Date night at Prezzo

My husband and I still enjoy having date nights every few weeks or so, mostly because it's a good excuse to go out for a nice meal and our love for food knows no bounds. I thought I'd blog about our most recent date night...

Neil (my husband) recently received a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco from Prezzo so we decided to take the opportunity to try our new local restaurant in Penarth. Prezzo will always be special to us as it's where we went for our first date nearly five years ago, so we were very excited when we found out that there was a branch opening just a mile or so away from where we live.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk into town rather than getting the bus or driving. The free bottle of Prosecco would have been slightly redundant if one of us had to drive, and it also meant we could avoid parking stress!

I wore some of my new Ted Baker jewellery and one of the dresses I bought in Toronto's Aeropostale store as I wanted to make the most of our evening out. Although I love relaxing in my hoodies, jeans and Ugg boots, I do really enjoy getting dressed up for special occasions. And I'll happily take every opportunity to wear my beloved jewellery!

Our table was booked for 5:30pm so we started out from our house at a leisurely pace at 4:45pm as we're a fair distance away from the centre of town. We took the scenic route down the old railway track which is always lovely and quiet (apart from a few excited dogs and their frazzled walkers).

We got to Prezzo ten minutes early and were seated straight away. The first thing we ordered was our free Prosecco (obviously) which should have cost £25! We love a bargain and, to be totally honest, we also begrudge paying £25 for something we can get for £6 in Tesco. It was a really tasty variety of Prosecco and went down far too easily. 

We decided to go all out and ordered a starter to share. I must admit that I had a big part in choosing the starter as I can't get enough of a good old mozzarella and balsamic onion pizza bread! This one was beautifully cheesy, garlicky and balsamic-y and I could have eaten a whole one to myself... sad but true. 

After finishing our delicious starter, our mains came along shortly afterwards. I chose the asparagus and mascarpone panciotti and it was REALLY good. Although the portion looks quite small by my usual standards, the parcels were packed full of the delicious spinach, lemon and bella lodi cheese filling. Note to self - I must eat more asparagus as I always forget how much I enjoy it. 

After telling ourselves we probably wouldn't have dessert while we were walking to the restaurant, we (I) promptly changed our minds when we saw what was on offer on the dessert menu. I had the Nutella and banana mini calzones with vanilla ice cream... the whole thing was stunningly amazing. I'll definitely be sampling these again on our next visit!

After feeling suitably full and paying our bill, minus £25 for our free Prosecco, we walked home as the weather was still dry and sunny. As we were home by 8pm due to our early start, we still managed to have a cosy night in with Suits (our current series of choice) as well as a meal out... perfect date night!

Have you been to Prezzo yet? Can you recommend any other venues in the Penarth/Cardiff area for our date nights? Let me know!

Restaurant review: Bella Italia

Bella Italia is definitely one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Cardiff. There are two Bella Italia restaurants in Cardiff city centre, but my favourite by far is the restaurant in the Brewery Quarter. It's much bigger than the little restaurant on St Mary's Street so the tables aren't squashed so close together which generally provides a nicer dining experience.

We usually order a starter as well as a main course when we go to Bella Italia as they have such a good selection. Also, we're big fans of Italian food so like to make the most of the occasion we visit an Italian restaurant. When we visited in December, I decided to order the Polpette for my starter (baked spiced pork and beef meatballs). If I'm ordering a starter and there are meatballs on the starter menu, it's very likely that I'll end up ordering them. Bella Italia always provide plenty of meatballs and they're smothered in a rich tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. The toasted ciabatta is a nice carby bonus! Although the restaurant was very busy, the starters arrived within ten minutes of placing our order.

There were definitely no complaints from me on the starter. Delicious as usual! The meatballs were packed with flavour without being too spicy, and the melted mozzarella and tomato sauce were the perfect accompaniment. I am a massive fan of mozzarella... some call me boring, but I love it!

I decided to order a calzone for my main course. I tried the Pollo e Spicani calzone a few months ago which was very tasty, but this time I fancied trying the Carne calzone as I was craving a bit of a meat feast. This variation of the calzone contains pancetta, spicy meatballs, red onion, mozzarella and beef ragu. For those of you who have never heard of a calzone, it's basically a pizza folded in half. 

This photo isn't very impressive as it looks a bit like a very ordinary pasty. I should really have cut into the calzone then taken the photo, but I was too hungry at the time to think about the most effective way to photograph my food. As you can see, Bella Italia's calzone is always served with a generous dollop of tomato sauce . 

This calzone tasted like a cross between a bolognese and a very meaty pizza... two of my favourite things! The dough doesn't look very appetising in the photo but it was just the right consistency and was crunchy in all the right places. Again, the mozzarella was a very effective addition and the beef ragu was spectacular. Also, I definitely exceeded my meatball allowance on this particular day as the calzone was packed full of them. 

I love the rustic interior in Bella Italia. The rustic theme is consistent from their bar area to their menus to their tables and chairs. I love the combination of a good theme and striking branding in restaurants.... I've always got my marketing hat on. The staff are always friendly and attentive, and we're not usually kept waiting too long for our food. 

Bella Italia is cheaper than Bellini's, and I would argue that both restaurants are very comparable in terms of quality and their menu choices.  Although Bellini's serves an amazing bolognese, I prefer Bella Italia as the atmosphere is always more relaxed and homely. I feel under dressed when I go to Bellini's as it seems a bit more 'posh'! 

Have you been to Bella Italia recently? What did you think?