It was a tough decision where to come for my Graduation dinner, but I chose Fratelli in Coatbridge for a couple of reasons.
I had been twice before and each time, I had left full to the brim and absolutely satisfied with my meal and the service combined. I also had to cater for the rest of my families tastes, and my Dad is one of these guys who would turn his nose up at all this nouvelle cuisine rubbish in favour of a big fry up. Fratelli is Italian but the portions are big....really big. It was the perfect place to come, as Italian is probably my favourite food of all.
We booked a table but the restaurant wasn't busy so we took a table at the windows. The restaurant is large, decorated very stylishly in red, black and white which makes it look really chic. The waitress is absolutely lovely and makes you feel right at home, taking our drinks orders then bringing over a basket of complimentary bread and butter which was great because we were all starving!
The menu is huge! You'll definitely need a good few extra minutes reading it because the selection is massive. Pizzas, Pastas, Chicken, Steak, Veal and Fish dishes as well as burgers make up one of the largest menus I have seen, and don't forget the starters. There are easily 30 different starters including prawns, crostinis, mushrooms, mozzarella sticks and melon.
My boyfriend and I decided to share the Antipasto and some garlic bread because I have had the antipasto as a starter just for myself before and I couldn't even finish half of it! Mixed Italian meats are dressed with olive oil and olives, absolutely delicious. The parma ham was outstanding and the garlic bread with cheese was a huge lump of crusty loaf smothered in gooey cheese. Perfection.
I decided to go for Sea-bass in a sage and garlic butter for main, having only just discovered the fish on a recent weekend away, and absolutely loved it. The dish came out with two huge fillets, dressed in a beautiful buttery sauce, with a small green salad and a ramekin filled with baby potatoes crisped in sea salt, carrots, parsnips, peppers and cauliflower. It was loads of food but I made a valiant effort to eat it all, but I left a fair amount of fish, I was just so stuffed full! The fish was fresh, the sauce was divine, just the right side of oily, and the potatoes were delicious, I could have eaten them all night. It was a really delicious alternative to pasta or pizza, and just as authentically Italian.
Just because it was a 'special occasion' I decided to be super indulgent and have a desert too although at this point I was struggling! The sweet menu isn't as varied but really I don't think that is an issue. I had the hot chocolate fudge cake with a scoop of ice-cream. It was absolutely delicious but I couldn't finish it and I was left absolutely stuffed!
It really was the perfect meal. Every member of my family enjoyed it, and we all had three courses including two alcoholic drinks, a soft drink and a lovely bottle of Italian white house wine. The bill was under £100, which is outstanding value for money. The service was absolutely fabulous, the waitress couldn't have been more friendly and we even got a couple of complimentary glasses of wine whilst waiting on our cab.
I think perhaps this is my new favourite restaurant in the area; warm service, outstanding food, fantastic value for money and a relaxed atmosphere. What more could you want? read more