After hearing stories of how busy Bolton’s Amico Cafe has been following its appearance on hit BBC drama Happy Valley, I was pleasantly surprised to find no queue at the door as I arrived on Saturday morning.
The outdoor seating area was predictably empty owing to the frosty weather but despite the lack of queue, there was a buzz about the place inside. The now-famous table was occupied (well one half of it anyway) so after ordering the special Happy Valley sandwich, I took a seat upstairs.
It was my first visit to the cafe and I was impressed with how light and airy it was, with natural light pouring in through large windows and plenty of plants bringing a bit of welcome greenery.
READ MORE : Inside the 'Happy Valley Cafe' in Bolton town centre
Although initially a bit dubious about paying £8.95 for a sandwich, I soon understood the price point once it arrived. It was a beast.
A ciabatta roll, packed with chicken, prosciutto, ham, mozzarella, pesto, chillis, red peppers and rocket, and served with chips - it suddenly seemed like great value, but did it taste as good as it looked?
I got a really kick of heat from the chillis with my first bite, along with the unmistakeable flavour of pesto. The ciabatta was warm and tasted really fresh.
The mozzarella had melted onto the rest of the fillings and it paired so well with the saltiness of the prosciutto and ham. The chicken was tender and the peppers seemed like they had been roasted, adding even more depth to the mountain of flavours.
I’m not the biggest fan of rocket so took quite a bit of this off but the bits left provided another texture and extra crunch. Despite not much sauce, it was far from dry and it was so filling that I was already struggling after half.
It was so good that I soldiered on as best as I could and in the end just had a small morsel of ciabatta left on my plate. With how filling it was, I didn’t eat many of the chips but they were certainly decent enough.
This may have been my first visit to Amico but as someone who regularly visits Bolton town centre, it’s very unlikely to be my last.
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