Pesto, Appley Bridge - a review

Last weekend we popped over to the cute Lancashire village of Appley Bridge to visit Pesto at the Dicconson Arms, a beautiful marriage of pub meets Italian food and not just any Italian food, piattini no less. Situated just off the M6 junction 27 as you head towards Parbold, its really easy to find.

The decor is classic country house with contemporary Italian touches, I particular liked the chunky Mediterranean pottery and flashes of lime green and orange in the decor. The facilities were lovely. very clean and nicely furnished too.

The staff were warm and friendly and on arrival we were shown to a delightful window side table, furnished with the chunky pottery as previously mentioned. We ordered drinks as we perused the extensive menu, which caters for all. Even though it was fairly early into the lunch service we were soon joined by plenty of other diners.

The ambiance in the restaurant was good, the tables were decadently spaced and unlike a lot of other contemporary styled venues, it wasn't echo prone.                                          

Piatinni for those not in the know is the Italian version of tapas, i.e small plates, well for me that's almost food heaven. Italian food but with the ability to taste anything and everything, so we did just that selecting from across the wide and varied menu. Here's our selection

Bruschetta al salmone affumicato - just enough for two, crunchy bread topped with smooth cream cheese and moist flavourful smoked salmon.

Olive miste - mixed olives, tasty and more than adequate, but not the best olives I have every eaten.

Selezione di pane Italiano - bread basket of various breads, including sun dried tomato, ciabiatta. On the menu this is supposed come with oil and vinegar, ours didn't arrive, minor point and frankly we didn't notice until comparing the menu and what we had ordered for this post. Sure if we had mentioned it would have arrived pronto.

Insalata Toscana -  one of the stand out dishes, mixed salad with beans, avocado, tuna and red onion. Perfectly seasoned and with a delicious dressing, just enough to enhance and not drown the salad.

 Calamari fritti - a personal favourite, lightly battered squid rings with a punchy dip

Gamberoni all’ aglio e peperoncino - tasty king prawns with hints of garlic and chilli

Polpette di manzo - Spicy meatballs, served with a tasty tomato sauce, enough spicing to keep them interesting yet not blow your head off.

Pizzetta rustica - Cute little baby pizza, topped with goats cheese and rocket. Very tasty, just wished we had ordered two. Nice crust on the pizza

Fettuccine alla carbonara - an Italian classic, pancetta was crispy and the sauce silky, pasta al dente. Very nice would order again.

Arancini - classic milanese risotto (saffron) balls in a crispy crumb, stuffed with melted mozarella. I was recommended by a friend who eats regularly at the Trafford Centre Pesto, they were nice but thought they lacked a dip or sauce to eat them with.

Followed by desserts to share

Affogato - two balls of ice cream, we chose chocolate and vanilla, topped with a hot shot of espresso, delicious and very refreshing,  I love affogato and the combination of coffee with chocolate was sublime.

Tiramisu - served in a cute little pot, we were warned the portion were small, but we didn't think they were at all, just the perfect size. Lovely light sponge, creamy filling and more coffee flavour.

We really enjoyed our lunch and were impressed with the standard of food , we noted that they have an offer of 3 piatinni dishes for £8.95 or £10.95 at certain times and days, which looks to be good value for money. Pesto is a small and growing chain so check out if there is one near you.

Interestingly enough one of the waitresses mentioned that most men don't get the concept of piatinni , Mr LF had no such trouble !

The staff had no idea that we were undertaking a review until it came to settle the bill, so we received exactly the same service standards as anyone else visiting. We were mightly impressed by Pesto, the venue and concept is unique in the area and we are already planning our next visit.

                                                         

Our lunch was provided free of charge for review purposes, all views and opinions are our own.

Cosmopolitan - Chorley

The last few months has seen the opening of a new restaurant in Chorley - Cosmopolitan is a Restaurant, wine and cocktail bar. The food is modern Mediterranean in style but they also have a tapas menu. Situated on  St Georges St, right in the heart of the town this is an ideal venue for a pre theatre meal. The building itself is an old stables conversion and is fronted by a courtyard seating area, inside it is cosy and rustically decorated.

We were warmly welcomed on a chilly evening and ordered from the early bird menu, which had plenty of choice for all and was very reasonably priced at 2 courses for £10.95. 

The portions were very generous and well presented, generally the food was very good, my first course was the homemade chicken liver pate which was nicely herby. Hubby's first course was a huge hummus, olives and oil and vinegar selection, with 2 types of bread. Ours main arrived quickly and were piping hot, my vegetable risotto was well flavoured and very filling. Hubbys steak was cooked as requested (rare) if a little stringy and was accompanied by a nice pepper sauce and  seasonal vegetables. We had no room for desserts so they will have to wait till our next visit. 

