 CAERNARFON has a lot more going for it these days, it seems, than in recent times, and the opening of a new restaurant is always a cause for celebration. Although it opened last year, La Dolce Uno is the new kid on the block, occupying the same spot as the former Courtneys restaurant - remembered more for its watery vegetables than anything else. La Dolce Uno, meaning The Sweet One, is situated in the lovely Segontium Terrace of Georgian houses overlooking the River Seiont and a catapult's throw from the former Roman fort, also called Segontium. Being fans of Italian food, we were all looking forward to a real feast, and the whaft of bread emanating through a kitchen window on the ground floor offered much promise on our arrival. We were soon struck by La Dolce's warm and relaxing surroundings and went upstairs to our table accompanied in the background by the sound of Anglo-American rock music rather than authentic Italian voices. La Dolce Uno is small and intimate with a modern and minimalistic design which leaves no room for the usual vine leaves and paintings so typical of many Italian restaurants - a trend I like. What I don't like is the practice in some Italian restaurants of using reconstituted ham of undefinable origin atop their pizzas - or, even worse, spam - although there was no hint of that at La Dolce Uno. While perusing the menu, we chose a bottle of house red - a very drinkable Orvieto Secco - with a jug of water before ordering our starters. I opted for funghi ripieni al forno, a large mushroom stuffed with breadcrumbs, parsley, grated parmesan cheese, mushrooms, olive oil and dolcelatte which tasted a bit raw for my liking. Next time I'll go for Sphagetti Bolognese. | 
