Neil Sowerby I always come away from an Italian restaurant having learnt a new word. Sfogliatelle, bottarga, orrecchiette only recently. At Don Giovanniâs it was Mugnaia. Must check that out in the dictionary when I get home, I noted, over a limoncello.
My Dover Sole (£23.95) was alla Mugnaia. Filleted at the table, served with a brown butter sauce and lemon, I should have twigged but the revelation only came in retrospect â Mugnaia means a la meuniere, that much-travelled French fish classic.
Still, charming waitress Gabriele lifted the plump sole neatly off its bone and the accompanying sides of spinach and rosemary potatoes were rustically satisfying. It was all quite relaxing even if the dominant new-look colour scheme in an expensive refit is orange.
Don Giovanniâs offers trad trattoria stuff with few surprises and itâs been taken over by Adam Karim, who I believe has given up his interest in Rosso. Fears were, Rosso would lose custom to the new Jamieâs Italian across the road, but then Iâm sure the same fears stalk Italian competitors in that corner of the city centre â Piccolinos, Destino, Croma.
Don Giovanniâs is just that bit further away, traditionally over its 25 plus years in existence pulling in the early evening theatre and cinema crowd (Palace and Cornerhouse still there, Library and Odeon departed). Traditionally, with a staid menu.
The new menu is making no radical departures â chefâs choice specials include gnocchi and lamb chops â and certainly doesnât boast the ambition of Rosso, but our simple supper was near immaculate, as was the service. The sum total is far from on a par with the marvelous Cicchetti - but letâs give it time to grow.
Lemon juice, slightly coarse olive oil and excess of shaved parmesan swamped my starter dish of Bresaola (£7.95), but I loaded slices of the beef on to excellent rosemary and salt-infused wedges of house focaccia bread and nearly spoiled my appetite for my Mugnaia sauced sole.
Tender
But then I had also indulged in my companionâs colossal Fritura Misto starter (Iâm assuming it was the smaller portion at £8.45, not the £14.95 version). I canât see the point of battering and deep-frying scallops, while whitebait had shed its coating, but the calamari and prawns were tender inside their crisp batter. It was much superior to the greasy version served up to me at Jamieâs a month ago.
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That dependable north west Italian white workhorse, Gavi di Gavi was our accompanying wine. La Meirana (£26.50) was all almonds and light minerality, fresh with a nice texture if perhaps lacking in fruit. Still, it was refreshingly only 12.5 per cent.
Dependable old Swordfish was my companionâs main. Iâm not a great fan, but sauteed onions with honey, capers and parsley gave this substantial tranche piquant sour-sweetness (£19.95), though its bed of tomato concasse was watery.
The list of puddings at £5.95 each was unadventurous. My tiramisu was perfectly pleasant but lacked caffeine-fuelled intensity, while the interior of a caramel-sauced panna cotta was half-frozen. It was tasty enough for us to squabble over, but was unwobbly state intentional?
Don Giovanniâs, 11 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 4PB (0161 228 2482, dongiovannis.co.uk http://dongiovannis.co.uk).