JUST over the road from the post office and almost next door to my hairdresser's, it would be almost easy to miss La Fenice in Eastleigh High Street.

But once sampled, it's pretty much impossible to forget this delightful Italian restaurant.

It was the perfect venue for a meal out with three friends, offering an impressive and original menu.

As someone with an admittedly rather basic taste in food, I tend to clump restaurants into two distinctive categories.

There are those which seem to focus on the quality of their food - and there are others which go more for quantity.

Admittedly, I have generally had a preference for the latter. Until now.

That's because La Fenice has convinced me that just sometimes it is possible to be full up with food of the tastiest kind.

For my starter I pushed the boat out and opted for king prawns in a rich and delicious white wine and garlic sauce.

And while removing the prawns from the shells did prove a somewhat messy experience, it was well worth the effort.

My dining companions each went for the deep fried brie as their starter and were positively gushing in their response.

Next for the main course. Would it taste good and, most importantly, would it fill me?

The answer was a resounding double yes.

I stayed partially with the fish theme, ordering a supreme of Italian chicken lightly spiced with a prawn and white wine sauce.

It was superb, the chicken cooked to perfection with an extremely tasty kick provided by the sauce. The accompanying vegetables were plentiful and also certainly filled a gap.

My friends' choices included an Italian supreme of chicken with parma ham and mozzarella cheese in a creamy white wine sauce, spaghettini al pomodoro (spaghetti in tomato and basil sauce) and penne ortolana (penne asta with vegetables).

All received favourable reviews, although the al pomodoro was described as 'slightly plain' - although I guess that's a bit like complaining when it gets noisy at a rock concert. You have spaghetti in tomato and basil sauce because you want something simple and that is exactly what was delivered.

La Fenice also offers special set lunchtime menus, as well as lunch snacks such as light salads and baguettes.

Reservations: 023 8061 3180.