Get a big bang for your bucks

Long before this became a "problem" in some people's minds, a chap called Peter Ilic opened restaurants in London which demonstrated that what we think of as a "real" meal out - ie, three courses of a sort we might not regularly attempt at home, served in cosy surroundings - need not cost an arm and a leg. Or even an arm.

The latest Ilic outlet - he opened the first more than 20 years ago - is Little Bay in Battersea. Other Little Bays exist in Kilburn, Clerkenwell and South Croydon. Decorated in the same operatic spirit as his Hackney restaurant, LMNT, you certainly get a big bang for your buck in terms of a backdrop for a romantic meal.

Mythical figures fashioned from glass fibre stand in front of winding staircases. These stairs lead to ornate balconies and various other nooks and crannies of privacy.

Sitting on a raised platform that felt like the prow of the good ship Harlequin, my step-daughter Amy gazed around and said: "Fay, this place is a living tribute to the staple gun."

The menu follows the Ilic formula, which is one price for each course with a cheaper rate applying between noon and 7pm, meaning that if you eat in that period, starters are £1.75, main courses £5.45 and desserts £1.75. We were pushing the boat out by eating late and thus incurring charges of £2.95, £7.95 and £2.95 respectively. Wines start at £9.90 for a French red and white, the latter, described as Moreau Blank, conceivably not a misprint.

In the old days, I remember Ilic's menus featuring many items wrapped in pastry, a useful, inexpensive extender and glamoriser. Nowadays there is more plain sailing in the cooking, paired with quite sophisticated garnishes, as in Parmesan gnocchi appearing in a pea-and-asparagus soup, chicken breast, enjoying a supporting cast of grilled vegetables and artichoke velouté, and rib-eye steak, mustering mushrooms and a celeriac-and-apple mash as accompaniment.

Five of us managed to try most of the menu and a quick survey showed that we had all, as my mother used to urge, joined The Clean Plate Brigade. I particularly liked my duck rillettes, served with sautéed potatoes and a poached egg, an odd but successful assembly, followed by chickpea croquettes, falafel by another name, with roasted root vegetables and a yoghurt vinaigrette.

It would be perverse to say that the food almost didn't need to be so good for the price - rather let me say how absolutely commendable it is.

Little Bay Restaurant
Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3AL