"Then suddenly he felt a quickening in him. His heart turned and he leaned his back against the counter for support. For in a swift radiance of illumination he saw a glimpse of human struggle and of valor. Of the endless fluid passage of humanity through endless time. And of those who labor and of those who—one word—love. His soul expanded. But for a moment only. For in him he felt a warning, a shaft of terror... he was suspended between radiance and darkness. Between bitter irony and faith."

Ri.No.

I'll probably catch a lot of flack for going out on a limb and actually not liking this tiny Bastille address that's had all the blaggers and critics in a collective gastronomic circle jerk since opening a few months back.

I'm talking about Rino, a hot (by that I mean no air conditioning) new bistro run by a chef , Giovanni Passerini, who seconded Peter Nilsson at another buzzing bistronomic, Le Gazzetta.

The short menu (with two courses for 18€ and three for 22€) was predictably short, with a starter of an orange tinged barley risotto and calimari, followed by a slowly cooked, and pretty tasty pork loin, served with cabbage and a side of veg. The dessert was fresh strawberries and pistachio (tasted more like peanut butter) sorbet.

The dining room was full of seniors saying things like "Ohh, I think this is nouvelle cuisine", and service (from the one man show waitstaff with vintage Ray Bans and effete Franco-Italian humeur ) was trés slow.

I was really excited to try this place, it was cheap, not so cheerful, and I'm not sure I'd come back.

Maybe for dinner, if the chef takes his culinary gloves off..