Swindon’s newest Italian restaurant has big boots to fill, but promises to be “unique” and “do something different”.

These intentions were repeated by the staff when I visited Grano Lab on Victoria Road to give it a go - and in some ways, it was different. In others, they have stuck to a reliable formula.

I call this a pizza place, but Grano Lab prides itself on its fresh pasta, something not offered in other Swindon ristoranti.Grano Lab replaced Gaetano on Victoria Road

While I am sure this is worth returning to try, when I eat out I like to eat something I could not make at home - while my pasta is not restaurant quality, it is passable. My pizza is not.

The pizza available pushes the boat out in terms of toppings. As well as the usual suspects, there are the “Grano Lab” specials.

Some of these are white pizzas with cheese and toppings directly on the dough, others with non-tomato sauces, like artichoke cream, and toppings like apricot jam.Here's to hoping Grano Lab is better than some other establishments... (Image: Newsquest)

Wanting the most “do something different” pizza, I had one of these specials. Mortadella, mozzarella, pistachio cream and crushed pistachio nuts arrived on a puffy base (£14).

Disappointingly, my guest insisted on getting an antipasto board (£15, serves two) - he will not be invited again.

Service is fast. The pizza must have arrived within five minutes of ordering, appreciated given my hunger.The pizza was fresh, fast and generously topped (Image: Newsquest)

This is not a super thin base, but rather a thicker dough, which I prefer. The bread is not hidden away but made a key part of the meal.

Grano Lab’s dough almost melted in the mouth it was so soft, or so I wrote in my notes. It was saltier than your average dough, which meant that you tasted its presence more.

An Italian friend of mine says with good pizza all the crusts will be eaten - because the dough is tasty in itself. And apart from the bit I dropped on the floor, I did eat all the crust. Actions speak louder than words.The antipasto board was an odd choice given the pizza and pasta on offer, but did not disappoint (Image: Newsquest)

The toppings were generous, as was the antipasto board - enough for me to take some home and try to make my own pizza. The calzone also looked vast.

The worst thing about Grano Lab is the location. On the busy Victoria Road, traffic noise is not just audible, but loud through the open windows.

At one point an idling car outside slowly filled the dining room with the smell of exhaust, even causing visible discomfort among the staff. This will hopefully be a seasonal issue, resolved once the windows and doors are closed in winter.Some of the old tropes remain at Grano Lab (Image: Newsquest)

Looking around, I remembered Grano Lab’s predecessor, Gaetano. It had been adorned with Chianti bottles, Italian flags and the other comfortable cliches adopted by Italian restaurants up and down the UK.

Grano Lab had not moved too far from this formula. It was less cluttered, but a classical statue still stood in the corner, frescoes of half-naked goddesses hung on the walls and smooth jazz cover versions played.I chose a pizza with mortadella, mozzarella, and pistachio nuts and cream (Image: Newsquest)

Not all cliches are bad. They make us feel at ease, reassuring us that there is nothing too weird going on to upset our expectations. And Grano Lab is not here to upset the boat by doing anything radical - but they are slipping in something different.

This is clear from the ingredients lists below the dishes, named in Italian rather than English, and the experimental flavour combinations.

Many restaurants, mainly Asian, are striving to meet a demand for more authentic flavours, not watered down to the British palette.

Similarly, Grano Lab does not reinvent the Italian restaurant but it does deliver it with much greater authenticity.