Didsbury Piccolino, Manchester

Piccolino in Didsbury is to be found in a busy street under the lovely name of Lapwing Lane. It is a trendy, if not posh, place to wine and dine in Italian style. I had a Christmas meal there in 2008 with a few friends, we had a huge table, and were served by the real Italian staff. Let's face it: after traditional English chippies run by Chinese ladies and popular Italian restaurants where waiters and cooks are British one has to make a notice of a place where it all suddenly comes together: Italian food - Italian staff.

They served us olives and ciabattas for a starter, and I personally opted in for a mushroom risotto, which was delicious, especially accompanied by white wine. Thanks to festive time, the restaurant was busy, but the service was impeccable. Oh, and coffee was awesome!

Part of a growing chain of italian eaterys this is one of my favourites. It offers a large restaurant, with open kitchen (so you can see what’s going on) and an excellent menu.

The staff are very friendly, helpful, go through the specials etc. The menu is big…lots of choice, variety something for everyone and the deserts (all made on the premises) are very good.

On the night we went they were very busy and wanted the table back quite early. The manager was excellent however 'bribing’ us with free chocolates to be enjoyed at the bar with our coffee… nice touch making us still feel wanted.

The restaurant is well decorated, big enough to serve a lot of people, with a good atmosphere and nice waiters. The food is really very good, whether it is the main courses or the desserts, and the prices are average (not too cheap, but not too expensive). I would definitely recommend it if you want to go to a good Italian restaurant in Didsbury!