Spurred on by reader emails (“Brief note to say, very impressed with food and service would highly recommend it”), Nicholas Rudd-Jones went to try out the newly launched Cloisters and was delighted to discover an informal, authentic Italian experience in a modern and welcoming setting

I went with my two sons David (11) and Sammy (8) and they both loved it. The first positive is the décor – lots of thought has been put into it, with a relaxed seating area at the front, a bar and café-style tables in the middle and lots of more intimate tables at the back. The furniture is all Italian, the granite tables have a really solid, but contemporary feel to them.

The place feels like it has substance, and so does the pedigree. The establishment is run by a well-known local Italian family, the Iaconos. Leon and his sister Sadie run the restaurant and Dad is often to be found in the kitchen making the pizzas (40 years of experience is rather useful). They buy all their ingredients from the best Italian suppliers in Peterborough, keep the menu straightforward but it all looks delicious and consistently hits the right note.

The boys chose delicious Italian Pago juices to drink and garlic bread for starters, whilst I had the Funghi Ripieni – stuffed mushrooms with gorgonzola, honey and breadcrumbs - a good texture but not too filling.

For the mains we all went for the pastas – all spaghetti or tagliatelli based – and the pasta is fresh and well-cooked. Sammy chose the meatballs, which had plenty of flavour and spice in them, including chilli, but he ate them all. David had the Spaghetti Marinara and declared the mussels to be the largest he had had; “You won’t believe how nice this is”. I tried the Chef’s Choice Pasta, which on this evening was sliced breast of chicken, which slipped down quickly.

For afters we shared a trio of desserts presented together – a chocolate cake, white chocolate cheesecake and lemon torte – which were each delicious and even better for being shared. I finished up with a first-rate espresso.

Why, I asked Leon, is it called Cloisters instead off some Italian-sounding name like Amalfi? “Behind that wall,” Leon told me, “there are the remains of a 13th century monks’ cloister, so it takes its name from that. “And anyway,” he continued, “we didn’t want to be the cliché of an Italian restaurant, we are happier to ‘prove’ our authenticity by people coming to judge for themselves.”

This place deserves to be a success, and I think it will be. It definitely adds something to the Stamford food scene. Try it out and let me know what you think at localliving@btopenworld.com