COMPROMISE, they say, is the key to a happy marriage so when my wife and I were arguing over whether to nip out for a Mexican or a Chinese meal, we diplomatically decided on Italian.

But having decided on a visit to Felicini's, a delightful little restaurant at the heart of Monton village, we realised there was no need to quarrel.

Although the restaurant's bread and butter, if you will, is traditional Italian fayre, there is also the opportunity to sample other international dishes with an Italian twist.

For example, my wife picked out the Oriental pizza (£ 4.95), which consisted of duck, cucumber, spring onion and hoi sin sauce on top of a dough base.

I tried the Felicini's chicken tortillas (£5.55), which promised spicy chicken, fried onions and peppers with fries and a mint yoghurt dip.

It wasn't exactly Spaghetti Bolognese, but then we were sat in Eccles, not Florence.

Keen to retain at least a semblance of Italian flavour to the meal, and also safe in the knowledge it would be quickly brought to the table, I ordered garlic bread with mozzarella (£3.95) to share for starters.

There was plenty of it, and although I always maintain there is never enough cheese on a restaurant-baked garlic bread, at least it wasn't dry, or swimming in a pool of oil.

Still bewildered at the thought of cucumber on a pizza, or what an Italian version of a fajita might taste like, I have to admit that I had initial reservations about the main courses to follow. But when they arrived, the appetite whetted by the garlic bread had kicked in, and all my previous worries had been washed away by a cool glass of Peroni lager.

The tortillas were fresh, and not over-filled, which meant I could pick them up without playing Russian roulette with my brand new tie.

The chicken was nice and spicy, but the mint dressing cooled everything down. There was also a great side salad with an Italian dressing and plenty of fries.

For the purpose of investigative journalism, we swapped plates half way through the meal.

The pizza did not taste quite as good as the tortillas but it might have been the mental hang-up I had over this strange Chinese-Italian hybrid.

It was as if someone had nipped out for a takeaway and got the contents of the carrier bag mixed up but somehow, it seemed to work.

There was plenty of topping, the base was well cooked and the pieces of duck were tender and plentiful.

Eager to throw another international flavour into the mix I settled on a creme brulee (£3.95) for dessert.

It was a decision well made, as the crunchy caramel topping and creamy filling were done to perfection.

Service throughout the meal was outstanding, and in keeping with the plush surroundings, you couldn't fault the presentation of the dishes.

Although there were plenty of families in the restaurant, you got the opinion that it could turn into quite a trendy establishment once the sun sets.

I still had change from £30 for the whole meal, helped largely by the fact we had stumbled in at happy hour which runs between 5-7pm on weekdays.

All pizza and pasta dishes at this time are just £4.95, and it is a fair bet we will be back again.