Matilda, London SW11

Matilda is a girl of contradictions. She is a relatively unreconstructed corner pub, but she has a very blingy chandelier.

Matilda is a girl of contradictions. She is a relatively unreconstructed corner pub, but she has a very blingy chandelier. She has beautiful dark, wood floors, but cheap blond stools at the long, slow curve of bar. She lies in turning-hip Battersea Bridge Road, within a corset throw of Vivienne Westwood's studio and Sir Norman Foster's Albion building, but she attracts Notting Hill matrons in Alice bands and pearls. She has a menu written in Italian but waiters who don't seem to understand a word of it. She has a chef who has cooked with high-fliers such as Giorgio Locatelli and Jamie Oliver, but starters are as low as £4 and main courses £8.

But, but, but... contradictions seem to be co-owner Charlie McVeigh's trademark. He is, after all, the man who opened the smart Bush Bar and Grill in unsmart Shepherd's Bush; who managed to run a thriving members' club (Woody's) on the wrong side of the Westway; and who once hired a Claridge's chef to cook homely pies and old-fashioned pub grub at the Grand Union.

I want to like Matilda and, to a large part, I succeed. It is a charming room, with white-trellised bar, ceiling fans and big white columns, a touch of Singaporean Raffles south of the Thames. I suspect those in pearls are family friends of the well-connected McVeigh and partner, Luca Meddi, venturing out of their usual territory to lend support. The rest of the crowd are in expensively ripped baggy jeans teamed with leather shoes and blazers, with a few I'm-an-artist black polo-necks and ciggies by the bar.

The most expensive thing on the menu is a bistecca Fiorentina at £14.50, for which you get a Scotch sirloin served with skinny chips rather than the real Florentine thing from Tuscan Chianina cattle, but, at £14.50, you're still ahead. And while you would be hard-pressed to find a decent wine under £20 on most London wine lists, the Italian-driven list from partner John Armit has only three wines above it. An easy-drinking Allegrini Valpolicella Classico 2000 is a very reasonable £19.50.

In spite of the low prices, there is a lot of quality in the kitchen, particularly in the cold larder. Chef Liliana Tamberi was the public face of the immaculately stocked cheese and cold meats counter of Giorgio Locatelli's Refettorio, and once again she has surrounded herself with a bounteous selection of cheeses, hams and salamis from small, Italian producers.

This is the business, served as a selection of affettati (from the verb affettare, to slice) arranged on wooden boards. A small platter of mixed meats (£5.75) is a beauty, comprising nutty, pink slices of prosciutto, soft and subtle mortadella, good, moist, flecky salami, and classy, pancetta-like, fat-streaked pork, all sliced to order. There is also a mossy-green herb oil that I am not sure what to do with, and a little pot of pickled vegetable sott'olio (under oil) that complements the flavours.

It also does the heart good to see lardo di Colonnata (£5) on the menu, a pure, white pork-fat cured with spices in marble tubs high in the marbled hills of Colonnata, on the border of Tuscany and Liguria. And don't go, "Eeuugh, fat" until you've tried it. This is fat as delicate as Brussels lace, super-finely sliced and melting into toasted country bread like an angel's wing caught in a candle flame.

Next, I venture on into the cooked side of things, with mixed results. A big bowl of mussels in a broth flavoured with garlic, chilli and parsley (£5) is lovely and simple, the mussels big, fleshy, sweet and succulent, and the broth deliciously balanced.

But - you knew there was going to be a but - the wheels fall off when the main courses arrive. At £8, it seems churlish to complain about a big, home-made Italian sausage on a bed of white beans, but the sausage, while well-textured, is enormously, tongue-burningly salty, and proves inedible.

A blackboard special of linguine with buffalo mozzarella and tomato (£8.50) is the complete opposite, with no seasoning but a touch of acidity in the dry splodges of tomatoes. It is nothing but a huge, boring serve of bland children's pasta.

So by all means waltz down to Matilda, but stick to the food, not the cooking. The charcuterie, cheeses and breads are all beautifully sourced, sliced and presented. You could make a meal of cold meats and go home as happy as a pig in a blanket. The cooking, however, suggests a chef (or chefs) who have left their mentors and training grounds too soon.

But, but, but. It's cute, but it's flawed. The staff are sweet, but amateur. The cold meats are fantastic, but the cooking is all over the shop. They will do something as excitingly regional as lardo di Colonnata, and then do sesame prawn toasties for the party rooms upstairs. The prices are great when the food works, and bad when it doesn't.

It could be just teething troubles. It could be that the scatty staff will soon mould themselves into charming professionals. It could be that the cooking will one day surpass the cooked. It could be. But I doubt it. *

12

Matilda 74-76 Battersea Bridge Road, London SW11, tel: 020 7228 6482. Open for lunch and dinner daily. Around £70 for two people including drinks and service.

Scores: 1-9 stay home and cook 10-11 needs help 12 OK 13 pleasant enough 14 good 15 very good 16 capable of greatness 17 special, can't wait to go back 18 highly honourable 19 unique and memorable 20 as good as it gets

Second helpings...

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E-mail Terry Durack about where you've eaten lately at t.durack@independent.co.uk