Arlecchino

Arlecchino has fed Greenock from 68 West Blackhall Street since the family opened a cafe here in 1966, and four generations have kept it in the same hands. The kitchen works to recipes passed down through the family, running hand-stretched pizzas alongside pasta plates such as lasagne and carbonara, with an early-evening set menu for those eating before the ferry or a show at the nearby Beacon. It stays a straightforward, family-run Italian rather than a chain trattoria, doing dine-in and takeaway from a single site on the town's main shopping street. Portions are generous and the cooking leans traditional Southern Italian, the sort of long-running local restaurant regulars return to across decades. Close to the waterfront and Greenock Central station, it suits both a sit-down meal and a collected pizza.