Tucked away in a quiet corner of Palmeira Square this unassuming Italian restaurant may not smack you in the face like some of its showier Church Road neighbours but it’s got a lot more to shout about.

It’s a place where the pasta is served al dente, the stone-cooked pizza bases undo the damage done by deep pan and the home-made panna cotta has the perfect wobble. In short it’s a rarity in a country which often serves up gnocchi that would sink the Titanic and pasta cooked to within a second of its life.

Co-owner Giuliano Steri has worked everywhere from Switzerland to the Lake District (“What can I say? I’m like a gipsy”) before finally settling in Brighton.

The Sardinian, who can usually be found with a smile on his face and a mobile phone to his ear, set up the restaurant last April with fellow Italian Eugenio Saulle, who runs a sister Buon Appetito in Burgess Hill.

Giuliano remembers the days when his mother would rise at 5am to cook a tasty, simple pasta al forno (lasagne) and it’s with this in mind that he and Saulle created this Hove establishment.

“We’re like a family restaurant, we like to keep it very simple and traditional but make changes for the English palate,” he explains in his heavy Italian accent. “In Italy we don’t use a lot of cream or garlic, we just use a little to flavour, but here they like lots.

“In Italy garlic bread doesn’t even exist. God knows who invented it – probably some Italian who came over here.”

While Giuliano will make concessions for the British palate, there are some things he is loathe to do. “Another English thing is chicken escalope. Some places here put it with spaghetti and sauce,” he says incredulously. “In my mind it’s a sin. It is two separate dishes, but if somebody really wants it I will do it.”

Heading things up in the kitchen where the pasta sauce is cooked on a daily basis and the pizza dough is lovingly pulled, is Eugenio’s brother, Mauro Saulle.

“He’s been in the kitchen since he was nine years old,” says Giuliano. “He grew up with a passion for food. Cooking is an art – if you don’t have passion for it, you may as well hang your jacket up.

“What we do is very simple and fresh. Some people want everything fast, in five minutes, but I believe good food is worth waiting for.” This reviewer’s advice – if you want to sample real Italian food, save your coins, give Carluccio’s a miss and head for Buon Appetito.

Review by Lisa Frascarelli

• If you are interested in restaurants in Brighton, Hove and Sussex, visit www.theargusfoodguide.co.uk