Manchester

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Giorgio's Restaurant

More Photos
MichaelJM
MichaelJM
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
4
Photos
Editor Pick

Giorgio

  • January 30, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Giorgio

At the time of my visit Giorgio’s was shrouded in scaffolding giving the entrance a surreal feel to it. Sited at the Oxford Road end of Portland Street the restaurant offers “an early bird special” between 5.00 and 7.00 pm – perfect for the pre-theatre meal or, in my case, the early diner.

The basement restaurant is crisply decorated with light walls and ceramic tiles (presumably made in Italy!) and chunky red pillars erupt from the ceiling in support of the strikingly white ceiling with dots of spot lights shining brightly at intervals. An art deco lampshade acts as a resplendent centre-piece and huge ceiling fans slowly turn to circulate the air. There are odd splashes of colour from some strategically placed stained glass and everything seems to work together to give a real classy feel to the place. High backed dining chairs look impressive but I found them uncomfortable and the chunky modern cutlery sat well on the table but it wasn’t the easiest to hold. But that’s style for you – isn’t it?

I was definitely going to have the “early bird” so although I had a brief perusal of the a la carte (main course are around £15) I was soon asking for the special menu. The waitress seemed at this point to develop a very strong and difficult to understand Italian accent but I sussed that one option was a cheesy pasta dish and the one I opted for a chicken Polla (whatever that was). Starters were easier to fathom because they were listed separately on the menu and the drinks were easy to select from the drinks menu. I opted for a glass of Merlot not badly priced at just less than £4 for a large glass.

My starter of prawns and melon were quick to arrive at the table and with an ample sprinkling of black pepper I was soon tucking into this tasty, but not particularly special starter. There was plenty of it and with a squeeze of lemon and a few slices of orange I reckon I had one of my fruit helpings for the day!

There was a decent pause between the starter being cleared away and the arrival of the Polla and I have to say that I was quietly impressed. A large escalope of chicken covered the plate and it was covered in a tasty sauce with capers and loads of black olives. As an accompaniment there were plenty of vegetables; carrots, cauliflower, courgette and lightly roast potatoes and I welcomed the waitress as she sprinkled black pepper from a gigantic pepper mill. The whole dish was a delight on the taste-buds and washed down with the spicy Merlot I enjoyed it immensely.

As a finale I went for hot fudge cake with ice-cream and fresh cream. Perhaps a little ambitious but it did nicely round off the meal and although I felt a bit “podged” I was happy to have indulged myself in this pleasant Italian Restaurant.

From journal O 2 Eat Out in 08

Compare Manchester Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Manchester Travel Deals