Shared passion

Giuseppe is the saturnine operator of the heat-belching pizza oven; Tommy the cheerful, informative, welcoming front-of-house. In a deliciously Acacia Avenue-ish way, they've used an elision of their names to christen this, their first independent restaurant. Giu + To - geddit? The extra 's' stands for 'soci', Italian for partners.

This is an informal restaurant of the best possible kind, born of a shared passion that infuses everything you eat. We asked Tommy and Giuseppe to deliver whatever pizza they fancied; we get a disc of fabulous, chewy, smoky dough topped with smoked mozzarella (scamorza), pungent, fennelly Italian sausage and strands of friarielli, a weed-like plant a little like broccoli rabe but with an addictive, bitter, almost spicy kick... sorry for gushing, but I'd say it was the best pizza in London.

Home-made pasta is terrific: tripelike, wiggly reginette were the perfect carrier for an autumnal porcini sauce. We loved aged Parma prosciutto - velvety essence of ham (but no fat, boo); and squid and tiny octopus wood-fired into charred tenderness. A pecorino cheese wine from Caldora is an aromatic revelation.

Upstairs in the cicchetti (Venetian snacks) bar, happy customers have scrawled their approval on eggyolkyellow walls; this is my contribution. Giusto is also Italian for 'just right'. Just so.

A meal for two with wine, water and service costs £50 to £80. 43 Blandford Street W1. Tel: 020 7486 7340. www.giustorestaurant.com Tube: Baker Street

Giusto
43 Blandford Street, W1U 7HF