A Tale of 2 Sittings - Villagio 28 April 2007

I once again found myself basking in the Manchester sunshine in Canal Street and after an enjoyable visit to Villagio last month I thought it would be the safe option for a good lunch. How wrong could I be?

Things started well enough when we were seated by the window allowing us to indulge in our favourite pastime of people-watching. As it turned out, this was to prove a welcome distraction from the poor food and shoddy service.

Our orders were taken for the starters and time ticked by. It was difficult to see what the hold-up was given that only four other parties were dining in the restaurant at the time. Maybe it was because of the care and attention the kitchen was giving to the freshly cooked food. This was an optimistic notion soon dispelled when our starters did eventually arrive 45 minutes later.

I’d ordered the mussels in a tomato sauce and I can say without doubt, they were the worst mussels I’d ever seen in my life. The mussels hadn’t been cleaned, most of them were barely open and the ones I could prise out simply disintegrated. I was sure that I’d spend most of the evening in the bathroom if I’d dared to eat any of them. My partner’s starter of deep fried calamari was little better. The batter was thick and doughy, the calamari was rubbery and the only cooking involved seemed to be taking them out of the freezer and putting them in a deep fat fryer.

We both ate what we thought safe and drowned our sorrows in the house wine which turned out to be the best thing on offer. Despite the fact that I’d eaten none of starter, the waiter asked if I’d enjoyed it and took the full plate away without question. It should have been obvious to anyone that those mussels were not fit for human consumption but the ‘head in the sand’ approach was obviously the favoured method of service.

We awaited our main course with a degree of trepidation although it was the same I’d eaten there last time and I was hoping the quality would be matched. During this wait I was asked to move from my seat several times so that the staff could mop up the water leaking from the dishwasher behind the bar. Eventually they realised that this wasn’t really appropriate and asked if we were happy to move to another area of the restaurant.

This seemed to cause no end of confusion for the serving of our main courses and a succession of bemused waiters kept peering around the corner to see if we’d been given our food yet. The main courses of prawns, chilli and linguine arrived another 45 minutes later and did look slightly more appetising than our first course. It then seemed that in all the complication of producing two very simple pasta dishes the kitchen had forgotten to cook our garlic bread which we had to ask for again and which was provided about ten minutes after our main course. By this stage we had been there so long we had to ask for another bottle of wine.

The main course was OK but was nowhere near as good as the first time I’d tried it. The sauce was watery and the pasta claggy and the highlight of that course was the garlic bread which had been cooked fresh and served straightaway.

Two and half hours later we’d finally finished our distinctly average meal and asked for the bill. There was no recognition of the disruption of being moved, the time we’d had to wait for our food or the poor quality of our starters. If it had been my restaurant I would have least offered to pay for some of the drinks for our meal being disturbed by having to up sticks half way through. Instead they were happy to process the bill and get us out of there asap!

The whole experience left me extremely disappointed and utterly convinced that I will never dine there again. It is not even as though Villagio is an inexpensive option. Its prices are comparable to other Italian restaurants such as Stock which are in a different league in culinary terms.
The management has seriously taken its eye of the ball and regular Canal Street visitors are unforgiving. If Villagio continues in this vein, it’s unlikely that it will survive to see Christmas.

Letter to the Observer Food Monthly (and any other reviewers)

Dear Sir

I have of late seen numerous accolades heaped upon the Drunken Duck Inn in Ambleside, most recently in your Food Awards 2007 and I'm a little confused as to what all the fuss is about. I had a most unsatisfactory dining experience there with my partner and have been bemused ever since as to the plaudits it has earned.

Upon arrival we were crammed into a small table by the bar and served distinctly average food in a brusque and surly manner. The delight of our evening was capped off by later diners literally hanging over us waiting for our table which did nothing to aid the digestion of what were were unfortunate enough to order.

I know some places can have an off-day but to receive the constant praise it does, surely the Drunken Duck ought to be able to achieve a consistently high standard of service. The only other explanation is that the establishment is 'tipped off' when a reviewer makes an appearance and bestowed with suitably special treatment.

In all fairness the Observer award was voted for by the people and was in fact for one of the most stunning locations, not the best food but unlike buying houses its not all about location, location, location. First and foremost it needs to be about taste, service and pleasure. So a word to the wise for other potential diners - the journey to the restaurant might be the highlight of your evening.

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

Wirral Tandoori 30 March 2007

Wirral Tandoori is one of the stalwarts of the local Indian restaurant scene and its continued popularity was plain to see on our recent visit there.

The decor is plain and simple and suppose what one might imagine when a curry house finds it home in a mock Tudor building - its definitely some sort of fusion.

In an attempt to avoid the usual pitfall of over-ordering and after spying on fellow diners' choices we all decided to try the non-vegetarian thali. This set meal gives you a starter of mixed kebab followed by a main course of lamb bhuna, chicken tikka, keem chat, pilau rice and nan bread all served on the traditional metal thali plate which gives this dish its name.

This is a great way of sampling a number of different dishes without being overfaced and the food itself was well cooked with some distinctive flavours.

The restaurant had a buzzy atmosphere with a wide range of diners and the staff were friendly and attentive.

'Going for an Indian' has become a British institution but the Wirral Tandoori shows that it can be about good food and its not compulsory to have drunk 15 pints of lager beforehand. There's a wide ranging menu containing some more unusual choices alongside the familar favourites. It's easy to always order the old faithful but I'd recommend you stray off the beaten track and try at least one different dish. Go on you know you want to!

Verdict 3.5/5

Menu Details

Non-Vegetarian Thali £12.95 per person