An impromptu book-buying raid to Cambridge is always a welcome thing – all the more so on a Monday, something we are still getting used to, having cut down our working week. And it’s better still with the sure knowledge that there will be a good lunch attached.

Our default pitstop in Cambridge is Aromi, in Bene’t Street just round the corner from the market square.  Having spent good time in that country over the years, the feel of a proper Italian eatery is something you just absorb – and when you find the same thing – the proper thing – somewhere else, a light of recognition goes on in the head.

So it is with Aromi, first opened in 2013 by the younger generation of a Sicilian family, and now extending to three outlets across the city. This is not pretentious or themed food; the place is fairly unprepossessing, but everything is right. Its only drawback, in summer and weekends at least, is the lengthy queue. But it is worth it: as soon as you see the counter display with rows of pizza and focaccia slices displayed like no dull chain will ever master, the range of dolci and the brands of Italian coffees you know this place hits the mark.

Service is brisk but generally good humoured, as it probably needs to be given the rather cramped seating area. But again, as with all such places, the inconveniences are part of the character. And the flavours justify all.

Twenty years ago, Cambridge was curiously under-served by eateries, but as with many places, the intervening period has witnessed an explosion of places to eat – but sadly, mostly of the chain variety (with some honourable exceptions), and there is a good choice of street food in the market. Against this, Aromi still manages to be over-subscribed.

I believe that ‘quality will out’; that if you give people good choices, they will respond. Just opposite the original branch of Aromi is a branch of one of the ‘Italian’ chains. I have no idea why they thought this would be a good place to open, and I don’t think I have ever seen anyone going in. And why would they, given the much superior offering just a few paces away? Jamie Olivier also used to have an Italian restaurant just down the street, but that went some years ago too.

Meanwhile, Aromi has opened another café across the city, and just around the corner from ‘our’ branch, there is now a takeaway kiosk where they are selling excellent gelato and fresh pasta.

If there’s anywhere in provincial Britain where such a venture can succeed, it is probably Cambridge, which always feels as though it is one of the few British cities that can come close to the continental vibe – helped of course by a cosmopolitan mix of students, academics and tourists. The temptation is to wish that Aromi might spread its wings and start catering for a wider geographical area (one nearer our home would be a good start) – but I guess that is precisely where the rot tends to set in, once a unique venue becomes a chain. Better to keep it small and cramped, the food of a great quality – and a treat for the times when those Cambridge raids are on the cards.

The views in this review are entirely independent.