Dear readers I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to be writing a review of a restaurant again!
It might be a while until we can review a cruise, but tonight felt like the most normal night out we have had since late February.
Covid has been a truly horrible situation, as we all know. The travel, tourism and leisure industries have been hit harder than any other and those of you who know me personally will know how I bang on about supporting small businesses, local entrepreneurs and the fantastic independents we have.
Owing to the Government’s Eat out to Help Out Scheme we’ve decided to take full advantage of the offer and although a few of our bookings will be with some of the chains, our first experience was with the stunning Pasta di Piazza just off St Paul’s Square in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.
This Italian restaurant is attractive from the outset, with gorgeous window boxes of fuchsias and geraniums set against the quaint Victorian backdrop of the building on Brook Street. We’ve walked past a couple of times and never got round to trying it, so the build up to tonight was with great anticipation.
Having walked past just earlier than our booked time of 7pm and seeing how busy the dining room was we knew, especially given the current circumstances, to wait for our booked time – so we just perambulated some of the historic area and partook in a libation at a near by pub until it was our time.
On arrival there were plenty of hand sanitisers and we were greeted by a very friendly staff member wearing a face mask, and shown to a lovely table by the window. We’d already studied the extensive menu earlier, but on receiving the printed menu ended up deciding on dishes different to what we had thought about having!
We opted for a bottle of Fiano from Puglia which was a lovely and fresh white wine, to accompany our starter and main course. For food Andy opted for the starter of stuffed mushrooms whilst I had the grilled goats cheese, and we both had the seafood salad main course.
As you can see from these photographs, the presentation is excellent and the portions more than generous. There was no way we had room for dolci although the menu certainly looks very tasty! We couldn’t finish our salads – not that this is a complaint in anyway, we’re just not used to eating out anymore!
The service throughout was fast and efficient, and unlike so many other restaurants we were provided with complimentary bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The meal took just over an hour and the bill came in at £45.60. Of course we could have reduced this cost if we’d wanted to but why would you when supporting business and livelihoods is so important?
Overall verdict? A firm 10 out of 10. We’ll be back before the end of the Eat out to Help out offer, and will definitely choose here for the more special meals in future.
Want to book or view the menu? check out their website https://pastadipiazza.com
Tim Thorpe Travels 