Norwich: Paolo's Pizzeria

From struggling, seen-better-days city centre pub to homely pizzeria. Just don't judge it on the cheesy red, white and green sign, says SARAH BREALEY.

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Judging a book by its cover must be a misconception that dates at least from the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, but it is one that persists.

These days publishers do all they can to aid judging by the cover, producing covers as graphic and colourful as the writing and trying to pull in their target audience - from the pink and ponies of the Katie Price books to a blood-spattered crime novel.

I sometimes wonder if it is a cliché that has passed its sell-by date: the days when the most gripping novel would be bound in plain leather and adorned by nothing more than some lettering are long gone. To pile on the clichés, if a picture can paint a thousand words, then a good cover must do the job of at least a couple of pages.

You can judge restaurants by their covers too, and this is where Paolo's Pizzeria does itself no favours. The red and white sign outside says cheap-and-cheerful rather than classy.

The building itself has a prime site on the cusp of St Giles and Guildhall Hill. It used to be Refreshers, a pub I never had much fondness for, especially after they refused to give me a glass of tap water alongside the pint of beer I had just paid for.

Anyway, you should venture past the sign, because inside, Paolo's is rather nice. There is an open-plan kitchen where you can see the chefs knocking balls of dough into pizza bases in moments.

The style is fairly modern, stylish but low-key Italian restaurant, with bare wooden tables and chairs and bottles of olive oil dotted around for decoration. It has been opened by Paolo Duray, who was born in Albania and grew up in Italy. I couldn't quite work out the nationality of the waitresses, but they were plausibly Italian.

There is a wide choice on the menu, focusing on pizzas and pastas but with some meat dishes too. Most of the classics can be found here, including garlic bread, bruschetta and deep-fried squid as starters.

I had the minestrone soup, which was a broth filled with chunks of vegetables - carrots, peas, celery, cabbage and tomato, with a bit of bread on the side. The other half had whitebait served with tartare sauce. He thought the portion control a bit strict, but was otherwise happy.

Main courses followed hard on the heels of our starters, with scarcely time to brush the crumbs from our chops. We both had pizzas - a “pizza peppino” with mozzarella, ricotta, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes for me, and a garlicky seafood pizza for him. And they were triumphant - large, crispy of base, and with the right amount of topping. The other half thought it was the best seafood pizza he had for some time.

Paolo's habit of letting itself down with appearances strikes again with the dessert menu, which comes with pictures of bought-in ice-cream desserts.

There is, apparently, a home-made tiramisu, but it needs to be more prominent. Both dessert and main menus could do with a makeover - even a simple printed card or paper would look better than the plasticky menus with pictures on. We skipped dessert, although more because of fullness than any serious objections (to the tiramisu - I have never been a fan of frozen ready-made desserts).

The service, which had been efficient and sometimes blindingly swift, let itself down at this point when the waitress whipped away an empty glass, oblivious to the fact that there was still some wine in our bottle. The other half could hardly have looked more distressed, until we managed to gain another one.

For less than £45 we had a reasonable bottle of house red as well as a pair of starters and big, crispy pizzas. Norwich has a at least half a dozen chain pizza-and-pasta places, as well as some pretty good alternatives, but I reckon Paolo's has something to add.

Perhaps you should not judge a book by its cover after all - the signage might not have been quite right, but we left pretty happy.

Paolo's Pizzeria, St Giles Street, Norwich, 01603 611857

Prices: Starters £3.50-£6.95,pizzas £7-£10, pasta and risotto £6.50-£9.50, meat and fish dishes £14-£15, £13 for a bottle of wine.

Wheelchair access: Yes

Vegetarian options: Plenty

RATINGS

Food: ****

Service: ****

Atmosphere: ***

Family: ***