauce looked good, hearty stuff, but was too large for his 12-year-old tummy and remained unfinished.
Charmingly, the owner charged half-whack and packed the rest in a doggy bag for the boy to eat later.
Desserts, though, put a dampener on the evening.
The tiramisu that I ordered turned out to be a kind of cake - and a cake that was still unappealingly semi-frozen.
At a restaurant which is clearly striving to provide wholesome, good quality food, it was a disappointment.
Ewan's chocolate fudge cake was pretty standard stuff that wasn't dissimilar to something that might have been purchased at a supermarket.
The coffees Lynn and I drank afterwards were weak.
Service throughout the meal was attentive, generally the food was enjoyable and the bill - which included a bottle of Chianti and a couple of soft drinks - was, I thought, reasonable.
So I'm going to ignore Bella Luna its hiccoughs and welcome it as a good value, enjoyable place to eat.
Verdict
How much? ... £75 for three
Vegetarians? ......... Fine
Child friendly? .........Yes
Disabled access? ..Seems OK
Parking? .... Some on-street
Go back? ..............Yes
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