If Shanghai's international restaurants had a mum, she would've warned them growing up not to cross line 2 heading north. When they were little, that was the wrong side of the tracks.

Things have changed. Pomodoro Bistro is the latest restaurant to join in the excellentisation of restaurant options in the northern part of Jing'an. It serves up the Italian holy trinity of paninis, pizzas and pastas on Kangding Lu. It's a great lunch spot, with a broad deck out front and plenty of outdoor seating.

The RMB 68 lunch deal includes a pizza, pasta or panini plus soup or salad and a soft drink. It may not be quite as amazing value as Thai neighbour Chiang Mai's (RMB 25-30 for a curry, pad thai, or rice plus soup and dessert), but you'd be hard pressed to find better Italian food for cheaper.

We especially like the Crudo pizza with rocket and parma ham, and the parmesan cheesy chicken and mushroom rigatoni, which has sundried tomatoes! Remember sundried tomatoes?

The crispy, complimentary olive oil bread is pretty good too.

Pomodoro Bistrot, 1023 Kangding Lu, near Yanping Lu. Tel: 6218 3798