Cosmopolitan is nice addition to the dining venues in Chorley town centre.

Oyster & Otter

Today we visited the Oyster and Otter seafood restaurant in Feniscowles near Blackburn, on the way back from picking up some of foody prizes from Blackburn market. The restaurant is a former pub site that has been extensively refurbished into a chalet style building, interestingly as well as the restaurant, there is a fish and chip shop on site for take aways.

Eventhough we arrived just on noon, there were already a couple of cars on the car park, always a good sign. We were warmly greeted and quickly seated with menu's to peruse, lots of choice and plenty of seafood dishes obviously. We both plumped for the great value lunchtime menu of two courses for £15.95 including a drink. Thwaites "Wainwright" was one of the beer options which won hubby over immediately.

Twice baked Lancashire cheese souffle with a walnut and apple salad was my choice for starter, hubby ordered the Potted Goosnargh duck and mushroom country pate, toasted onion bread, shallot and mustard seed relish. The souffle was very light and a lovely contrast to the crisp fruity salad and very tasty. The pate was served on an attractive wooden platter, hubby's only criticism was the onion bread was a bit over crisp to spread the chunky pate on. Still very tasty though.

On to the mains, Malaysian seafood curry, coconut rice, lime pickle for me, beautifully presented with pea shoots, delicious with scallops, king prawns amongst other fish. The rice however was served cold, but I didn't really need it as the curry also had spring onions and butternut squash in it. Classic fish and chips with a twist for Mr B , black peas rather than the usual mushy, parched peas for those in the know. Fabulous fresh fish, yummy chip shop style chips, what more do you want.

Overall very nice restaurant, the decor is nice too all driftwood tones, very cosy. We will be visiting again.

El ob ! or also know as The Black Bull, Mawdsley

I know the name is strange but this Pub is locally know as "El Ob", something to do with a large poker by the fire. Google it if you are interested in knowing more.

On to the food, hubby and myself decided we would have a relaxed Sunday lunch, the pub looks to be a popular local , very traditional inside, perhaps a bit over decorated in the country style. We ordered 2 typical pub dishes, scampi and pie, both with chips. The food arrived well cooked and with fresh vegetables, the pie and chips looked home made. Alll in all not bad , nice selection of real ales as well.

The Red Cat - Modern Relaxed Dining

This weekend we visited the RED CAT at Wheelton for lunch , despite being rather quiet when we arrived the welcome was warm and friendly and the experience just got better and better. The resturant has a relaxed semi formal atmosphere and the decor is tasteful but not trying too hard. We both opted for the set menu and we were not disappointed, the food was excellent , well presented and delicious. My husband was particularly impressed with the background music as it featured John Martyn, special mention must also go to the fantastic lemon sole I had. We will be back very soon.

UPDATE:

We have just returned from our 4th visit to The Red Cat , this was for our lunchtime Christmas dinner outing. During the Christmas period the team at the Red cat have devised a stunning lunchtime menu which reflects the festive period but still gives a gourmet edge to the food. We choose from 4 starters, I enjoyed the Chicken liver parfait with fig chutney and toasted brioche, hubby opted for the split pea soup with chive creme fraiche. Both fantastic and well presented. On to the mains, braised beef , chive mash, roasted shallots, baby onions and bacon , thyme jus for Mr B, Turkey, sage dumpling, roasted roots and potato dauphnoise for me. Again excellent, especially the potato dauphnoise and the braised beef which both demonstrated the love and attention the kitchen had put in to the dishes. To follow Christmas pudding with the faieres ( I won't spoil the surprise), brandy butter, and white chocolate cheesecake, with cinnamon tuile, vanilla beignet and sherry syrup.

Stunning ! and for £18 per head fantastic value, a deserved award winner. Lancashire Life Casual dining venue 2007

Hubbies Birthday - Lunch at Bullivants Deli

Today is my hubby’s birthday so we both had the day off work. We decided the occasion warranted a lunchtime visit to the new upstairs cafe @ Bullivants Deli in Chorley.

Lunch was the special house meat platter , a celebration of Italian and Spanish salami, meats and pate. Served with salad and bread on a stylish wooden platter. The wild boar pate was especially tasty. For a full menu, check out the Deli's Web page.

Talking to Mick during the meal, he informed us that the “upstairs” is open all week serving a full meal or just a cake and coffee. He also hoping to open on the occasional evenings during the week for theme nights and private parties such as birthdays, celebrations, etc. Another great idea he has come up with is to use the facility for afternoon business meetings. If you fancy a meeting with a meal give him a ring !!!!