Have yourself a merry little Christmas with Individual Restaurants
| 2nd December 2021
| 2nd December 2021
It’s Christmas and Individual Restaurants are pulling out all the stops to make it the most magical and merry one this year with the launch of its new festive menus available at its restaurants across Greater Manchester & Cheshire.
Brimming with the finest seasonal fayre, the special menus are available now at Piccolino restaurants in Manchester, Didsbury, Alderley Edge, Hale, Knutsford, Bramhall, Chester and Stockton Heath, Gino D’Acampo My Restaurant in Manchester Corn Exchange and Manchester Arndale, as well as The Opera Grill in Chester.
Capturing the spirit of Christmas, the festive lunchtime, evening, and à la carte menus can be enjoyed until Sunday January 9th, 2022, offering a choice of two or three courses to make celebratory dining easy.
Prices start from £28 for a three-course festive lunch to £46 for a four-course party menu. The Restaurants’ New Year’s Eve menu is priced from £70pp and includes a glass of Franciacorta Brut Doc G, canapes and a four-course dinner.
VIVA preview
VIVA had a sneak peak of The Piccolino Caffe Grande festive menu which is Christmas on a plate. In fact, we defy you to get more ‘Christmassy’ than the Piccolino Caffe Grande, one of Manchester’s original masters of Italian cuisine that’s been creating a little part of Italy in the city for more decades than I choose to remember.
From its friendly attentive welcoming staff to the twinkly sparkling décor, warming pizza oven and delicious desserts greeting you, as well as the smell of fabulous food, it’s enough to make Scrooge buy the city turkey and at this time of year, even more special.
VIVA went to check out the Christmas menu and opted for the three-course set menu which is a bargain £37 per person, blending Italian and British traditions and quite frankly delicious.
We started with cocktails, my ‘The Infante’, was anything but childish and was their take on a margarita, with tequila (obviously) but then almond and orange with added nutmeg that slid down the throat and declared ‘let’s get this party started’.
Whilst a festive Vanilla Laika was a long, fruity drink of Christmas blending vodka, blackberry, pear and pressed lemon, a fruity dream.
My starter was heaped with food, as it should be at Christmas time, with prosciutto working so well with a creamy burrata and walnuts that was just perfect and so plentiful I could and did share with my companion.
Equally as good was the prawn bruschetta, juicy, plump and bursting with freshness to whet the appetite. You can also choose a vegan minestrone or one of Piccolino’s classic dishes, their calamari.
Onto mains and I went for the turkey, it being the season and all that. But this was escalope and in the most delicious mushroom and white wine sauce. It was a marvellous take on the old bird.
A fillet was described as the best steak ever by my plus one and although came with peppercorn sauce (our waiter allowed us to swap for other sauces if that’s not your bag), so juicy and silky was the steak, it wasn’t need it.
There are also seabass and a veggie mushroom risotto option which sounded delicious and each dish is served with an accompanying platter of superbly cooked garlic and rosemary roasties and other seasonal veg.
Onto puddings and there’s a choice of tiramisu or chocolate fondant but being savoury rather than sweet and also very full at this stage, we went for the cheeseboard.
This is my idea of a cheeseboard, a salty selection of gorgonzola, ricotta and pecorino served with truffle honey and crostini.
All this was washed down with a lovely house red, the Primitivo which was a quaffable and warming accompaniment and reasonably priced as house wines start from £26.
VIVA verdict: The perfect way to celebrate the season and enjoyed some fabulous food and drinks for a very reasonable price.
There’s more…
And the Individual group are promising to bring a little extra sparkle to this year’s Christmas celebrations by hosting a series of magical events across all venues with an occasion to suit every taste, from private dining in candle-lit tepees, Christmas carol concerts and wreath making to beauty masterclasses with Charlotte Tilbury.
For a full list of activities visit the What’s On section on each restaurants’ website at piccolinorestaurants.com, or therestaurantbarandgrill.com and Ginodacampomyrestaurants.com
At the most wonderful time of the year, families are invited to experience the excitement of visiting Santa during a series of exclusive Meet Father Christmas events including story-time with Father Christmas, a photo-opportunity and a gift for the little ones, whilst the adults can sit back and enjoy a coffee.
Visit Individualrestaurants.com to discover the full festive programme or make a reservation.