Restaurant Review: Don Giovanni’s

Last year I was spoilt rotten when it came to Italian food.

Along with visits to San Carlo Fumo, Piccolino’s and Sugo Pasta Kitchen in Altrincham, I was one of the judges for the inaugural English Italian Awards, which saw me visiting 11 restaurants in six weeks, and experiencing some incredible food.

One of the award winners was Don Giovanni’s –  which won the award for Most Romantic. Though my visit this weekend was likely to be unromantic, we were nevertheless keen to indulge in an award winning venue, particularly as my last visit had coincided with an 8 hour operatic experience of Die Walkure, and my memory can only bring to mind just how numb my bottom was after 8 hours of opera.

I was for once rather early, and so whilst awaiting my date, perched at the bar to sample a little gin. I was pleased to note the bar is well stocked across the board, not just with gin, and admired the old blow torch on the bar. 

I was therefore a little saddened to see that the only tonic on offer was Schweppes – I’m not a gin snob (I hope), in fact I cut my gin teeth on Gordon’s Gin and Schweppes Tonic and they both hold a place in my heart. But with so many others tonics available, and with a good range of gins on the bar, it’s perhaps a bit sad that I wasn’t offered anything else. 

No matter, my date arrived and we were soon settled in the comfortably busy restaurant for lunch.

There are two options at lunch, the full a la carte menu, or the smaller lunch deal. The latter includes one course for £7 and two courses for £12, or pre theatre two courses for £14.95 and three courses for £18.95. 

Eschewing the lunch menu, we opted for the full a la carte. Cooking at home means that often Italian food is a minefield. I want something I don’t already cook at home, and that often rules out a number of the pasta dishes, and pizza options. 

For my starter, I opted for the Bruschetta al Granchio. A simple dish done well, toasted bread, topped with fresh crab, buttons of broad beans and mint. Fresh, spring like and simple.

My date opted for the frittura mista. 

Served in a giant Martini glass, it was a huge portion for one, possibly too much as I finished my own starter and selflessly stepped in to assist. The calamari was tender and crisp, the prawns perfect, the whitebait perhaps a little over done and soft for my own tastes. However, if size is what pleases, this will do it for you.

Onto mains and my date went for something meaty, the pappardelle polpette.

She also had a hefty helping of cheese. The pasta was done well, the flavour from the sauce good, but the meatballs didn’t quite do it for her. The meatballs would have benefited from less generous helping of herbs, as it overpowered the flavour of the meat, or perhaps a little more browning of the meat on the outside might have helped the flavours tone in better. That said, the meat was tender and delicately pink.

I too had selected pasta, the Ravioli di Spinaci – spinach and ricotta filled parcels in a sage butter sauce (and yes, a good helping of parmesan too). The pasta was well cooked, the spinach and ricotta well seasoned with a hint of nutmeg, and the sage butter a great complement to the pasta. I would have liked less butter, the amount did seem a little over exuberant even for me, and I love butter. 

We finished the dinner feeling a little disappointed. Perhaps it was just my own expectations of an award winner, but given the experiences I’d had at the other entries to the awards last year, I couldn’t help but feel this way. It wasn’t that the food was bad, or the experience was poor. 

It’s just that the restaurant is, well, nice. 

And as a student of Mrs Tyrer, a woman, even some twenty-odd years later has been quaking in my shoes, that’s not a good word. 

This meal and accompanying drinks were supplied for free by Don Giovanni’s. As ever, this doesn’t guarantee a positive review (if anything, I tend to be a harsher critic).

The food here is nice, the service nice, the venue nice.