FOR those of you that don’t regularly read this newspaper and who haven’t forayed into Bolton town centre for some time — you may not have noticed that something fairly major is going on.

For the past few years, work has been going on to redevelop the historic Victorian vaults beneath the Market Place Shopping Centre to transform it into a flagship leisure venue — containing a host of top restaurants and bars.

The different eateries and watering holes will be opening sporadically over the coming months — but two sites — the Great Ale bar and Italian restaurant Prezzo have already opened for business in the beautifully refurbished vaults.

To celebrate this, a handful of hungry Bolton News journalists were invited to Prezzo to sample its mouth-watering Mediterranean menu.

I was aware of Prezzo as a national outfit but had never ventured to one before — making our way to the Bolton venue you would guess that the chain’s other outlets in the country would struggle to compete with such a striking setting as the Market Place’s restored Victorian vaults.

The historic surroundings, coupled with Prezzo’s classy and calming décor and low lighting immediately offer diners a relaxing atmosphere to settle down in and peruse an expansive and interesting menu.

Staff were extremely attentive, taking our coats, offering us a range of drinks and being generally pleasant — a trait that can often be overlooked in modern restaurant chains.

To kick things off I ordered mozzarella in breadcrumbs, lightly fried and served with a tangy Pomodoro sauce.

The cheese was every bit as stringy and sumptuous as I had hoped and the delicate breadcrumb casing made for a perfectly light-bight that energised my taste-buds but didn’t overface.

My colleagues were equally impressed with their starters — with full marks handed out for the baked mushrooms, stuffed with bella lodi and mozzarella as well as the nicely spiced king prawns.

I am of the firm belief that an Italian restaurant should be judged on the quality of its pizzas and on the evidence of my main course — Prezzo has got its house very much in order.

I headed straight for the range of “Executive Pizzas” which at about £14 will stretch the purse strings a little further.

However, once my Posh Pepperoni offering arrived — after enough space had been cleared at the table — I swiftly realised I was getting plenty of pizza for my pound.

The combination of quality Italian meats — including salami, calabrese sausage, picante and prosciutto worked well with the sweet roquito pearls and plenty of bella lodi and mozzarella to create a delicious and satisfying pizza experience.

Other members of the group raved about speciality pasta dishes including Al Forno with goat's cheese while there were equally effusive comments handed out for the seabass with basil pesto and cannellini.

A sweet and tasty range of coffees finished thing off nicely and we reflected on how delicious food, a pleasant atmosphere and exciting new surroundings had come together to create a memorable evening out.