Chianti used to be a pub, and it's hard for them to escape that when you see the outside of it,…read morelooking very much like other traditional boozers in the area. However, when you decide to give it a try and walk inside, you realise it's a genuine nice quality Italian restaurant. It doesn't feel like a pub inside. It's warm, pleasantly decorated with wall murals and Italian themed artwork, and welcoming and friendly staff. Even the music that plays is a mix of both traditional Italian trattoria style music as you might expect, but also modern Italian music, which is a nice touch.
We're seated by one of the mural walls, and given some menus. The offerings are classic Italian, but at a reasonable price. When I notice that there's the option to have any of the pasta dishes as a starter option, I ask for a carbonara. The waitress tells me that it's actually the same price to go for a full normal sized carbonara, and I could simply take some home with me... I like her thinking! We order a garlic bread to nibble on, and a starter of carbonara, and the home made chicken liver pate.
Both arrive in good time. The carbonara tastes fresh and creamy, and is perfectly seasoned. The chicken liver pate is light and creamy, full of flavour, and served with light toasted rounds, and a fruit chutney. Really pleasant. I had to force myself to stop eating the carbonara so I would have enough room for my main course! The staff were happy to box up the remainder for me to take home.
For our mains we decide to order the penne pasticciata, and the pizza agrodolce respectively. As we wait for our mains, our drinks are kept refreshed, and we chat with some of the members of staff, who are friendly and warm, and happy to tell us about the decor and details of the venue.
The pasticciata was perfectly cooked, deliciously creamy, with plenty of meaty filling, and covered in a wonderful melted mozzarella. Very tasty, and a huge portion... very filling indeed. The pizza was definitely a hand-made base, which was perfectly crisp and had a semolina crunch to it. The ingredients were fresh and delicious, and managed to stay light, rather than many pizzas suffering from heavy and gloopy toppings. It was delicious, and also predictably, I also had to take some of this home too!
As I was now stuffed and content, I sadly had no room for one of the delicious looking desserts (I'd stood at the desserts chiller counter earlier, staring through the glass like a child at the window of a sweet shop). However my partner refused to throw in the towel just yet, and ordered some chocolate profiteroles.
The profiteroles were light and creamy and well complimented by the caramel sauce. The citrus zest grated on top of the cream was wonderfully fragrant, and gave the dish a fantastic little zing.
All all, the food was excellent and generously portioned considering how reasonable the prices were. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, and the staff were attentive and warm without being intrusive.
We will most definitely return. Don't judge this book by its cover, it's not just an old pub, and it's not pubby inside, it's lovely, and a real Italian treat.
