Eating: La Perla, Guernsey

Where we ate:
La Perla Restaurant
North Plantation, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2LH.

When we ate:
7.30pm
Friday 1 August, 2008

What we ate:
Garlic bread, lasagne and sticky toffee pudding (Girl Friend)
Homemade fishcake, plaice and an extremely virtuous pass on desert (Other Girl Friend)
Prawn cocktail, plaice and apple pie (Another Girl Friend)
Prawn cocktail, local crab salad and meringue with berries (me)

What we drank:
Two bottles of light, semi-sweet, French Chardonnay

What we paid:
£70 including service

Girls' night out in Guernsey can take a variety of routes. There's a mortgage's worth of cocktails on offer at Laska or a bargain bucket of vodka Red Bull at the Red Onion. There are cheap and cheerful pizzas at Valentino's, chick flicks at the Mallard, pampering at OGH or modern tapas in the sultry surroundings of White D'Or. The brave can dance around their handbags in Barbados, the braver can dance below the watchful crowds on the balcony at Folies and the "oops got drunk too early" can dance into tables at Christie's.

We're a bunch of townies so we're spoilt for choice within stumbling distance of home. We chose to meet for a Friday night dinner in La Perla as the food's quality and price (£10 per person for three courses) and a lively atmosphere are all guaranteed at this island institution for Italian food. Plus we'd be right in the heart of St. Peter Port nightlife for a drink or a dance afterwards.

I visited La Perla for a quiet dinner with my boyfriend less than two weeks' ago and had a lovely evening. On our girls' night on Friday we ate from the same menu and food, wine and service were consistent with my previous visit. The restaurant was full, but we were not rushed to order or to finish our meal, which allowed us to feel very relaxed despite the lively bustle around us. We ended up enjoying a leisurely three hours there and I was startled to discover that our "wine of the month", for £10.95 per bottle, was more than drinkable.

Will we go back?
Yes, wearing skimpier clothing. It does get pretty hot in there, especially in summer!