JAMIE OLIVER'S ITALIAN: UK EDITION

To be honest I've never considered trying Jamie Oliver's many restaurants. Mostly for the fact that I had never seen any of his shows and hadn't cared if I dined in one of his franchises. So I suppose I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. It left me feeling a little foolish of how I thought of all of Jamie Oliver's brand. Maybe there was something to the phenomenon of his success, of his fame and the popularity. 

The Italian restaurant in Manchester is different in every city. Though save the menu, their location and ambience isn't the same as the one in Brighton. 

The Manchester's Italian had high ceilings, open wide spaces and sort of an elegant mood to it. Fairy lights and a cool looking bar. 

I got a super health food salad. It had qunioa, beets, broccoli rabe, avocado, seeds and poached egg. It was definitely healthy, tasted so without any of the salad sauce to it. But you know how they say if it's good for you, it ain't suppose to be tasty. It isn't bad tasting, just for those who hadn't had any of theses sort of lentils and rice sort of salads before it's tasteless unless added with salt or sprinkle of parmesan. 

 We had some fried palenta with salt and pepper. Rosemary added to it, made it smell delicious. Like french fries, except thicker, tastier and fragrant.

Squid ink pasta and seafood. Chilli, mussels, squid. It was tangy and mild spiciness but definitely aromatic and tasteful. The sauce brought out the squid ink pasta and combined the seafood together beautifully. 

Turkey with egg. The turkey was cooked with breadcrumbs and sprinkled on with cheese and black truffle. It was really something I was surprise by at the beginning at the appearance of the turkey meal. I thought it would be thicker but it was overall a fuller meal than I expected. 

Lastly some dessert, brownies with caramel popcorn and vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. The popcorn was still crunchy and helped with the richness of the chocolate brownie. Cold and hot is a favourite theme of mine. I mean imagine, ice cream and apple pie or ice cream with brownies. It's something that needs to be brought along to every restaurant. 

 I really like Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant. I would be out looking for more of his franchises, hoping for more pleasant surprises.

OPENING TIMES: MON-THURS-12NOON-10,30PM
                                 SAT-SUN-12NOON-11PM
                                 FRI-12PM-10PM

LOCATION: MANCHESTER
                      100 KING STREET
                      M2 4WU

GUSTO ITALIAN RESTAURANT: ITALIAN CUISINE (UK)

Italian food is renowned wherever we go. It is a loved cuisine every where in the world. The pizzas, the pastas, all the popular food choices at beloved restaurants.

In Manchester, there isn't an exception. This restaurant is located near SpinningField, an area that is filled with many fine establishments from eateries to cute boutiques. It is very much a place for those who enjoy the finer things in  life as it requires a hefty wallet to enjoy it.

We went to Gusto, an Italian restaurant that has come to our attention. We can afford this place only because we were offered a discount of the bill.

The restaurant is well decorated, giving it an elegant and sophisticated feel to it.

We ordered appetizers of smoked salmon, deep fried calamari, and meatballs.

The smoked salmon was very light, and arrived chilled. It was tasty, had the feel of spring in it, and was dressed with a citrus mayonnaise dressing.

Deep fried calamari wasn't very oily but crispy and seasoned well.

The meatballs covered with spicy meat sauce, that was mixed with grand pradano and a type of italian bread. It was seasoned well, the sauce was delicious with it.

I had a pasta that was with tomato sauce and shredded duck. The meat was cooked well, and not dry at all. It went really well with the pasta and the dish wasn't very heavy at all.

The pizzas were cooked in a brick oven, the sides of it flaky and a little burnt, but we didn't mind. We had one called caprino, with goat's cheese, roasted red peppers, pine nuts, caramelised onions, pesto ,mozeralla and rockets, The dough in the middle was a little undercooked, but over all delicious and well made.

For dessert we had tiramisu, a classic. To be honest this was what my day. The coffee was well integrated into the sponge of the tiramisu and the cheese layers. It was soft, and creamy, not overwhelmingly and was delicate to eat.

I would recommend Gusto as a place to eat for dinner but the price is a little steep for the dishes they carry. The atmosphere is certainly enjoyable as it is a lovely place, with good service and beautiful presentation of the food.

Opening hours: 

Sunday to Thursday - 12pm to 12 am

(Kitchen closes at 10pm)

Friday 12pm-12am, 

(Kitchen closes at 11pm)

Saturday- 12pm to 12am

(Kitchen closes at 11pm)

Location: 

4 LLOYD STREET, 

OFF DEANSGATE, 

Manchester, M2 5AB

United Kingdom.

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This is Sharon signing off on this week's episode. Tune in next week for more.