Last week I finally managed to visit Rosso, an Italian restaurant in Manchester that I haven’t stopped hearing about lately. It turns out that it’s with good reason – Rosso is a tasteful, inventive restaurant that’s clearly had a lot of thought put into both the food and the overall experience from the décor to the friendly, informative staff.
As is always the best way, my colleague and I began our evening with cocktails. I had the Old Fashioned which was smooth and well mixed. My colleague’s Bramble was a sweet and refreshing combination of gin and winter fruits.
Having whetted our appetites, we ate a trio of starters. To begin with we had seared king scallops with crisp pork belly and an apple and cider purée. The scallops were light but flavourful and were perfectly complemented by the apple. This was followed by a mixed vegetable antipasti platter. It was an excellent selection of true Italian delicacies and was our favourite of the starters. Particular praise must go to the selection of cheeses which had mature and confident flavours. Our final starter was orzo with sweet potato and char-grilled tuna steak. The steak was perfectly cooked and its saltiness was deliciously matched with the sweetness of the orzo.
For the main course we once again split three dishes; a decision that I will never regret but that will have permanently effected my waistline. First up was a home-made mushroom ravioli of the highest quality. It had an intense, rich mushroom flavour that was offset nicely by the sauce. This was followed by goose served over balsamic roasted plums with a hint of bitter chocolate. An appetising combination on paper, it sadly failed to live up to its promise. My colleague and I agreed that the problem with it, if we’re totally honest, is that it was a perfectly average dish in a restaurant of culinary delights. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, there was just nothing especially right about it either.
Which brings me on to a dish that deserves its own paragraph – the rack of lamb in a pistachio crust with a rosemary and treacle jus. Simply put, it was genius. The best dishes have bold and unexpected flavour combinations and this one has them in abundance. If you do visit Rosso I’d highly recommend that you order it.
To go with our food we had a Primitivo Dolinci from the organic red wine selection, a nice addition to the wine menu. It had an excellent nose and a subtle, fruity taste that was not too dry. I’m not normally a red wine drinker but I found it to be quite pleasant and a good match for our food.
Finally, my colleague had a gooseberry cheesecake that was a little bland, if technically well made. It was a good cheesecake, it just wasn’t a very good gooseberry cheesecake.
I had a chocolate tower made with valrhona chocolate (a particular favourite of mine) and layers of assorted raspberry accompaniments. Dark chocolate and raspberry is a classic combination and one that never fails to please me. I thought I was full before this dessert arrived but all notion of that disappeared after my first bite. Thank God for that extra pudding stomach we are all born with.
As I’m sure you’ve gathered by now, I highly recommend Rosso. I think my colleague summed it up best when he said “It’s the sort of place I’d propose in”. If you’re looking for a restaurant for a special occasion or to really impress someone then Rosso is ideal.