Walking into the Pesto restaurant Trafford Centre in Manchester, we were met by the yellow and terracotta, Italian inspired décor. Getting us fully in the mood for our lunchtime feast. After a good work out session in the gym, we were prepared to try lots of delicious taste sensations , all served in the form of Italian tapas.
Located on the top deck of The Orient, well placed in the corner nearest the main doors, Pesto Restaurant is light and airy and you can quite easily forget you are actually sitting in the middle of the bustling Trafford Centre.
What to order from Pesto
Sat in one of the very comfy booths, we had plenty of table space – something we definitely needed! After perusing the very extensive main menu, we decided the lunchtime menu, offering 3 tapas dishes for £7.95 was perfect and made our choices much easier.
Starters From Pesto Trafford Centre
To start we had the antipasti (£8.95 the perfect sharing platter) served on a board, the spread was delicious, with cold Italian meats, fresh bread, cheese, olives and the rather delicious tomato tapenade.
Pesto Restaurant Main Courses
For the main course we chose Polenta fritta (Italian polenta, cut into chips and deep fried – super yummy!), Gnocchi, Bruschetta Mozzarella, Ali di pollo al forno (Chicken wings Tuscan style). Alongside Polpette di manzo (Spicy beef meatballs) and Calamari Fritti (deep fried Calamari).
There was so much food it was difficult to know where to start. You would assume that 3 small dishes each would be perfect. In fact 3 dishes between us, with the antipasti to start would have been more than adequate.
We were stuffed, though in our defence, we had had a good work out session at the gym and therefore made room for our very yummy feast.
Food Review Pesto Restaurant
The Polenta fritta is a stunning dish, cut into chip shapes, deep fried and stacked up. The Bruschetta, was toasted to perfection, soft but not too soft that you struggled to keep hold.
Polpette di manzo had to be done, I do prefer to have a meat dish and you cannot get meaty really. The meatballs simply crumbled away they were that tender and succulent.
The Calamari, again cooked to perfection and not in the slightest rubbery. The mayonnaise accompaniment with slice of lemon added a little zing.
Desserts At Pesto Restaurant Manchester
Our helpful server encouraged us to try the new to the menu Terzetto di Dolcetti. A trio of home-made miniature Italian desserts, which included a dark chocolate and orange liqueur torte, a smooth vanilla panna cotta and a tangy lemon torte.
When placed in front of us, we couldn’t help but dive straight in! The tangy lemon torte (we may have previously called it a lemon cheesecake) was divine and left us both speechless.
We both agreed it was by far the best lemon cake we had ever had. Soft, creamy, zingy and ridiculously more-ish! Priced at £4.50 for the trio, it was the perfect sharing dessert to complement an already wonderful meal.
Do We Recommend Pesto Trafford Centre
It is ridiculously hard to choose which dishes to enjoy, so I am especially glad for the slimmed down Lunch menu. The food is mouth watering and cooked to perfection.
To say we were stuffed was an understatement, yet the on draught cold Peroni helped to refresh our palates. Our very helpful and cheerful server, Simon was on hand to tend to our every need and seeing me chomping on wings, discreetly added more napkins to our table as he walked by our table. A life saver!
Yes, I would totally recommend Pesto Trafford Centre to dine at. Whether you fancy a quick bite to eat or are looking for a date night in Manchester idea then this is the place! Great quality food, special offers and the option of trying different foods all make it a great place to eat.
How Is The Service At Pesto
The service was fantastic and nothing was too much trouble, the food was sublime and I could not recommend Pesto highly enough.
No-one was rushed with their meal, all other patrons appeared to be enjoying their meal and the experience. Children were happy, parents relaxed and enjoying time away from the hustle and bustle of the Trafford Centre. It all made for a wonderful lunchtime dining experience.
The prices are very reasonably priced for the quantity and quality of the food. The lunchtime menu offers great value for money with 3 dishes for £7.95!
* Our meal was gifted to us by the wonderful Pesto for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
