By Jo Cooksey
Friends Old and New In Altrincham
I recently went along to a bloggers evening at new Neapolitan restaurant in Altrincham, Tre Ciccio. Having found the venue off the high street in the town centre, I stepped in the front door and thought, ‘Wow! this place is tiny. How will they fit us all in?’ The street level room is small but it acts as the reception area for the restaurant itself, which is actually located downstairs and is a much larger space. It is a cosy, rough brick room with traditional, Italian food products on the shelves. It has been fitted with patio doors along one wall, which lead out on to the new terrace area. It will be gorgeous once the weather warms up.
The event was being hosted by Georgie Glass , photographer, marketeer and fellow blogger and among the attendees was my ‘real life’ friend, Sophie, social media guru and the woman behind Sophie’s Scran . It promised to be a great night.
Bellissimo Menu
The menu contains some of the dishes you would expect to find in your local trattoria, such as antipasto, pizzas cooked in a wood burning stove and tiramisu and some you certainly wouldn’t, including the star of their show, Pollo Arrosto e Patate. That’s traditional Southern Italian roast chicken and potatoes to you and me. Running the risk of sounding like an M & S advert, this is not just any roast chicken. Tre Ciccio only use award-winning Lancashire pollo, which they lovingly coat in a secret marinade and then slow roast, which results in the tastiest, most juicy chicken you will have had in a long while. It is a rustic dish served in four slightly different ways and always with sticky, crispy roast potatoes. Perfect comfort food. You can order for one which equates to half a chicken or have a sharing platter for two of a whole chicken. There were 12 of us spread over 2 tables and I know at our table the pizza didn’t get a look in. Due to a little mix up with the order one girl ended up with a sharing platter for two and took the leftovers home in a doggy bag.
Ok, so I have mentioned the pizza and the chicken but what about the pasta and risotto I hear you cry. Well, there isn’t any on the menu and frankly it’s not needed. It is refreshing to have a different choice of dishes than normal and frankly I defy you to taste the chicken and then feel slighted that there was no pasta choice. In the words of Peter Kay, “It’s the future!”
Perhaps I should have mentioned the pre-dinner drinks and starters at the beginning of this piece, but the thought of the scrumptious chicken got me all excited. So, let me go back a step. Once the introductions had been made we ordered drinks, with most of the girls settling on one the half dozen types of Prosecco Cocktails. Being a lover of seafood, for my first course I ordered the Cuoppo Fritto, authentic Neapolitan street food of fish, squid and prawns, lightly fried until crisp and served in a brown paper cone with lemon and garlic mayo. It was gorgeous, although the prawns were still in their shells and I hate peeling them. I’m lazy like that.
Dolce Vita
Tre Ciccio means three fat friends in Italian and after all that delicious food, I think we were all feeling pleasantly plumper. Especially as we had also sampled all the side dishes and a couple of the salads between the six of us. Of course, we could still manage a dolce though. My usual measure of an Italian restaurant is the quality of its Tiramisu and I have to say this was an above average one; a good balance of coffee and cream and nicely moist. However, it was served in a Kilner jar, which was a bit of a faff. I’d rather have it on a plate please. The other girls either had the Torta al Limone, served with raspberry sauce and lemon sorbet or the warm Torta al Cioccolato served with chocolate sauce and pistachio ice cream and certainly seemed to enjoy them. I’ll definitely try the Lemon Tart next time. It comes on a plate.
Si o no?
Frankly we really loved Tre Ciccio; the surroundings, the atmosphere, the staff and of course the food and we would certainly return under our own steam. Personally, I can’t stop thinking about the chicken. Per head you’re probably looking at between £20 and £30 per head for food, which seems very reasonable, especially as the portions are generous. The wine and Italian beer list is short and to the point (hallelujah!) and very well priced and there is a good choice of cocktails.
We were guests of Tre Ciccio but as always, the review and opinions are our own and unbiased.
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Photos: © Taste Today– Do not reproduce without permission
