Giuliano’s

Giuliano’s has been serving up Italian fare from it’s Union Place restaurant for many years. I’ve been for a number of meals there, over that time. Indeed, if memory serves, it was the first place that I ever ate melanzane alla parmegiana. It has had its highs and lows, but has always been a fairly reliable place, particularly for large group dining.

Soup

Today, it wasn’t our first choice, as we’d hoped to visit the Basement Bar, but it was booked up for lunch for the entire week, so we were denied our planned visit there.

I was joined on this escapade by regular quester, Jane, who has previously joined for trips to Pearce’s, Taste of Italy and Yo Sushi.

Tagliarini

The place is styled in a fairly standard fashion. It’s simple and bright, which is no bad thing.

The menu is the usual expansive array that you’re often confronted with in Italians. Jane was set on tagliarini, while I thought pizza might be a good way to go. We both started with traditional minestrone.

With orders placed, our soups promptly arrived. Following the addition of parmesan and pepper, we dived in, spoon first. I was very pleasantly surprised, as the soup was full of crisp, fresh veg, but also had good body to the broth. It was one of the better minestrones that I’ve sampled on quests.

Pizza

Jane was very happy with her pasta, which was of the variety that I would have chased round the plate for a while then shovelled aggressively into my face.

My pizza was similarly joyous, with the topping packed with flavour. I really like potatoes as a pizza topping, particularly when accompanied by pesto, as they tend to be an excellent starchy medium for the coalescence of flavour. It’s likely that the base would be a little doughy for some tastes, but I like it when there is a good amount of substance.

We rounded things out with pretty decent espresso, bringing to a close what had been a very enjoyable lunching experience.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with Giuliano’s. The food on show today was much better than on some of my previous visits, so that kind of improvement is always good to see. From consideration of the menu, I think some of their dishes are a trifle over-priced, but what we had was satisfying, hunger-chasing goodness. I would happily return.

Scores
Blythe scores Giuliano’s
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 13.5/20

Jane scores Giuliano’s
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for setting
4.5/5 for service
giving an overall 14.5/20

Today’s questers were: Jane, Blythe

We ate: minestrone (2), tagliarini della casa, pizza contadina

We drank: water, coffees

We wore: lovely blue dress, gorgeous blue suit

Total bill: c.£30