Such is my love of Italian cuisine that I await the new seasonal menu at Manchester’s Rosso with something fast approaching child-like excitement.
Rosso, for those who have been living under a rock for the last couple of years, is the high class eatery owned by Manchester United and former England star Rio Ferdinand.
Despite its celebrity ownership – and A-list clientele judging by the photos which adorned the walls of the welcoming bar area – Rosso isn’t your usual pretentious and over-priced hangout with poor service and even worse food.
The menu changes by the season but one thing is a constant – excellent quality dishes with wonderfully fresh ingredients.
Me and the better half once again snagged the invite to test out the new menu last month. And we weren’t disappointed.
After a glass of prosecco – her – and a pint of Peroni, we opted for a couple of very different starters.
I went for the budino del moro, a black pudding potato cake topped with a fried quail’s egg.
Black pudding is still, despite something of a renaissance in recent years, under used so it was a surprise to see it on the menu of an Italian.
The cake was delicate and crisp and the fried quails egg – with a near perfect little yolk – set the whole dish off a treat.
Kim went for capesante ai piselli e pancetta, scallops with smoked pancetta on a bed of pea puree.
The scallops were perfectly cooked, sweet and smokey in equal measures and the salt of the pancetta and the creaminess of the pea puree complimented it superbly.
Starters demolished, white wine ordered, we moved onto the mains.
If we thought we were served up a delight with the first course, the main course took things to another level.
Having always enjoyed a pasta on my previous visits, I decided to man up and go for a steak.
The bistecca alla Rosso was a perfectly cooked sirloin served with mushrooms, mixed peppers and the sweetest tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. The whole thing was finished off with the pan juices and a touch of cream.
As a big fan of a tender steak, this could not have been any better.
I went for some sauteed potatoes with onion and rosemary as a side and was in absolute heaven.
My dining partner decided to chance her arm with the lobster and went for for a half lobster roasted in garlic and chilli and served with ‘angel hair pasta’ (yeah, I had no idea either!).
The lobster was tender and sweet and easy to separate from the shell, even for someone who has never been forced to do it for herself before.
The mixed salad she ordered as a side was hardly touched, sure was the size of her main dish.
As with most meals at Rosso, we barely had room for dessert…but we ploughed on in the name of being professional.
I took the easy route and went for a selection of ice creams – chocolate, vanilla and pistachio – while her indoors went for a cappuccino panna cotta.
We decided to add a couple of chasers to the mix, Kim opting for a Grand Marnier and me a port.
The desserts were fantastic. Ice cream isn’t the hardest thing to pull off I grant you but it was all I could manage after such a brilliant main course steak.
Kim’s panna cotta was another star dish: wobbly, soft and creamy with a crumbly chocolate and biscuit topping and a stunning coffee sauce.
A quite perfect end to another quite perfect meal at Rosso.
Don’t be put off by the celebrity owner, Rosso’s place as one of the city’s best is built on quality not star endorsement.
