It's not just the blog which has been celebrating it's birthday this month but I myself have reached the ripe old age of 30 this year! With family wanting to celebrate with me I was tasked with finding a venue that could feed a hungry hoard of 20 people on a Saturday night in Liverpool. A quick Google and I stumbled across Pruno in Liverpool. I had driven past it before but never eaten in and after a quick look at the menu I thought it might be worth a go.
This review is a little different from my other ones in the respect that I'm talking about a function booking rather than a simple table for two. It can be quite a daunting and stressful experience organizing a gathering but I have to say that the experience I had with the staff at Pruno from start to finish was top notch. From placing the initial booking in over the phone I was sent an email detailing my booking, offering a choice of menus for the party and information regarding deposits.
Upon going down to Pruno to arrange my deposit I met with Kim who couldn't be nicer, reconfirming all the details and ensuring me to get in touch if I needed anything else from them. She even called me the day before to double check everything was OK. Having worked in hospitality for many years now it was great to see this level of care from a restaurant to it's customers and I can only praise them for how everything was looked after prior to our groups arrival. 100% stress free!
We were taken upstairs were our table was located and whilst some of my family had already gathered and arranged the obligatory 30th balloons I could see that the staff at Pruno has also added there own little touches. A chalk board emblazoned with "Happy 30th Birthday Matthew" hung proudly on the wall and each of our set menus also marked out the celebration personally with my name written across the top of each. I was touched that the team had gone to this effort and again, it is that attention to detail that really makes an occasion special and shows that the team at Pruno really value their customers.
The biggest test of course is always the food. I'm not going to comment on anything to do with service times, obviously there was a bit of a wait as their was a large group of us but that is to be expected and with family around I didn't really care that much to be honest. Pre-dinner bread and oils were brought round which should be made the law in my eyes and staff were always on hand to take drinks orders when needed. I never felt like we had been taken upstairs and left to fend for ourselves!
We didn't need to pre-order from our more concise set menu. I can't say that would be the case for larger parties but it certainly saved me the hassle of having to gather up everyone's orders in advance. With our orders taken and my belly now starting to rumble at the thought of my delicious sounding dinner I couldn't wait to tuck in.
Along came our starters. I went for Thai beef with pickled vegetable salad and it was everything I was hoping it would be. The beef was cooked a medium rare which was perfect for me and cut into sexy little strips and placed on a bed of pickled cabbage and carrot which had the right amount of zing to compliment the beef without being overpoweringly vinegary. Peppers and greens glistened on the top and a scattering of sesame seeds added some crunch to the dish. A red Thai sauce gave a contrast in flavor to the pickled veg brought everything together to create a fantastic little start to my meal. My only complaint is that there wasn't more!
Jon went for the soup of the day which was a Thai vegetable soup. Pruno is not a Thai restaurant but I don't blame them for featuring the cuisines flavors so prominently on our menu when they do it so well. What I was expecting to be a watery broth kind of affair turned into to something more akin to a Thai red curry blended into a unctuous more substantial bowl of soup. It was bursting with flavor and the bread it was served with was put to good use for mopping up every last drop.
Onto the mains and as I wasn't in a steak mood like most of the rest of the party I went for the Panko breaded plaice fillets with Goan curry sauce and Bombay potatoes. Two beautifully cooked plaice fillets crunched as I cut through the breadcrumb batter and the white flesh was so soft that my knife was like butter cutting through them. I like spice so for me whilst the curry sauce and beautifully fluffy Bombay potatoes were yummy, it was slightly lacking that punchy heat that I adore making the tzatziki on the plate a bit redundant for me. Don't get me wrong, it was stunning and those incredible fillets truly were the star of the show. 
With my own fabulous Birthday cake to tuck into we bypassed on dessert and settled up (not before being sung happy Birthday too. Cringe!). Both the staff and food at Pruno was an absolute delight and everyone left with full bellies and smiles on their faces. I know how hard catering for a large party can be but the team pulled it off with aplomb. If you're in the area and are looking for a relaxed environment away from the city centre to have a celebration then Pruno comes highly recommended from me. Great organisation, great staff and most importantly great food that would make this the perfect venue for parties of two right up to 20 and even a bit more.
Pruno is numero uno for any occasion!
Hey, Happy Birthday! 30 is still very young in my book, guess it depends on perspective! Sounds like a fab family gathering, made very special with little touches and extras from the restaurant, lovely!
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