Piccolo Mondo , GLasgow 19.01.11 , Lunch
A lunch appointment with a business colleague Brian brought me to the middle of Argyle St to Piccolo Mondo on a Wednesday afternoon.
As I walked through the door I was greeted by a smart waiter with bow tie and waistcoat and quickly walked through the dining room to the back where my dining companion was already seated.
The dining room is kitted out with red plush carpet, leather backed chairs, brass fittings and the odd Romanesque statue dotted around for Italian authenticity one presumes!! Not what I expected on this part of Argyles St.
We opted for the Executive 2 course lunch menu at a reasonable
£12.50 per head. It has a decent choice of starters and main courses from soups, antipasto and shellfish to start to mains of meat,fish and pastas.
The waiter came round with a free basket of Italian bread and butter then described the special additions to the menu for the day. A nice touch I thought especially with a set lunch menu.
I opted for the special soup of the day a Pasta & Fagioli soup while Brian chose the minestrone. The main course I ordered the penne princess with my colleague ordering capri chicken. The starters arrived in piping hot bowls with mine having a couple of slices of garlic bread on the side, the soup was a traditional tuscan soup of barlotti beans, potatoes, pasta and cured ham in a light broth with herbs and vegetables. As far as soups go this was up there with the very best I've had. Judging by the silence at the table my fellow diner had no complaints with his minestrone.
With the starters finished a brief 5 minute wait and the mains arrived again on piping hot plates. My pasta dish was very good served in a rich creamy tomato sauce with large chunks of chicken with a generous helping of Parmesan and pepper dished out by the waitress on delivery, a really tasty dish. Brian had no complaints with his Capri chicken although I did find it odd that it was served with both potatoes and rice.
With cleared plates removed from the table the waiter presented the desert menu (£4.00 supplement) with a reasonable choice of traditional Italian classics like tiramisu and pannacotta we both chose the not so classic hot chocolate fudge cake with cream and ice-cream. This was probably one of the few dishes on the menu which was not home made and was probably my first ordering mistake of the day. It was fine but not in the same league as the previous courses.
All in all If you are looking for an old fashioned dining experience with traditional Italian fayre then piccolo mondo certainly ticks the boxes. I would think nothing much has changed from the original Piccolo Mondo Renfrew Institution of the 70s and 80s.
All in all a fantastic lunch with a couple of soft drinks and coffee for a very reasonable £40.00.
Rating out of 100
78/100
No comments:
Post a Comment