And it is just as well it enjoys such a prime location – stuck to the side of the faded but arguably still fabulous Frontier Club – because this restaurant has one of the least effective marketing strategies Oliver has ever seen.

Not only is there no menu to peruse online, there is also little prospect of you even glancing at one before you turn up.

No, I'm afraid they couldn't fax me a copy. Email me? You must be kidding. At a pinch, they could post me one.

Which would have been fine if I had wanted a table sometime in 2009, but not exactly ideal when I was hoping to pitch up that weekend.
My next brush with Zucchini was just as unsuccessful.

Having given up on the menu idea, I called to make the reservation. Only to be met with the deathly hum of a defunct line.

Several calls later I got through to the Frontier's box office: "They've been having some trouble with the phone line."
So here we have a restaurant with no fax, no email and now no phone line.

Forget The Ivy, Le Caprice or Leeds's own Anthony's, this is exclusive to the extreme.

Twenty-four hours later, with the phone line seemingly restored, I'm in.
As we roll into Zucchini on a Sunday lunchtime we are bowled over by the sheer number of vehicles in its shared car park. Not just family saloons, but several minibuses and coaches.

They must have had more luck getting through than me.

However, all soon becomes clear. They're not here for the restaurant – a quick gander confirms there is a £1-a-drink offer on next door, and some sort of boxing bout taking place.

When we got in the restaurant, then, we were pleasantly surprised. It's a large space, in muted tones of mink and sage green. There are wooden floors and exposed brick and dotted throughout the restaurant are photos of stars who have appeared at the Frontier, once of course the famous Batley Variety Club.

There are huge names like Shirley Bassey, Roy Orbison and Louis Armstong. Weirdly, some of the ones that take pride of place, however, are the less notable Freddie Starr, Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning – not my ideal dining companions.

Along one wall, the stars' names are picked out and a beautiful grand piano stands somewhat forlornly in front. (What a shame we were treated then to barely audible soft rock background tracks, and not live music.)
The service is friendly and enthusiastic and we are soon seated and finally, we get our hands on those secret menus.

And they actually turn out to be rather good, with a good selection of hot and cold anti-pasti, pizzas, pastas, fish and meats and some tasty-sounding specials.

To start, I chose the Bruschetta Pomodorini (£4.95) and my partner plumped for the Gamberoni all'aglio e burro (£7.95), which is grilled king prawns in garlic butter.

The bruschetta was a huge doorstep of bread topped with fresh chunks of tomato and zingy red onion and drizzled with olive oil and fresh herbs. Though it could have been a bit more toasted for my liking, (there were one or two stodgy bits) it was simple but delicious.

The king prawns, however, stole the show here. They were truly enormous (just two filled the plate) and they came served simply butterflied and griddled. Swathed in a garlic butter, they were declared sublime.

It was harder to chose a main because they all sounded great.

Eventually I went for the fillet steak – always a good measure of the establishment (£16.95).

I was then invited to choose from a selection of sauces, all priced at £1.20, which is something I haven't done in a restaurant since 1983.

No matter, the peppercorn sauce when it came was very good indeed. The steak, too, was beautifully cooked, melt-in-the-mouth tender and the size of a small Eastern European country.

My partner's choice, Tagliatelle alla polpettine, was tasty but not quite so spectacular.

The giant bowl of pasta and the four large rustic meatballs were, however, quite sensational value at just £5. Yes, £5.

It turns out that on Sundays, every pasta and pizza is just a fiver. Which would account for quite how quickly the restaurant filled up with families.

With a family of four being able to eat for £20, plus the price of a couple of soft drinks, it's clearly an attractive draw on a Sunday afternoon.

It also proves that restaurants can still turn a healthy profit without the hefty mark-up often applied.

The one drawback, though, is that by mid-afternoon Zucchini becomes almost like a glorified Pizza Hut.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing if you like Pizza Hut, but you just get the feeling this place aspires to something more.

Back to desserts, which are really just the run of the mill puddings you find in so many places.

The chocolate fudge cake was fine and the vanilla ice cream, well, it was vanilla ice cream. Nothing to complain about but nothing to write home about either.

A bottle of Pinot Grigio Riserva (£16.95), brought the total bill to just under £65, not to be sniffed at bearing in mind the sheer quantities – and mostly, the quality – of the food consumed.

There's definitely a nugget of something to shout about here, then – if only they can keep that blasted phone working.

Factfile
Zucchini, Bradford Road, Batley, West Yorkshire, WF17 6JD
Tel: 01924 473970
Website: www.batleyfrontier.co.uk/zucchini

Star rating
FOOD: 3/5
VALUE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 2/5
SERVICE: 3/5