Regginas, Botley

12:08pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

Comments (2)   Have your say »

There are three things an Italian restaurant should have to be a success - a lively atmosphere, sophistication and to cook using only the freshest ingredients.

Regginas in the High Street of Botley's quaint square ticks all these boxes.

Dating back to 1780, the building has Olde Worlde charm and inside the character is retained with its low beams and huge open fireplace. Chocolate brown leather chairs surround tables set with crisp white linen tablecloths and chunky cutlery.

The tables are positioned quite close together so if you are a couple next to a big party, you may find the required intimacy of dinner for two is slightly lost.

But with that distinct Italian smell, rosemary and garlic, fresh bread and seafood wafting from the kitchen area, these thoughts can easily be pushed aside.

The menu covers the usual pizzas and pastas, but you'll also find plenty of unusual dishes such as swordfish and ostrich fillets.

Seafood is abundant too. I opted for scallops wrapped in pancetta, which were slightly disappointing in size, although beautifully cooked and moist. The Asian-style sweet chilli sauce also seemed a strange choice of accompaniment in an Italian restaurant but tasty all the same. This was followed by fresh egg tagliolini with lobster and crayfish in a white wine and cream sauce. The pasta was perfect and tasted homemade, the sauce wasn't too heavy but a little more seafood wouldn't have gone amiss.

My partner opted for the mussels in a garlic and white wine sauce, which smelled and tasted fantastic, but a nice hunk of bread to mop up those fragrant juices would have just made the dish. An American hot pizza topped with spicy pepperoni and jalapeno peppers followed and was congratulated for its plentiful chillis and crispy dough. A glass of Pinot Grigio each was a good choice and complemented our dishes well.

Afterward we decided it would be rude not to try the ice-cream made famous by the Italians and while not home-made by the restaurant (and not Italian - it's made locally by a New Forest company) it was sublime and the perfect finish.

Considering our modest menu choices the bill came to rather eye-popping £60 for two.

But if Italian food is top of your list coupled with personal service and elegant surroundings, then Regginas is certainly worthy of a visit.

Sara Mills Regginas, 13-15 High Street, The Square, Botley. Tel: 01489 782068. Web: www.regginas.co.uk.