PER TUTTI MANCHESTER (MATTYB RECOMMENDS)

I'm up in Manchester a lot for concerts and gigs and normally I have an idea about where I'm going to eat before each visit. This week however I traveled up sans schedule and stumbled across Per Tutti as I got off the train at Deansgate. I didn't know anything about the place or what I was in for so with zero expectations I headed through the door ready for some food.

We were greeted at the door by a friendly hostess with a smile and a warm hello. Under the shadow of the Hilton hotel and with Beyonce in town for her Formation world tour I had expected not to get a table anywhere tonight so I was surprised when we were given the pick of tables in the dining area. We went for a cozy seat at the back of the the restaurant next to the windows so we could partake in a spot of people watching!

Per Tutti's decor is clean, fresh and modern. No gimmicks, just a warm and inviting environment perfect for two friends like us to enjoy an early evening dinner whilst having a catch up. Drinks on the menu range from cocktails, wine or something fancy from the prosecco bar but we stuck with two nice big pints of Morretti! I've got a taste for this beer every since our trip to Dublin. We were presented with the menus with it's selection of modern European dishes and decided to go with the offer of two courses for £10. Bargain!

Our starters arrived and they both looked incredibly delicious. My mate went for the uncomplicated sounding bacon, asparagus and poached egg and got exactly what it said on the tin. What you have to be able to achieve with simple dishes like this is perfection and Per Tutti did just that as two gorgeous strips of crispy and slightly salty bacon sat on top of a beautiful plump poached egg which dribbled its golden yolk all over the fresh tender asparagus stalks as she slid her knife through it. Three elements served delicately and balanced just right, you could really ask for anything more for a start to a dinner.

I decided to go for the arancini balls. I had never had arancini before for some reason but after tasting these I definitely think I've been missing out. The outside of the arancini balls were golden and crisp and held inside them a perfectly cooked risotto type mixture that was soft and had loads of oozy melty cheese mixed through it to hold everything together and form two little balls of yumminess. I normally think plonking a bit of green rocket on a plate is a bit lazy but the pepperiness of it with the little dollops of green pesto really complimented the flavor of the arancini. So far so good. Per Tutti was looking like a great little find!

Onto the mains now and I went for the chicken breast dish.  The chicken had a yummy charred flavor to it with those appetizing looking char stripes running across them and sat on top of a bed of the most smooth and buttery mash I had eaten in a long time, it was so silky and delightful. Some carrots add a fresh touch to the plate whilst I especially enjoyed the grilled spring onions. Holding everything together was an unctuous red wine (I think!) jus which had such a rich and bold flavor that I quite happily mopped it all up with my chicken breast. Simple food but done so well, for me it was comfort food and made me smile from ear to ear.

My friend decided to go with the sea bass on a bed of risotto. She told me that she often had sea bass when she dines out as she can never make it as good at home as in a restaurant and to quote her she said that this was possibly "one of the best sea bass I have ever tasted." High praise indeed. She told me that the skin was super crispy (as it should be) whilst the flesh was soft and flaky. The pea risotto on which it lay was infused with lemon but just enough so that the lemon didn't overpower the whole dish whilst the rice was cooked exactly as it should be. Seeing her reaction to the food for me made it the highlight of the meal!

There wasn't enough time to try dessert unfortunately so we paid our bill and headed off for the evening's entertainment with big grin's on our faces. Sometimes you can just stumble across a little hidden gem and that was exactly what happened with our visit to Per Tutti. With no expectations, we walked in and were greeted with super friendly and helpful staff, great beer, fabulous food with an even better price tag (that lunch time offer is incredibly value for money!) and delightful surroundings. You can't really ask for anything more from a meal. Per Tutti? Per-Fection!

Go and hunt Per Tutti out for yourself next time you're in Manchester. Find out more about them on their website here!