Dip in!
After all that turkey what a refreshing change for some Italian food and where nicer than Bella Italia – Peterborough (Peterborough)?
We didn’t want pizza we just wanted meat or pasta. We’d seen an offer of theirs; sign up and get 50% off your main… so we decided to go.
It was half full in the restaurant at Hampton, which was great as we hadn’t booked a table. We were seated immediately into a booth and given their menus. The restaurant has Italian bits around on the walls, doesn’t really feel a ‘rustic’ Italian just a nice modern, bright and colourful decor. No squared table cloths in sight, family booths and round tables for all sorts of visitors.
Started with their Garlic Dough Bites (v) which comes with a warning…very strong garlic and rosemary dip. I won’t be breathing on anyone later ‘phew’. Nice size dough balls and ample to share too.
Followed by the ‘new’ Pollo Pizzaiolo (without the pasta) – a large chicken breast with a lovely topping of mozzarella & tomato sauce which was deliciously filling. Served on the side of this were Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables of red & yellow peppers, red onion, green beans and squash and a serving of their ‘new’ Roasted New Potatoes. Both side dishes again ample to share between two if needed.
My main dish was the Cacio e Pepe (gf poss) which was a huge plate of Gramigna pasta with chucks of roast chicken breast in a creamy cheese sauce (nice and mild and not slathered in it – just coated which is the proper Italian style). Topping the dish off was a Granello Cheese slice and slice of Parma Ham. It was just what I needed, a good pasta dish.
The service here was excellent, we were checked often for clearing and serving from the four staff that were on. We didn’t have to wait long for any dishes and in fact all the staff were pleasant, helpful & friendly.
Desserts? Why not!
It was a choice between the Morello Cherry Cheesecake (v) and the Coconut Panna Cotta. (v, vg, nd, gf) It was suggested by the Asst Mgr Paulius that the better of the two was, you guessed it, the cheesecake. He had tasted dishes from his training time on their new menu. So, I dived in. It was a good-sized square of light but thick vanilla cheesecake with a gooey morello cherry topping scattered with meringue pieces on top & around. Very pretty and very tasty. Thanks for the recommend!
At the end of our meal we received a tot of Limoncello, one of my favourite Italian liqueurs – lemony, syrupy and refreshing. A nice palate cleanser.
So, with our 50% off a main… (both mains are added together and you get half that off… which is great as usually you get the cheaper one off, but this is a true 50% off – Pleased), our meal for two with 2 diet cokes and an espresso came to £36.83.
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