On the whole, Italian restaurants tend to offer a staple diet of pasta and pizza, but Sosta in Crouch End is different and most definitely in a class of its own.

The warm and intimate restaurant is clearly well-known and loved by the locals and, on the night we visited, was almost full.

The menu is based around the traditional Italian four-course meal with an antipasti starter followed by a pasta course, known as primi, the main course, called secondi, and finally dolce - the pudding.

In addition to the fantastic a la carte menu, the restaurant has a different regional gastronomic menu available every Monday and, on the night we visited, the menu featured some delicious dishes from the Piedmont region of northern Italy.

My starter of sliced mango, salad leaves and parmesan croutons was a wonderfully fresh way to start the meal. My partner chose a starter of thinly sliced cured beef, known as 'bresaola', drizzled with olive oil and served with salad leaves.

It was a richly flavoured dish but light enough to lead us into our 'primi', the pasta course.

My Piedmontese journey continued with pasta parcels filled with cheese and served in a tomato sauce that were so good that I could have easily eaten them for my entire meal.

In fact, the pasta dishes can all be served as a main course upon request, and the friendly staff are always happy to advise you.

My partner's choice of gnocchi with lobster was fantastic with the light, fluffy potato dumplings providing the perfect accompaniment to the delicately flavoured lobster.

At this point, we were wondering how we would manage any more food but when our 'secondi' arrived we regained our appetite. My partner's steak was so tender he said he could have cut it with a spoon.

I couldn't resist the stunningly simple flavours of fillet of sea bass in white wine and parsley, perfectly cooked and served with fresh vegetables and a bowl of moreish rosemary roast potatoes.

Finally it was time for 'dolce' and we were treated to a wild strawberry cheesecake, this time we didn't even care that we were already completely full as we polished off the lighter-than-air pudding.

A meal at Sosta is more than just dinner; it's a gastronomic experience, and with a different region featured every Monday, it looks like i'm going to have to go back and try them all!

Sosta
14 Middle Lane
Crouch End
020 8340 1303.