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Something with style

HAULIERS and coach operators don't just come up to the Commercial Motor Show for a look see at the menu• facturers' latest glittering goodies. • It is a time when a lot of business is done — and much wheeling and dealing goes on over the lunch and dinner table.

Now the Wimpy bar isn't really the sort of place that will impress a customer and put him in that pleasant well-fed haze which seems to make any business deal a good proposition.

No, it's all down to those restaurants where the waiters Whisk 'away the ash tray at the first sign of a cigarette butt and where you need to break into a tenner or two to meet the bill.

And Earls Court can again come up with the goods. Even if you aren't on expenses it offers restaurants where you can eat in style and where, if you are selective about what you order, you can eat at a reasonable price.

"Roman cuisine" is what's offered in II Piccolo Mondo, at number 10 Hogarth Place (01-370 1799), but what you're going to get is Italian specialities. They may well have a Roman flavour to them, but to a non-Italian it all tastes pretty much the same.

Which is to say, very nice.

Manager Emilio Caprioti reports that his Chicken Diablo is always popular and after taking a bite from my companion's dish (while she wasn't looking) I don't find it hard to believe. It's made with spice and wine, with a •hot sauce — and even an extra hot sauce, if you want it — all of which does tasty things to a grilled chicken.

The restaurant is on the smallish side, but upstairs there's a room that can be had for entertaining or for private parties. During the Show, however, it's always better to book first.

The prices are reasonable — about £8 for two.— but they've gone up a bit since we last reported on this restaurant.

(You really didn't expect they would have gone down, did you?). Way back in 1974 CM wrote that "starters cost from 35p to 75, a mixed grill £1, and a fillet steak E1 .25." Nowadays a starter will cost between 50p and 95p, while the main course costs from 95p to E2.20, which is, after all, still quite good.

The wine list is varied with a nice selection of French, Italian and German vintages — none of which we tried. (The expense account isn't as elastic as all that.) But the house wine, an Italian red, was a splendid accompaniment to the meal and it only set CM back E2.40.

II Piccolo Mondo is open for lunch and dinner, from 12 to 3 in the afternoon and then again from 7 in the evening to midnight.

Along the road Lillie Road houses The Hotel Lily which offers a three course meal in its two level restaurant for a modest E2.16 and there is no need for booking.

The main dining floor of the restaurant is sunken with soft lighting and the restaurant of the modern hotel is open from 7.30 to 10 pm.

It has an 6 la carte menu with prices including E1 .75 for a sirloin steak; £2.20 for duckling, E1.40 for a chop and £2.50 for a fillet steak.

Just down the road is the West Centre Hotel, a modern member of the Centre Hotel organisation, which is being altered to take in a new restaurant called the Baron Carvery offering a choice of cuts from three or four roast joints.

But there will also be casseroles and special dishes available at extra costs. Charge, for the roasts will be a standard one of E3.45 plus VAT. Charges for the other dishes will be extra, as will coffee.

One of the best known Italian restaurants in London, let alone the Earls Court district, is the Pontievecchio (373 9082), in Old Brompton Road. If the weather is kind you can sit at tables on the pavement under an awning and screened by a shrub hedge. But if the rains are still with us there is seating inside for a hundred.

Surprisingly, the prices seem to have been held at pretty much the same level since we last visited this restaurant two years ago. For example the grilled mushroom starter which my companion thought excellent was 70p in 1974 and it will now set you back 75p. Still with the starters, the Gamveretti Pontevecchio is a speciality of the house.. Prawns, white wine, garlic and chillies make up the dish, which costs 80p and is definitely for those who like their food on the hot spicey side.

The regular carte is supplemented by daily "special" starters and main courses. There were 12 regular main dishes (between €1.40 and £.2.80) and four special main meals when we visited. Veal and chicken dishes were recommended by assistant manager Mario, but I chose the Turbot Provencal (E1.95) from the daily dishes. The fish was fresh and the sauce well made. And my companion enjoyed the Veal Rosemary, at E1.70.

Saute potatoes are served free with every main meal and other vegetables will cost between 25-35p.

The service is good and it is not surprising that you are advised to book for every meal, though you can get a table if you don't mind a short wait.

