IT all looked quite promising when we went into Cristallo on Bournemouth’s West Cliff Road. The Romanesque statues outside have always made me a little sceptical for some reason but once inside the bright and smart restaurant we felt glad we had finally decided to give it a go.

I have often noticed chips spelt as ‘ships’ on the boards outside and I was hoping that would allude to authentic foreign food in the European-themed restaurant.

It certainly was not as cheap as we were expecting with our main meals costing more than £15 each.

And sadly the food was not as exciting as we had hoped.

The real ‘no no’ for me was the fact both our sirloin steak and tuna steak dishes came with potatoes deep fried in the way some pubs do when they try to make them seem roasted.

For me it showed a lack of imagination and on top of that both of us were left a little hungry by the portions.

My tuna steaks were quite nice but a little dry, which would have been remedied if they had provided more of the tasty red wine drizzle.

The asparagus that came with it was OK, tasty but almost mushy – and it was a £16 meal.

My wife’s steak was a little chewy too, sadly, but the peppercorn sauce was a plus. And the chocolate fudge cake was pretty dreamy.

So it was a shame the food did not match the price as the service was spot on and the restaurant is spotlessly clean and brightly decorated.

With painted vines climbing up the walls and across the ceiling and lots of nice pictures, the interior is more impressive than I expected, although the fake plants are not so good.

They have a range of options on the children’s menu too and I did not really mind them adding 50p when I asked for pepperoni on the pizza.

It is an attractive place which looks like it does well from the tourist trade but we were left a little disappointed.

Maybe we should have gone for a risotto, pasta or pizza.

This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.

My Cristallo bill:

Pint of Peroni lager £4.50

Apple juice £2.50

Glass of house red wine £4.50

Kids’ margarita pizza £4.50

with pepperoni 50p

Grilled sirloin steak £15.95

Grilled tuna steak £16

Chocolate fudge cake £4.50

Cappuccino x2 £2.45

TOTAL: £57.85