Puccini's Italian Restaurant Swinton Manchester - reader comments
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| "I
had been recommended by numerous friends to go to Puccini's. But I
found I was a little disappointed. The plus points...
the atmosphere was very good in the restaurant. Nice
and polite staff. Quick service during meal.
Now the bad points... took an age to collect the dessert plates
despite the restaurant being much quieter than earlier in the evening.
It took about 15 minutes after we finished our desserts and when the
bill did arrive we were told there were problems with the credit card
machine and they would be over very quickly. Approximately 15 minutes
later we decided to go up to the till point with the bill because
it was clear they had forgotten us. The nice waiter realised
we had been forgotten, sat us down and apologised profusely. The machine
was over to us immediately. We had definitely been forgotten. My partner
enjoyed his meal, but said it was nothing special.
However, my meal was not great. Starter Garlic Bread
was nice. Main Course - Spag Bol was not nice. I have cooked better
myself I'm afraid, using ready made pasta sauce and a bit of herbs
and spices thrown in. Trust me I am not a great cook. My partner tried
it and agreed. I ordered Lemon Sorbet for my dessert. This is a regular
dessert choice of mine so I know a good one. But this one had no lemon
flavour at all in it. It was like eating flavourless ice. The point
of lemon sorbet is that it 'cleanses the pallet' and this one didn't,
I could still taste the bolognese which I didn't like. Because Puccini's
has been recommended by friends, has so many good reviews on Restaurants
Of Manchester, I live about 5 minutes away and it is reasonably
priced, I will try it again and order different dishes. Perhaps
we were unlucky. I will report back if it is better next time. I'm
not a moaner and don't usually write on sites such as this but I felt
quite compelled to this time. I really was quite disappointed."
- pam, salford 31/5/08 (visited on a Friday evening) |
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"My
second visit and it's certainly worth the 15 minute train
trip from the city centre. It's a very nice family
ran restaurant. The only problem was one of the waiters (sounds
like the same one mentioned by a previous Trusted Reviewer). He was
a bit 'much', kept making comments and flirting with the female customers
regardless of who they were with. You don't mind one innocent comment,
but he kept on going and for a long time and was also very loud -
trying to be the comedian. Just spoilt it a little bit, especially
if you were on a romantic date. Otherwise this is a great
restaurant and I can't wait to go back there."
- nancy, manchester 26/5/08 |
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"Another restaurant from the Restaurants Of Manchester Top 10
ticked off for me and, wow, what a find! Thanks for the tip. Having
been let down in the past by celebrity haunts like San Carlo and Wings,
I was a bit sceptical to the claims that so many A-list celebs and
sport stars would flock to this aestically uninspiring
shopping arcade in a suburb so far away from the Ferrari and Aston
Martin packed roads of Wilmslow or Alderley Edge. One visit here and
you can understand why they come - traditional Italian cooking
in the most family friendly environments. Certainly
the best Italian in the region, although I guess I'm not
the first to proclaim that looking at some of the photos on the wall.
I still have visions of the England team bus pulling up outside with
the regulars like Sven and Gary Neville proclaiming 'trust me lads,
it's a lot better than it looks from the outside'. Talking about Gary
Neville, the Penne a la Neville was superb. I'll be back on a regular
basis!"
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matthew,
manchester -
20/5/08 (visited on a saturday evening) |
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"I'd heard a lot about Puccini's and was also interested to see
it included in the Restaurants Of Manchester Top 10 so I was pleased
to finally get there. Everything about the place was up to my expectations.
The owner and his family are charming people who
know their job and look after their customers to a high level. The
food was excellent, ambience great and staff brilliant.
Nice little extras thrown in as freebies as well!
Only one complaint - the over zealous (Moroccan?) duty manager thinks
he's a great comic but he's not quite up to Peter Kay's standards
and should stick to being an efficient waiter. Worthy of its
place in the Top 10 and I will definitely be returning!"
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ian,
warrington -
16/5/08 (visited on a sunday evening) |
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| "Swinton;
such a small town, but two great restaurants, Puccini being one (Isis
the other). I've been a regular diner for as long as Michele has been
the owner and never had a bad meal. Due to his success, the restaurant
is very busy and lively at weekends, so if you want a quiet meal go
mid-week. Food and attention excellent; Michele and
his staff always make you feel welcome!"
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Sue
Wray, Swinton -
1/2/08 (visited on a thurs lunch) |
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| "I
first visited Puccini's sometime ago after seeing it in the Restaurants
Of Manchester Top 10. I was impressed and decided to take my parents
just before Christmas. Another great meal and wonderful experience
at one of Manchester's best Italian restaurant. Will
be returning again soon!"
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Nicholas,
Cheshire -
27/12/07 (visited on a tues lunch) |
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| "Every
restaurant in Manchester seemed to be full last Friday with
work's Christmas parties which made organising a business lunch impossible.
My secretary worked her way through Restaurants Of Manchester's Top
10 list until finding an available table at Puccini's. I have to say,
I was extremely impressed and having never heard
of the website nor the restaurant before, I thought I'd post these
comments to thank you for pointing me towards this hidden
gem. We were sat underneath a Britney Speers gold disc, which
looking at the other photographs and signed memorabilia on the wall,
made us presume she had visited here too. I giggled at the thought
of what she would have made of Swinton's shopping precinct if indeed
she had ever been to this superb restaurant. My guests
were equally impressed and I will certainly be returning soon to both
the restaurant and this website. Compliments to all."
