WHEN the White Horse pub closed and a huge banner proclaiming "New Italian Restaurant opening soon" appeared, I started licking my lips.

On my daily trip to work, I watched as the builders' skip appeared and then the "Book now" banner was draped outside.

I was on the phone as quick as you could say lasagne. A table for two at Cecco's, Friday night, booked!

We love eating out - it is a weekly pastime, like a great big sigh at the end of the week. We enjoy the whole experience, the atmosphere, the decor, and of course the food.

But it has to be a package.

So what goodies did Cecco's, opened for just a week, have to offer?

As soon as we walked in - it certainly had the WOW factor.

But a word of advice to prospective diners - if you park in the car park at the back, do make the effort to walk round to the front door. We didn't. We negotiated the steep stone steps, through the old beer garden and in through the back door. It takes you straight into the dining area which is a little disorientating.

If you use this entrance, you miss the lovely squashy leather sofas and the trendy wooden bar area that greets the front door customers.

The restaurants would not be out of place on a swish Manchester street - with its beige, white and black decor. It does look classy with a capital C.

There are wooden floors and stone tile floors, straight backed black chairs, wonderful crisp white and cream table linen and simple, elegant white crockery.

The walls are painted cream and white with tasteful pictures. It is a light and airy room, straight out a good food magazine.

And it was filling up by the minute - with other back-door confused customers.

So the ambience and atmosphere was scoring top marks so far - but let's get down to the food.

The menu was beautifully designed and packed with traditional Italian dishes.

Traditional starters for about the £5/£6 mark, onto the pizzas and pasta for under a tenner, chicken, duck and veal a little bit more expensive.

We usually frequent another long established Italian in the Rossendale valley and I thought I would compare dishes. My favourite, baked aubergine, arrived on a plate - four slices doing a breaststroke through thick tomato sauce and topped with a delicious ring of stringy mozzarella cheese. Tasty with a true Mediterranean feel. I felt smug that I had saved some of my garlic bread to mop up the juices. A word about the garlic bread - they do the usual, cheese, tomato, and a half and half - very morish.

My beloved had gone for the Italian meats - salami etc which he scoffed without complaint.

For mains, I went traditional, Spaghetti Matriciana. I usually have this dish - with bacon, onions and tomatoes - with tagliatelle. The gutsy better half thought he would have a blow out and went for duck in pepper sauce.

I like to see the whites of my spaghetti and prefer the "caressed by sauce" look.

This was a little to tousled for my liking. And it tasted - average.

The duck, a whole half, looked as though it had just flown in and crash landed on the plate. It was huge - not like the wild tiddlers we have at home. His verdict: "Just how I like it - crispy." To keep it company there was roast potatoes, cauliflower and carrots. A cheeky bottle of Pinot Grigio at just under £14 helped put a pleasant glow on the occasion.

So far... well the atmosphere was certainly lively. The place was packed with couples, girlie parties, long lost friends hugging each other.

Desert, and the bad news, no pudding menu, just the waitress reciting the list - lots of chocolate - eclairs profiteroles, cheesecake and ice creams.

He plumped for the eclair cake and cream (greedy!) and I decided to try the strawberry cheese cake. It was OK as was the eclair cake although 10 out of 10 for presentation. End of meal.

But I did have some niggles. If the menu says Italian meats that's what it should be; not meats with a dollop of prawns and seafood sauce. It wouldn't go down well if you hate seafood! Mr partner's plate had a chip. And my biggest gripe - when the super efficient staff cleared away desert plates - why didn't they ask if we wanted coffee? After a ten minute wait, we gave up and asked for the bill - £50.15 including a tomato juice and whisky. The bill is the only thing I expect to ask for in a classy restaurant like this!

I hope that Cecco's was just having a few teething problems because overall, I did enjoy my dining package - I will go back, if just for the coffee!

Cecco's Ristorante Italiano,Holcombe Road, Helmshore.

Tel 01706 213873

Star rating: ***