Opening hours are between 12.45 to 2.45 (last orders) for lunch and 6.45 till 11.45 for dinner. The wine list is extensive and the Italian wines are reasonably priced (try the Corvo at £2.80), but the house wine at £1.95, a good quality Chianti, seems a good buy. In this section of the market the Italians seem to dominate. Just across the road from the Pontevecchio is a branch of the famous Bertorelli brothers' restaurants.

And in Earls Court Road there is the 11 Palio Di Siena (373 4487) trattoria which specialises in Tuscan cooking. It is open 12.00 till 3.00 and 6.00 till 12.00 seven days a week and it is best to book for dinner.

It offers a special E1.15 lunch of two courses and coffee, but it would be a pity if you didn't try some of the dishes from the regular menu. The management is particularly proud of its antipasti from the trolley for a starter. There is freshly made tuna salad, seafood salad, marinated mushrooms, etc and you pay for what you have, although a normal helping would cost

about-El.

Speciality of the house is Pontafoglio del Nonno, chicken, cheese, ham and mushrooms in an onion sauce (E1 .75). Carafe wine is again Chianti at £.1.75.

For those of you with slightly more exotic tastes Earls Court has plenty to offer.

El Sheikh, just a few doors along from the Pizza Hut in Earls Court Road, is a restaurant which opened just seven months ago, and the food is Turkish and Arabic. Opening hours are midday through till 2.00 in the morning. The starters are all under El and most of them are round about 55p, with the traditional starter Humous at 50p. There are 22 different types of kebabs and a number of speciality dishes, including Topkapi, a mixture of lamb, chicken and herbs at £1 .75 which the management say is very popular.

Then again, for those of you with a taste for Indian cooking, there is the well known Naraine (370 3853) restaurant in Kenway Road. It is not one of your usual curry shops and you don't just have to take my word for the quality of the food.

The Naraine has been the subject of a number of reviews and owner Bill Naraine is so proud of their findings that he displays the press cuttings in the restaurant window.

There are 47 different curries to choose from in pleasant split level surroundings. The chef grinds his own spices and produce is fresh every day. A basic chicken curry costs 95p and prices go up to £2.80 for a lobster Biriani, Side dishes are 40-55p.

I chose one of the recommended Tandoori dishes, which are dry curries, the meat being cooked in spices in a clay oven. The half Tandoori chicken was very tasty and to go with it I had rice, an exceptional vegetable curry and Nan bread (a bit like Yorkshire pudding).

Most people prefer lager or mineral water with a curry, but there is a reasonable wine list and the Italian carafe wine costs £1.95. The Naraine is listed in the Egon Ronay guide and that can't be bad. Opening hours are 12.00 till 3 pm for lunch and 6 pm till midnight, six days a week (closed on Mondays). If you are not someone who knows their way around an Indian menu, Bill Naraine will be happy to give you some suggestions.

Finally, we come to the prestigious Artiste Affame (373 1659), in Old Brompton Road. Manager Peter Durrant has only recently taken over and has agreed to open up the restaurant for lunch during the Show period. It is a small and select restaurant, booking is advised and the average bill for two is about £12 to El 5. The decor is comfortable with a lot of genuine and interesting antiques. For starters we chose a popular dish, Crespaline Maison and the smoked salmon pate, both costing El. The Crespaline, a crepe stuffed with spinach, nuts, raisins and served in a cheese sauce, was excellent and my partner enjoyed the good portion of pate, though it was a bit salty for my taste.

It took about 10 minutes for

the first course to arrive an Peter Durrant says that this I deliberate. -We would rathe take a bit of trouble and ge things right rather than rus things and spoil them." On t the main course and I had th Beef Chasseur (E2.75), whic had a sauce of mushrooms, herbs and tomatoes that did not overpower the meat. My companion chose Medal ions of lamb in a herb sauce at E2.25,

From what we could see of the other diners the Fondue Bourgignonne (E2.50) seemed enjoyable and the Trout with Almonds also looked good.

The sweet trolley had an unusual fresh fruit salad, which had a caramelised sugar and cream topping. The wine list, mainly French, isn't cheap but is carefully selected. Good carafe wine can be had for £2.10. Opening hours are 6.30 till 11 .30 for dinner, six days a week (not Sundays) and during the Show period the restaurant plans to open for lunch and have a Table d'Hote selection.