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E
Parrish, Manchester -
23/12/07 (visited on a friday lunch) |
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"Puccini's is an excellent restaurant, great
friendly staff, wonderful atmosphere and
amazing food. If this was a city centre restaurant
I can see myself becoming a regular for lunch but, as it's not, it's
going to have to be somewhere I go for a treat every now and then.
Even though I'm a City fan, I can't recommend enough the Penna alla
Neville, named after Gary Neville as it's favourite dish when he regularly
visits Puccini's. Has to be one of the best restaurants in Manchester,
and most certainly the best Italian!"
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nick,
stockport -
8/11/07 (visited on fri eve) |
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| "Although
I am originally from Manchester, I'm new to city centre living and
have used
Restaurants Of Manchester to help me find the best restaurants in
town. One problem with city centre living is that my waistline is
growing by the day and I've now managed to work my way through the
Top 10 restaurants on the site (apologies for the fact this is only
my first review). All very impressive and worthy of their place, many
over more renowned over-rated restaurants. I was disappointed to not
find any Italian restaurants in the Top 10 list though and after being
hugley disappointed by San Carlo and Piccolino, I read your reviews
of Puccinis and decided to jump on a train from Victoria. 15 mins
later and a 5 minute walk down the road (a shorter journey
than what it takes me to walk from my apartment to Don Giovanni's
for example) and I was in heaven! Surrounded by huge
paintings and signed shirts of United hero's, including a great one
of Eric Cantona - this is without doubt the best Italian I
have been to in the UK. Sven Goran Eriksson was sat on a
table nearby, humouressly surrounded by United memorabilia and the
excellent waiter told us that the whole City squad had been in the
week before and didn't seem to lose their appetite in this truely
red arena. Like the many stars who make this journey to this unattractive
shopping precinct, probably not on the train from Victoria mind you,
I'll be returning many times!"
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Gary,
Manchester -
8/11/07 (visited on a Tuesday lunch) |
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"When
we receive so many rave reviews for certain restaurants, especially
from our trusted reviewers, we sit up and take notice, often rushing
around there simply to add a touch of realism to the rating. Being
big fans of Italian food we are normally left disappointed in Manchester
- an exception to the rule was the superb Marcello's in Hale; popular
with footballers and A-list celebs alike, it was well worth the
trip until it sadly closed following the owner's unsuccessful battle
with cancer. Carluccio's at The Trafford Centre may have filled
the void but it's hardly a destination restaurant, especially for
a romantic meal. This, we snobbily have to admit, was also one of
our main reservations about Puccini's.
Located
in an old 1970's concrete shopping arcade in Swinton, surrounded
by banks, building societies and even a Victim Support Centre, it's
hardly the most inviting places from the outside. This though doesn't
seem to put off the many stars whom have visited here - which, looking
at the photos on the wall have included virtually every player to
have ever worn the red shirt of United and, believe it or not, the
entire England team on one evening alone. In fact there's plenty
of photographs of David Beckham, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Paul
Scholes, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer,
Sven Goran Eriksson, Frank Lampard and John Terry to make you realise
their visits were not just one off occassions. In fact, it turns
out the entire England team have visited on eight (yes, 8!!!) occassions
and the Great Britain Rugby team are regulars too.
On
tasting the food you can understand why - this is real Italian food
cooked to perfection. My Wild Mushroom starter (£5.95) took
me straight back to a grotto I once visited in Domodossola whilst
the Mixed Salad, complete with asparagus and olives, could have
also proudly been served in any Italian village - if only all other
restaurants in Britain could learn from our European neighbours
what a £2.95 salad should contain!
For
the main course, I opted for the Pollo Sorpresa, a stuffed chicken
breast with parsley and garlic butter, or 'Chicken Kiev', as it's
better known in Swinton. At £13.95 including plenty of vegetables,
this was very good value and quite simply the best chicken I've
tasted in a non-Michelin star restaurant in the UK, even if the
chef had been a little too generous with his extra virgin Olive
Oil. The not-so-traditional Hawaian Pizza (£7.25) was also
excellent and proved the chefs could adapt to a more Anglicised
menu without losing any of their Italian style. The portion sizes
are more than generous and, as I undid the top button on my jeans,
I wish we hadn't have opted for the pizza-size Cheese Garlic Bread
(£4.50) as an additional starter. That said, I was very glad
I still found room for the excellent home-made Creme Caramel (£4.30).
The
service was incredibly friendly with each waiter taking time out
to 'get to know' the guests, enquiring where we'd travelled from
and if it was a special occassion - we almost had our cover as 'secret
reviewers' blown - but as birthday cakes were being delivered to
almost every other table, you guessed it was a sincere line of questioning.
A large fruit salad arrived ahead of the bill with compliments of
the kitchen, and you could fully understand why Puccini's has gained
the reputation it has with other reviewers as the best Italian in
Manchester. Like the England footballers, we'll certainly be returning!"
- restaurants of manchester 11/10/07 (visited on a tuesday evening) |
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"After
reading the rave reviews below, I decided to check out Puccini's.
I'm glad I did - My pizza was perfectly cooked and
tasted amazing. The waiters were so nice
and friendly - we really enjoyed the meal there and will
definately be returning"
- nancy, manchester 10/10/07 (visited on a monday evening) |
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| "Staff
are always very friendly, absolutley amazing
food, tried quite a few off the menu and never been dissappointed!
House red wine not bad ever. There is not a bad word to say about
the place I love it, my husband and myself eat in there at least once
a month!"
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Kelly
Fearnhead, Salford -
22/6/07 (visited on a Friday evening) |
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