Villagio, Canal St, Manchester - 31 March 2007

It was a bright sunny day and there was a definite sense that spring was in the air at the various bars and restaurants along Canal Street.

This area is still one of the few locations in the city where you can enjoy a drink and a bite to eat al fresco without being sat by a busy roadside and its popularity is always apparent as soon as the sun as much as glimpses from behind a cloud.

Much as I like al fresco dining there was still a slight nip in the air so I opted to try Villagio for a lunchtime snack, one of Canal Street's newer additions to the culinary scene.

Villagio offers a combination of traditional and modern Italian cuisine and has a good selection of pasta, pizza and main courses on the menu. The decor of the restaurant is a good reflection of the food - modern and simple with style. The restaurant itself looks deceptively small from the outside and its only once you get inside that you see the more intimate seating area at the back of the building.

The staff were well trained and the food was served at an ideal pace for a lunchtimne outing, we certainly never felt hurried.

I chose a linguine dish served with prawns, garlic and chilli and it was well seasoned with a good depth of flavour using simple fresh ingredients. My partner went for the risotto which is always a good test of a kitchen. The risotto itself had a great consistency and you could taste the rich flavours of the porcini and truffle oil.

I chose the house white wine to accompany our meal and it was crisp, cold, good value for money and complemented the food well.

Overall the meal was an enjoyable experience and a refreshing change from some of the 'chain Italian' restaurants which pay little more attention to the quality of the food than would a burger joint.

Canal Street is a competitive environment with discerning diners and its a testament to Villagio's standards that it's survived those hard times at the start of a restaurant's life. All they need is some outside seating for summer and you could be transported to the canalsides of Venice for the afternoon as you sip a chilled glass of pinot grigio and watch the world go by.

Verdict: 4/5

Menu Details

Garlic Bread
Linuguine al aglio e gamberoni
Risotto porcini
Carafe of house white