local Italian-run trattorio or Pizza Express? or are we obsessed with Chains?

[hatwoman]

just been for a lovely meal in the former. genuinely child-friendly with Italian staff talking to dds, (and telling me they were gorgeous, which always helps ), splitting one portion of ice-cream between them, excellent service, home-cooked bread to die for, constantly changing menu of specials, as well as "mini" pizzas (same size as standard in most places) that dd tells me is the best pizza in the world, same sort of price as Pizza Express, next door to Pizza Express on the edge of town centre shops. So how come PE is full of families and dds were the only ones in the other place?

I think that was meant to say trattoria (but can't be bothered to google to check spelling...)

we havent got a loca l one

Weeeell, Starbucks, globalisation, crapness of British eating out public, we don't (as a nation) like real proper foreign food (chicken tikka naan pizza anyone?), prefer the familiar, like to know what we're getting, to give you a lazy fast trite answer.

It is totally rubbish, I agree.

and I think we ARE obsessed with chains, absolutely. It won't be long (what am I on about, it's already happened!) before you really can't tell one high st from another.

If we have a choice of chain or independent (and like cod says, you may not have in any particular place) we always go for the independent
Have a terrific Italian in our otherwise horrific local High Street - no Costa or Pizza Express would ever venture there.
Some smaller chains are OK though tbh. Thinking of the Sofra/Ozer/Tas small chain of Turkish restaurants in London for example. And, if you are swanking it, the Carluccios cafes are great.
Sometimes, if you are somewhere unfamiliar, with hungry antsy children, gambling on the unknown can just seem too wearing, I think.

marina - I agree there are some good small chains (inc Carluccios), and I feel I should probably confess that I think there are a couple more of this locally run Italian in s. London - but they definitely fit the local mould rather than the national/international chain one. I also agree totally that gambling on the unknown is a high risk business. but like any form of risk - high risk = better returns

I will cheerfully march the family into any decent-looking cafe/bistro in France though...so why do I hesitate unless I know it, here