ASK Italian Piccadilly Gardens Manchester Opening Night Review
Reviewed by Karen Crielly
We arrived a few minutes early for our booking at 7.30pm as the walk from the tram stop was literally just 2 minutes, even is killer heels. Great central location, Piccadilly Gardens tram and bus station 2 minutes and Piccadilly train station no more than 10 minutes away, plenty of parking nearby if coming in by car. We were seated immediately after a lovely warm welcome from the greeter. Chris from Ask Italian HQ then came and gave me a mini tour of the venue, I got to peek at the open kitchen even though they were really busy.
I loved the décor, beautiful marble effect walls, a fantastic light feature depicting Italy, the floors went from tile to wood then back to tiles, the ceiling was that uncovered industrial look with the air vents/pipework on show. Loved the seating too, the furnishings had a sort of boho chic feel where the tables/chairs were all matching but only in their immediate areas, as you moved through the restaurant from one area to the next they changed either the style of chairs or the tables , great choice of seating arrangements, ranging from intimate tables for 2 to a lovely long family table that seated 12/14, choice of seating also ranged from traditional tables and chairs through booths and banquettes, they are all ready for use without having to reconfigure them to accommodate larger groups.
The restaurant has 2 entrances, 1 from the Piccadilly Gardens side with a nice al fresco seating area with lovely views of the gardens and the wheel, the other from Portland Street, it is also deceptively spacious as it seems to go on and on and then round the corner for some more seating..
The service was impeccable; the staff were attentive but not intrusive, they worked efficiently and calmly even though the restaurant was busy. We were given plenty of time to look over the menu, and we were brought a complementary glass of Prosecco, every diner was given one, as an opening night treat.
We chose to share an Antipasto starter, I opted for Pork Belly Porchetta, Tuscan slow roasted belly pork with herbed red wine sauce with roast new potatoes and greens, the pork was soft and tender, melt in the mouth succulent and the potatoes were soft and well-seasoned.
My husband chose the Risotto Con Pollo E Funghi risotto with chicken and mushroom in a white sauce, the amount of chicken was amazing and the risotto was creamy and beautifully flavoured.
We were in no way rushed or hurried through our meal, with plenty of chatting time between courses.
For dessert I had Apple Cinnamon Pizza Dolce a sweet pizza with cinnamon flavoured apples and sultanas with vanilla gelato, the pizza was crisp and feather light so made for easy eating the apples were well spiced too. Hubby opted for the Honeycomb Cheesecake a light and fluffy topping on a lush cookie base topped with crunchy chocolate coated honeycomb pieces. We ended our meal with a mocha coffee and a cappuccino which were strong but not bitter.
Price range was really reasonable with main courses starting from £7.55. Great choice of pizza and pasta dishes as you would expect. Plenty of choice of starters and desserts. Also we noted venue was very child friendly with activity books/ crayons readily available.
We would certainly go back as it was centrally located and had a lovely casual fine dining feel, kind of place that can be as posh or laid back as your occasion.
Rating: 5/5
For more information, to view menus and offers or to book a table visit www.askitalian.co.uk.
ASK Italian, One Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, M1 1RG | 0161 236 6600
