I returned to Panevino as part of a large group for a surprise birthday party. They were extremely accommodating in letting us monopolise most of the upstairs area on a Friday night, when normally they restrict reservations on Fridays and Saturdays to 6 people or less.
My first time upstairs, and I was surprised to find that it's not any roomier than the downstairs. It's basically a long narrow mezzanine that could only take 4 or 5 tables comfortably, and you have to share the area with the doors to the toilets and staff storeroom. The general lack of space in this restaurant is the only thing preventing me from giving it the full 5 stars, as I can't fault the food or the service at all. I'd give it 4 and 3/4 stars if I could.
For starters, I had mussels from the specials menu, which were marinated in a slightly piquant sauce and came with a wee bit of garlic bread. Just yummy. I was very intrigued by what appeared to be a large mint in a wee eggcup that came with the 'empties' bowl, until a water arrived and poured a small jug of hot water into it, whereupon it expanded into a hot towel to wash your hands with afterwards. How cool is that?
For mains, I again chose from the specials menu, with squid ink tortellini stuffed with lobster, topped with more mussels, king prawns and garlic (you can tell there's a bit of a seafood theme here). I liked the way that the prawns had been half-peeled in advance, so you could easily extract the meat without having to dig in with your fingers, and the tortellini was perfectly cooked. It was the most expensive thing on the specials menu, but it did justify the price as it was really tasty. Plus I got another wee expanding towel thingy to be impressed by.
As this was an organised birthday bash, the waiters had been previously consulted about wine choices so that was all laid on when we arrived, including some lovely proscecco to start us off and get everyone in the mood. We had 2 or 3 wine aficionados in the group and everyone was very complimentary about the wine choices, so that's a good tip if you're in a similar situation in future.
Dessert was skipped as there was a birthday cake (of course), presented with great panache by the owner, complete with candles and 'happy birthday' playing on the sound system. A nice touch and a fitting conclusion to the evening.
I have to say I really like this place, and I would like it even more if it was just a teensy bit less cosy. read more