11:14am Thursday 23rd April 2009
By Jenny Minard
Not being the most adventurous of eaters and my favourite type of food being Italian, my natural choice for a meal out would be anywhere you can get decent meatballs.
But every so often you should try somewhere new, (that’s a no to Pizza Hut unfortunately) and if you like Italian food then you’ll love Croma just off Albert Square in Manchester.
Situated on Clarence Street it’s away from the hustle and bustle of the city and provides the perfect setting for a romantic meal for two, a business dinner or a place to relax and enjoy pizza with friends.
To start, my friend and I wanted to share a garlic bread with mozzarella (£2.50) but were advised the portions were small.
We added garlic prawns (£4.95) — tiger prawns cooked in garlic butter, Tabasco Worcester sauce, white wine, spinach and red onion served with italian bread.
The waitress wasn’t far wrong with her portion size prediction but the garlic bread was delicious none the less — fluffy white bread dripping in melted cheese and oozing with butter. The prawns were a little more tricky to eat but once you had tackled the shells you could appreciate the infusion of flavours.
For the main course I chose a classic lasagne (£7.95) which was heavenly. Not too much pasta, lashings of tomato and cheese sauce and plenty of parmesan on top. In a neat little dish it was easy to manage and just the right size portion.
My friend chose Cannelloni Piccante (£6.60) — filled with spinach, lentils, coriander, mint, garlic, feta cheese, tomato and parmesan. The lentils were a nice surprise (we didn’t read the menu properly — and yes we are both blonde) giving the dish an added dimension.
With just enough room left for dessert I went for hot sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream (£4.50) and my friend sampled Eton mess (£4.25).
The pudding was divine. Not too hot to burn your tongue yet enough to melt the ice cream which blended nicely with the toffee sauce.
My friend’s Eton mess was light and the raspberries were as fresh as they come, little chunks of meringue made it manageable and the cream was light, meaning you’ve no excuse not to eat dessert.
During the meal we chose a bottle of rosé (£14.50) which was sweet to start but the perfect accompaniment to an Italian meal. With a bottle of red coming in at £15.75 and house white at £12.45 it’s about average for this kind of restaurant. Of course there was a range of pizzas and salads to choose from — the Florentina is highly recommended and with a wide variety of different types of diners there are an abundance of occasions for you to frequent this little taste of Italy.
Whether it’s for a light lunch or night out with friends you’ll no doubt have a delightful experience.
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