No substitute

Perched at the top end of Wandsworth's East Hill, in London, Ditto is a recent restaurant addition to the capital's genteel south-western suburb. But there is no cloying gentility about the 70-seat eaterie, whose clean, modern lines declare it a sophisticate of the modern dining scene.

"We're aiming at the top end of the brasserie market," says head chef Calum Watson, a finalist in this year's National Chef of the Year competition. It's no surprise, then, to find the evening à la carte menu carrying all the usual suspects of modern anglo-european cuisine.

Risottos, terrines, soups, braised and grilled meat and poultry dishes and a number of fish options - all made with, and accompanied by, fresh seasonal produce - grace the nine-choice course levels: spinach, leeks, woodland mushrooms, fennel, cabbage, duck and salmon are all utilised.

"I play about with the menu all the time, probably changing two starters and a main course a week," says Inverness-born Watson, a shareholder in the venture, who heads a six-strong brigade. The hallmarks of his menu are gutsy, straightforward dishes such as a main course of twice-cooked shank of lamb served with creamed celeriac mash (£10.50). Dishes using cheaper cuts of meat, such as the shank, also appear on the set-course menu (two courses £10 or £14.50, three courses £14.50 or £18.50 for lunch or dinner, respectively), a recent example being honey-glazed pork belly accompanied by pea purée and a balsamic sauce. "Cheaper cuts of meat bring out the best in a chef," says Watson.

Selling well on the carte menu at the moment are starters of smoked haddock fish cake with tomato basil dressing (£4.95), glazed goats' cheese, Mediterranean roulade and sun-dried tomato pesto (£6.25) and woodland mushroom and spinach risotto (£5.25). The latter two are particularly popular with women diners, drawn mostly from Wandsworth's prime residential quarter on to which Ditto backs.

Local business people are also regulars at the restaurant, which is currently serving 70 weekend evening covers (50-60 mid week) and drawing an average spend per head of £27 with wine. Main-course success stories with these customers have been such dishes as a suprême of Scottish salmon, roasted fennel, sauce vierge (£11.50) and a confit duck leg accompanied by cabbage braised in cider, butter and honey, served with smoked bacon and olive jus (£12.25).

Desserts, cannily pitched by Watson to include the chocolate, comfort-zone and palate-cleansing concoctions so beloved by British diners, include a trio comprising tasters of three full options: a chocolate marquise, lemon tart, and bread and banana butter pudding (£6.50). A menu must-do - the modern-day brûlée - appears in cappuccino form (£4.25) served before coffee.

Customers are looked after by a six-strong front of house team (three full-time and three part-time members) headed by Christian Duffell, joint director of the restaurant. There are plans to open two more Ditto sites in the South-east in the near future, and hopes are high that their success will be "the same" (ditto).

Ditto Bar Restaurant, 55-57 East Hill, Wandsworth, London SW18 2QE. Tel: 020 8877 0110