Address: 3 Queens Walk, Reading, RG1 7QF (Queens Walk is next to the Penta Hotel)

Telephone number: 0118 959 7700

Website: www.pepesale.co.uk

Date of visit: 10 March 2010

Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Peroni on tap. Very good value Italian list with a  good selection of Sicilian/Sardinian wines. The manager, Marco, is a real foodie ad he knows his wines. Ask him for a recommendation. He usually offers something around £20.

Summary:

Pepe Salle has been around for near 10 years. Its previous incarnations (different owners) were French and Portuguese. Both lasted only a couple of years.

I used to come here a lot when I was working across the road. This is my first visit in nearly 12 months.

The first impression is that there is no change. It is still brightly lit with the restaurant on 2 levels – separated by 4 feet of stairs. The “downstairs” dining room is bigger and tends to be noisier as the sound bounces off the walls and the tiled floor.

For starters, we had gamberoni arrabbiata, avacardo e fungi and the special of the day, oyster mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and served on crisp thin bread (carta de piano)

 http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff2008/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=464:sardinianflatbread&catid=47:cbreads&Itemid=65 .

The mushroom was cooked just right – still el dente and juicy not shrivelled up or chewy.

For main course, we had ravioli ricotta, mallorreddo (small spiral pasta served in a sausage meat and spicy tomato sauce) fegato al balsamico (calves’ liver) and spaghetti bottarga (spaghetti with shaven mullet roe cooked in garlic butter).

Pepe Salle is a Sardinian Italian restaurant; their best dishes are mushrooms and pasta. When in season, Marco regularly forages for wild mushrooms. I have had great English porcini mushrooms here. Their pasta is always cooked right and comes with great sauces. My regular dishes are the ravioli and spaghetti bottarga.

The whole lot was washed down with two bottles of vermentino di gall – crisp and fresh at £18.90 a bottle.

The bill for 4 including bread and side salads came to £126.60 (excluding service). The food here is still as good as ever. They remain my favourite Italian.

Eddie