IF you like your food full of flavour, with an interesting tasty twist, then I can't recommend Basilica highly enough. The cosy Westbourne restaurant is spread over two floors and provides a perfect venue for a relaxing evening, in comfortable and friendly surroundings.

But better than the nice atmosphere and soft background music, is the food.

Basilica's menu is not vast, but it does offer a good range of dishes at reasonable prices, which should be able to accommodate most tastes.

By offering a choice of two salads or a salad and a potato option to accompany meals from the grill menu, I was afforded the flexibility to select exactly what I fancied.

To start, my fiancée and I went for the Mezze platter to share and we weren't disappointed. The warm pitta bread came with a lovely spiced humus dip and a fresh-tasting tsatsiki, as well as a healthy dose of olives and feta cheese.

This set us up nicely for the main courses, which provided a sumptuous surprise on arrival. The portions were larger than expected and the food was excellent.

I opted for the spiced chicken and the flavours of garlic and chilli worked well with the parmesan salad and herb potatoes.

My fiancée ordered the burger, which beat the mass-produced versions served in some places hands-down. It was handmade, well seasoned and filling.

However, one aspect which let the Basilica experience down was the service, although through no fault of the staff.

The waiters were polite and friendly, but too few in number. If you like to be attended to quickly and asked how your meal is at frequent intervals, this is probably not going to be your cup of tea.

But, faced with a bill of just £31 after enjoying a pleasant evening out, I am still compelled to give Basilica a resounding thumbs-up.