There's always one restaurant of the day in London and most often that spot is Italian. Perhaps because it's a safe choice. Right now, that spot appears to be Aurelia. But with its uneven menu and uneven service, it will need some work to stay there. From the start, the "sharing concept" they try to dictate doesn't work on a menu structured in appetisers and mains. Further, the food isn't the kind one shares. It's classic Italian with a heavy seafood bent. Some dishes are good such as the lobster pasta with Crustacean chunks in a nicely textured hand-pulled noodle. But others are widely off the mark such as Queen scallop which are at once over-done and yet swimming in butter in shells. In fact the words "not quite" could be applied to everything. A house side salad, called the Aurelia salad, has wonderful fresh leaves, but is just too salty. A potato gratin is beautiful but too plain. And so forth. Crowded it is. Popular no doubt. But true foodies will likely move on.

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