It’s not often you stumble across an Italian restaurant serving up authentic dishes in such a tiny building.
Ristorante Italia in Bebington is nestled next to Port Sunlight Convenience Store, and if you blink, you’ll miss it. It first opened back in the 90s and has since been a popular destination for locals and visitors.
I’ve been recommended to visit this Italian for many months now, so I thought I’d take a trip to see what all the fuss was about. As soon as I walked in, it was easy to see how popular this place was.
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The tables were absolutely crammed and the atmosphere was buzzing. The classic Italian music filled the restaurant and chitter chatter from couples and families gave the restaurant a warm, cosy feeling.
Although the restaurant itself is a little tired looking inside, it really adds to the quirkiness of the place. The tables and chairs were nestled quite closely together but there’s enough space to focus on yourself and enjoy your meal.
My first thoughts? The place was absolutely tiny, I actually found myself wondering where on earth they cook the food here because I couldn’t for the life of me see a kitchen. I wasn’t sure what to fully expect in terms of quality of food, but I was absolutely blown away when I eventually tucked in.
The menu consisted of a fairly wide range of different pizza and pasta dishes, as well as other mains, starters, desserts and drinks. My table of four ordered the ‘Tortellini San Remo’ the steak with sautéed potatoes and mixed vegetables, the lasagne, and a half and half dish of the ‘Tortellini San Remo’ pasta and the ‘Tagliatelle Al Salmone’.
Yes, you read that correctly, Ristorante Italia serves up half and half pasta dishes if you ask nicely, and although this isn’t on the menu, I’d highly recommend it. That means you get to enjoy two different pasta dishes if you can’t decide on one, which is a total bonus in my eyes.
We didn’t have to wait too long at all for food, and it came to our table piping hot and fresh. I couldn’t believe how much cheese there was on the lasagne and pasta dishes, it looked like the cheesiest pasta I’d ever seen.
The food was practically bubbling there was that much cheese. Once I’d picked the pasta up with my fork, it caused the most satisfying cheese pull I’d ever seen in my life.
Each mouthful gave me a whole bunch of different flavours. The smoked salmon with the tagliatelle was fresh, tender, and not too salty, with just the right amount of creamy sauce.
The star of the show in my eyes was the ‘Tortellini San Remo’ though, it was basically like a posh ravioli, filled with fresh tender pork and absolutely covered in cheese. This pasta wasn’t just pasta you chuck in a pan with some boiling water, this pasta was special.
You could tell that every dish was made with love. There’s definitely no frills with this place, what you see is what you get, but they put their heart into it all.
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