Deanna Thomas Itâs not easy for an independently run Italian restaurant to shine amongst the competition around Albert Square in Manchester but Destinos certainly holds its own.
It has a light, modern interior with linen tablecloths, uniformed waiters and huge front windows to watch the world go by. There is a terrace outside on the cobbled street of Pall Mall, for the more authentic Italian experience of al fresco dining â weather permitting. Chef owners Mark and Claudio have put together a menu that comprises of expected standards such as pizza, pasta and risotto as well as more interesting dishes on the specials board which better demonstrate their fine cooking skills.
After canapés of chargrilled slithers of courgette on focaccia, we chose an assortment of starters to share. Freshly baked thin crisp bread with rosemary, rock salt and olive oil (£3.50) was perfectly light and crispy. A tomato, mozzarella salad (£4.95/£6.95) was served with black olives, fresh basil leaves and dressed with a home-made basil pesto. The highlight though, and something that is becoming my favourite Destinoâs dish is the pumpkin ravioli with lashings of sage butter and walnuts (£5.95/£9.95). The first time I sampled it I loved it so much that I tried to recreate it at home with some success. This time, owner Mark was generous enough to share the source of the original recipe when we enthusiastically compared notes.
For main course, we ordered one pasta dish, one pizza and one special. Spinach Ricotta Tortelloni with crisp bacon (£8.95) was dotted with peas to compliment the rich sauce. Crisp, intensely flavoured smoked bacon was laid on top adding a new dimension in taste and texture to the creamy pasta parcels. Our Fiorentina pizza (£7.95) was thin, crispy and well seasoned with a perfectly cooked egg and fresh spinach but I was left a little underwhelmed by the sauce which appeared to be nothing more than chopped tomatoes from a tin.
Another main course was chosen from the specials board, Sea bass with ratatouille (£13.95). Despite its French rather than Italian origins, the combination of sautéed naturally sweet Mediterranean vegetables simmered in a lightly herbed tomato sauce, complimented the light and meaty fish perfectly and made it a really healthy, satisfying choice.
We washed all of this down with a small, chilled glass of Italian Pinot Grigio (£4.50/£17.95 bottle) from a well constructed international wine list carefully chosen to compliment the food. Mark and Claudio are really talented cooks and go out of their way to make their personal service the unique selling point of Destinoâs. They have built up a loyal following amongst the business community based around King Street. Itâs their specials board that makes them rise above the local competition, but I think if they put their heads together and came up with a trademark, killer pizza sauce, theyâd be onto a real winner.
Destinos, 50 Pall Mall, off 82 King Street, M2 1AQ. Tel: 0161 832 4600. www.destinosrestaurant.co.uk
