Taste Cheshire’s First Festive Menu Review at Convivio #Review

Hannah Lucy
4th December 2015

Taste Cheshire was invited to Convivio to be the first to try their festive menu. Taste Cheshire’s General Manager Hannah Lucy went along with her guest Scott to see what they had in store for Italian lovers this Christmas.

We’ve been rather lucky with our winter weather so far this year, but this night was particularly cold, so it was a great surprise to walk into Convivo to be met with such a warm and cosy ambience. As we entered we received a very attentive welcome from Giovanni, one of the restaurant’s owners, who offered to take our coats and sat us at our table, after ever so politely pulling our chairs out for us. Inside the restaurant was such a contrast to the outside. This beautiful grand building was filled with warmth, subtle mood lighting, jazz and Italian music; setting the perfect tone for a relaxing evening. They have a fantastic open kitchen, the waiting staff are dressed very smartly in white shirts and black ties and they had linen napkins, which were lovely, as we don’t have that often any more. We were one of two couples dining when we arrived at 6.30pm, but the restaurant soon started to fill as the evening progressed with a mixture of large parties and couples.

Firstly Gareth our waiter came and took our drinks order. On his recommendation I had a glass of the Verdicchio Classico. I myself am a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc drinker through and through but I found the wine to be very aromatic, smooth, with a crisp finish. Once we had ordered our food, we were pleasantly surprised with some mini pizzas, made with fresh dough, lightly crisped with tomato and cheese on top, baked in their amazing oven. A great appetiser to have in an Italian restaurant, especially as you won’t find pizza on their festive menu.

Our starters came shortly after and as they were placed in front of us, I was immediately hit with a waft of garlic and mushrooms, the smell was amazing. For starters I had the Funghi all’Aglio Sautéed garlic mushrooms and Scott had the Paté di Salmone Homemade salmon paté. The garlic mushrooms were perfectly cooked and were served with a drizzle of olive oil and warm pizza breads. The salmon pate was delicately light, creamy and had a fresh strong salmon flavour; this was also served with warm pizza breads.

Scott ordered a glass of the Italian Sauvignon Blanc to go with his main.

This wasn’t to my liking, I found it to be much sweeter than other Sauvignon Blancs and it had an oaky finish to it, much similar to that of a Chardonnay; but it seemed to go down well none the less. For mains we ordered Agnello al Barolo Slow cooked lamb with a rich red wine sauce with mash potatoes and the Straccetti di Pollo Strips of chicken cooked with mushrooms, onions, paprika, white wine creamy sauce, served with rice. My lamb shank again was cooked perfectly, falling off the bone and there was plenty of it too. The mashed potato was indulgently creamy and balanced out the richness of the gravy. The chicken dish’s rice was nice and light and the sauce was creamy and fragrant. The chicken was juicy and tender. There was a variety of spices in the sauce and you could taste all of them, it was a true delight to the senses. We also were given a huge bowl of vegetables that were cooked al dente, which included our very first serving of brussel sprouts for the year too!!

Once we had finished our mains we were then given a chilled glass of Limoncello. My step grandmother, who’s Italian, usually makes it with 80% alcohol, which almost blows your head off, but this had a perfect mixture of sweet and citrus; it wasn’t too strong but a had a definite little kick.

We both then decided it would be rude not to have a little dessert. So I had, as recommended by Giovanni, the Cranberry and Orange Panettone Traditional Italian Christmas cake served warm with chocolate sauce whilst Scott had the traditional Tiramisu. The panettone was moist and went very nicely with the light chocolate sauce, but the star was definitely the Tiramisu. Each component of the Tiramisu was of the desirable quantity, each ingredient combined, made the most superb Italian dessert. We of course were then offered coffees, but unfortunately couldn’t quite manage another morsel. We decided to retire upstairs to finish our drinks and watch while Convivio’s new singer and pianist practiced their songs to be performed on the weekend. It was a splendid end to the evening.

Convivio is a true Italian restaurant, with the majority of staff also being Italian. This is somewhere I think Frank Sinatra would have liked, as it has a real classy Italian New York vibe, we’re just lucky that it just happens to be in Chester’s City Centre.

Thanks again to staff at Convivio for having us. Buon Natale