Sometimes the secret of restaurant success seems blindingly obvious.

Just be there. On the premises. Not the manager, the chef, the public relations person. Definitely not the public relations person. I'm still surprised at the huge number of emails I get saying: "Hello! please let us know when you would like to visit our client's restaurant for a complimentary meal and a free bottle of wine."

What? Er, nope. Crikey, maybe I'm old fashioned but, shouldn't public relations firms charging restaurant owners for their expertise know that restaurant reviews by this newspaper are anonymous? We don't say we're coming, we don't say we're there, and we pay our own way. I replied to such an email the other day politely pointing all that out but adding - because it's completely true - that I was in your client's restaurant with friends a few weeks ago and the food was absolutely awful. The reply? Blissful silence. If I cocked my ear I could faintly hear the sound of myself being manually exterminated from the mailing list. Stamp, stamp, stamp.

Anyway, the best PR comes from simply being there. I'm talking about the owner, of course. In here, Mr Tarantino is everywhere. He's on the phone when we call to book. "Grazie, grazie," floods down the telephone line. He's at the door when we come in. "Ciao, ciao, grazie, grazie," follows us to our seats. He's at the table flourishing, pointing, smiling when we place our order and there are even more grazies with a tante thrown in, too, as he heads off to the kitchen at the back.

I should point out I have never met the man, nor has any PR firm ever contacted me about his restaurant but it's kind of obvious, as it should be, that it's his business. When he's not at our table he's doing the same at other tables in this small restaurant right beside Ox and Finch just off Glasgow's trendy Finnieston food strip. If you're a grumpy person - unlike me of course - you may find this has a little too much formaggio. But there's no denying when delivered with sincerity - as it seems to be here - it's effective. Hey, the man is working hard to create a business.

By now we're eating a dish of lightly battered and delicately seasoned courgette - this is what would be called an amuse bouche in posh restaurants - and grazie-ing back and forwards amongst ourselves as we do so.

The occasional draught from the front door isn't bothering us, nor are we fazed by the slightly strange murals on the wall that look like the staff drew them on a quiet Sunday afternoon. In fact they add to the genuine, slightly homespun feel of the place. By the time the starters arrive by flickering candle-light we can see that someone in the kitchen is putting in a shift too.

The melanzane parmigiana in bianca look spectacular, baked and carmelised and appetising, while the involtini di zucchine e tonno are a work of rolled, curled and folded Italian art. There are proper flavours from the melanzane; a startlingly cold, savoury introduction to the zucchini followed by a sweet hit as the tuna and courgette flavours mix.

The pasta scoglio that follows is packed with Scottish shellfish and has a excellent lightly flavoured sugo. Not so impressed, however, with the Linguine Alla Puttanesca. It's meant to be a strong punchy sauce but it has far, far too many capers making it taste almost pickled. I've just come off the back of judging pasta at the Scottish-Italian awards - where the standard was very high - so maybe I'm being choosy, but it was not to my taste. It's the first pasta dish I've ever left unfinished.

Does this spoil our experience? Nope. Why? Because of the way the restaurant is run we've already been imbued with a healthy dose of goodwill. The sort of PR that is priceless.

Tarantino

914-916 Sauchiehall Street

Glasgow

0141 237 3902

Menu: At first glance a traditional Italian menu, but there are a few handmade pastas and some interesting dishes to lift it all. 4

Atmosphere: Small, comfortable restaurant lit by candles, with a slightly formal but not stuffy feel. Not sure about the lift music though. 4

Service: Hard to fault, full-on Italian, warm and welcoming and, yes, the owner does seem to be on the premises which counts for so much. 5

Price: Not cheap with starters hovering around the £6 mark and pastas and risottos from £9 to £14 , but fine given the standard. 3

Food: The fritters are fabulous, some of the starters very good, overall real evidence of care and effort going into the cooking. 7

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