Eating Out
Piccolino, Cook Street, Liverpool
YOU wouldn't buy a house without taking a second look. So how can you judge a restaurant on just one visit?
Which is the best excuse I can come up with for reviewing Piccolino twice in a week.
And if Piccolino was a house, I'd be on to my solicitor and measuring for curtains. It's a cracker.
Just hope you don't get gazumped in the scramble for tables. The word is out and all week long, the punters are packing in.
Expect to see a few city restaurateurs among them. They should be easy to spot - anyone who appears worried.
After a few disappointing launches, this new addition to Cook Street has raised the bar for city centre restaurants.
Superb ingredients well-prepared, stylish surroundings, welcoming staff, innovative
menu and wine list - Piccolino delivers all these at really fair prices.
The menu is Italian with a strong Sicilian influence. There's plenty of pizzas and pastas, but take the opportunity and be adventurous.
For a starter, try out goat cheese and basil risotto fritters (arancini di caprino, £5.25) - loads of flavour, lots of bite. Or try crostini con fegato (£4.95), chicken livers sautéed to order and balanced with marsala wine, pine kernels and grapes, which, I think you'll agree, is a bit more innovative than melon or tomato soup.
Keep an eye out for the specials, particularly fish. The black bream, flavoured with lemon and rosemary (£12.95), tasted as fresh as anything I've had plucked out of the Atlantic in Portugal.
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