New Tastes...

Strada, Wilmslow

Last night we went out for a meal as a triple way Fathers Day/ my birthday/ Dad's birthday celebration. We chose Strada in Wilmslow, mainly because Mum can get £40 vouchers to spend there using £10 of her Tesco clubcard points!

We booked a table for half seven, but there wasn't really any need to as there was only one other couple in there, which was quite nice as we got the pick of the restaurant for a table. We ordered some drinks, I had a glass of Pinot Grigio, Jas got a coke and Mum and Dad shared a bottle of Chianti. Dad also got a Peroni for before we got the food - well it was for his birthday!

We decided to order one of the big platters for a starter with some extra ciabatta and oils to go with it. It had two types of salami, parma ham, buffalo mozzerella, tomatoes, rocket and tapanade with some garlic bread. I love getting a sharing dish as it makes it much more sociable, and also means you can graze on lots of little bits instead of having to decide on one thing.

There were loads of mains on the menu that I fancied, but I eventually went with a pork dish, which had crispy pancetta on top with a sage and onion jus, served with green beans and mashed potato. I don't really like mash, but my sister's chicken came with roast new potatoes and she doesn't really like them, so we asked the chef to swap the two over - perfect! The pork was really well cooked and the jus was just strong enough to leave a flavour in the mouth, yet wasn't overpowering.

Always one for a dessert, I was in the mood for something fresh to cleanse the palate, like a lemon torte or suchlike, but unfortunately the dessert menu was a little lacking in my opinion. The only options were a chocolate fondant, two types of pannacotta, tiramisu or a few different ice creams. I appreciate that they are obviously trying to stick to Italian classics, but I'm pretty sure it is a country well known for tasty desserts, so could do with expanding the choice a little.

I had the Bunet Piemontese, described on the website as 'A soft rich custard made with Italian chocolate, hazelnuts, crushed Amaretti biscuits and a generous splash of amaretto liqueur'. It was really yummy, and the amaretto certainly was generous, I was glad I didn't have a second glass of wine as with that I'd have definitely been over the driving limit!

Altogether the bill was over £100, but we did have wines, beers, and three courses etc, so I don't think it is too bad, although without our Tesco vouchers I would have thought it rather pricey for a typical chain restaurant, despite the good quality of food. The service is always really friendly (we were served by a brother and sister team who had some good banter) and I am sure we will head back there sometime in the future!