It was a typical wintry Monday. Cold, wet, grey - the sort of weather that makes you pile on the layers and reminisce back to those long-gone balmy summer nights.

So where better to recreate that feeling with a taste of Italy than at Don Giovanni's in Abingdon, where the atmosphere - although, sadly, not the central heating - was warm and friendly?

Having just read Anthony Capella's The Food of Love (about an Italian who tries to woo an American girl with food), I couldn't wait to see what the menu had to offer. Armed with a recommendation from my mum, it was time to see if Don Giovanni was as good as I'd heard.

The restaurant was empty when we arrived except for one table, but that didn't put us off - it was a Monday, after all.

And our fellow diners must have enjoyed the food, as they wolfed it down and left long before we were even on our main course.

SO WHAT DID YOU ORDER?

It took a while to order as the menu was so extensive, but the waiter, who seemed to magically appear whenever we needed something, gave us some delicious spicy olives to whet our appetite. Noticing how quickly we had devoured them, he returned with another bowl - both on the house. Now that's worth a second visit alone.

Eventually we ordered aubergine parmigiana (aubergines in a tomato sauce with cheese, baked in the oven); avocado with crab meat and prawns in a cheesy sauce; asparagus risotto and seafood spaghetti.

AND WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Both starters were massive - in fact, we probably could have shared given the size of our main courses, but who wants to do that?

My colleague Nione's aubergine parmigiana was delicious and my avocado and seafood dish was equally tasty, although it was so hot from the oven that I had to wait a few moments before I could manage a mouthful.

Nione's asparagus risotto was "one of the best" she'd ever eaten. The asparagus was deliciously sweet and crisp, while the risotto was creamy and cooked to perfection.

My main course was packed with all my favourite seafood and came in a light tomato sauce, although the squid was a bit too chewy for my liking. I could only manage about two-thirds, it was so huge, so those with a large appetite would do well to consider Don Giovanni's for a meal.

WHAT ABOUT THE SERVICE?

It was excellent thoughout the evening. Our waiter instinctively appeared when we needed something, although he had mysteriously disappeared when it was time to ask for the bill.

Perhaps he thought we would order pudding, but having gorged ourselves on olives, starters and carb-heavy main courses, there was no room for another mouthful.

That is, until he bought the coffees out with some moreish mini biscotti biscuits and chocolate mints. I somehow found room for six (don't ask).

VERDICT: With prices and portion sizes like these you can eat to your heart's content. The bill only came to £36, and we couldn't even finish our main courses.

While my allegiance is already pledged to an Italian restaurant in Oxford, I'd certainly pay Don Giovanni another visit next time I was in town. THE BILL Aubergine parmigiana £5.20 Avocado with crab and prawns £6.50 Asparagus risotto £6.20 Seafood spaghetti £6.20 Espresso £1.80 Cappuccino £2 Read ... (and eat) all about it Read (and eat) all about it The Jam Factory s=2227 Park End St f=85 Helvetica Heavy s=9d=4,3,1Ff=helvetica biRANK Cooper may have long since ditched the premises to make 'Oxford' marmalade elsewhere, but there's still pots going on at the site, writes Paul Stammerso It's not easy to pigeonhole the Jam Factory, which has been principally carved out of the site's courtyard.

It's an art gallery, bar and restaurant - alas, not near anywhere particularly useful, other than the railway station, or at a spot where people naturally converge.

Nonetheless, the place scrubs up well. The decor includes a mix of comfy and retro plastic seats, and when my friend and I visited, we were amused to see that in a corner of the dining area, a stack of chairs had been made into a sculpture, strung with lights. There was a small art gallery, principally of photos, to browse in the room next door.

The swanky bar was a welcome refuge from the elements, and while we weren't tempted, a batch of board games was to hand for nimble-fingered, or perhaps bored, customers.

The JF serves a variety of drinks, including several real ales (the Cotswold Winter dark lager is worth trying at the moment, by the way), and has a happy hour between 6-7pm.

On the food front, the venue is more than a snack spot serving pizzas, baguettes and omelettes, though these are its staples. I relished my £7.95 sea bass dish from the specials board, which featured two golden crispy fillets, a piquant green olive tapenade and chunky buttered vegetables, served slightly al dente.

My friend's shoulder of lamb (£10.95) was reassuringly tender and less fatty than expected. It came with sautéed potatoes which were tender without being mushy, and a dollop of fresh, aromatic mint jelly. We didn't have room for dessert.

My one qualm was that my double espresso (£1.50), though feisty, was a wee bit tiny even for that famously concentrated concoction.

STYLE: Funky yet restrained MUSIC: Chilled-out dance VERDICT: Pity the location isn't quite as good as the venue