THE plan was to watch a Saturday afternoon showing of Avatar en famille and then round off the outing with a meal.

However, plans were almost scuppered by leaving everything until the last minute, so that most restaurants only had late sittings available.

Luckily, Bella Italia in Weymouth’s St Mary Street had room for us so having approximated the time Avatar should end, we booked for 8pm.

In the end, the film finished earlier than anticipated and as Weymouth was filling up with raucous stag parties we decided to skip a pre-meal drink and head straight to the restaurant. We were 30 minutes early, but were warmly welcomed and shown to our table.

Bella Italia has a warm, comfortable atmosphere and is popular with families, groups of friends and couples of all ages. It was just as well we booked as groups of prospective diners were turned away throughout the evening.

Our waitress was a wonderfully cheery lady called Jan, who could not do enough for us, and the food was plentiful, prompt and tasty.

We got off to a good start. My mozzarella and tomato salad didn’t look particularly inspiring and decent tomatoes can be hard to source at this time of year but the buffalo cheese was the best I have ever tasted – fresh, cool and creamy. My husband’s field mushrooms in a garlic cheese sauce were piquant and not too rich, while daughter’s garlic bread with mozzarella didn’t touch the sides, with only a tiny fragment being grudgingly broken off and shared.

We all decided on pasta-based main courses – spinach and ricotta cannelloni, torn chicken and spinach pasta in a blue cheese sauce and spicy meatballs served on a bed of spaghetti.

Although the restaurant was full and the staff working at full-stretch, we didn’t have long to wait and our food was piping hot.

The cannelloni received top marks and was still being eulogised the following morning – always a good sign.

There could have been slightly more torn chicken and spinach in my pasta dish, but it was wonderfully cheesy and creamy without being overpowering or sickly, as blue cheese sometimes can be.

The meatballs came in a lightly spiced tomato sauce and were wolfed down.

We washed the meal down with a perfectly acceptable bottle of house red and an apple juice.

Bella Italia may not have the style or cachet of other restaurants but it would be foolish to look down at it just because it belongs to a chain.

If you want reasonably priced Italian food in a cheerful atmosphere where children are welcomed, then look no further.

* Bella Italia, 104D St Mary Street, Weymouth Tel: 01305 778424, website www.bellaitalia.co.uk Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 10am-10pm; Fri 10am-11pm, Sat 9am-11pm.

My Bella Italia bill

Funghi Arrosto: £4.75

Mozzarella Pomodoro: £4.25

Garlic Bread £3.65

Poplette Americano: £9.25

Fusilli Pollo Spinici: £8.95

Cannelloni Spinichi Riccotta: £8.25

Bottle house red: £12.95

Apple juice: £1.95

TOTAL: £54.00