BELLA Capri is a popular little Italian restaurant near Caerphilly Castle, although the dcor - fishing nets and sea-faring paintings - would have you believe you were dining on the coast.

The menu boasts a wide selection of starters, pastas, pizzas and steaks, and includes many vegetarian options.

To start I ordered the bruschetta, Italian toast topped with Mediterranean vegetables and oozing with garlic and olive oil.

My friend opted for a decent-sized bowl of mussels and particularly enjoyed the spicy sauce they came in.

As a main course I chose the gnocchi (potato dumplings) with courgette, prawns, tomatoes, garlic and white wine.

The ever attentive waiter assured me it was the best dish on the menu, and the combination of flavours was, indeed, delicious.

My friend had the penne pasta with salmon in a creamy sauce. The sauce, she said, was very light and did not drown the pasta.

Although the portions were extremely generous, we could not resist the dessert menu. I went for the profiteroles smothered in lemon-flavoured cream rather than the usual chocolate sauce, and it was the tiramisu that caught my friend's eye.

Both dishes were light and disappeared surprisingly quickly considering how much food had already passed our lips.

It is not difficult to understand why this restaurant is so busy and it is probably advisable to book in advance.

The meal, together with a side salad and drinks, came to a very reasonable £39.25. Rhiannon Beacham