AFTER an unusually early foray into the hideous world of Christmas shopping, I was out on my feet.

All that lugging around of handfuls of bags meant I was dying for a seat.

And as I always say – why just sit when you can sit and eat?

I felt a slap-up meal was the least I deserved for all that festive drudgery and my girlfriend wasn’t about to argue.

We went for Pavarotti’s, a fancy Italian overlooking Union Terrace Gardens.

From the moment you cross the threshold of this compact little eatery, you can’t help but be struck by its elegance and charm.

Hungry after our long day, we were soon drooling over the delicious-sounding menu.

To start I chose the calamari fritti (£8.50) – a stunning medley of squid rings and baby squid in a feather-light batter.

Although pretty steep for a starter, the dish was maybe twice the size of a standard portion and the tender morsels of squid were pretty much worth the price.

Being a bit squeamish about eating things with tentacles, my girlfriend opted for the bruschetta of the day (£4.50).

The four pieces of bread which arrived were heaped with a tomato, garlic and chilli concoction which tasted as fresh as it did delicious.

At Italian restaurants I rarely stray far from a seafood/pasta combo and I didn’t break with tradition as I went for the linguine de mare (£12.95).

The wonderfully al dente pasta was positively heaving with a mix of prawns, scallops and mussels, and every mouthful brought a new combination of tangy tomato sauce and rich seafood tastes with the perfect amount of oil added to the mix.

For her main course, my beloved had plumped for a prawn and king scallop platter (£19.95) – and plumped was the right word, with the massive prawns matched by the truly enormous Shetland scallops.

It came with a side salad, but the real beauty of the dish was its simplicity, with the fresh seafood tastes left to speak for themselves.

Along with two glasses of wine (£3.95 each), we left just over £50 lighter – and what felt like a few pounds heavier.

We had to rush off pretty sharpish, which was a shame because I could have spent all evening working my way through the comprehensive whisky list.

But as an example of fine dining in classy surroundings, Pavarotti’s hits all the high notes.