Piccolino
April 2010
THIS place has what you
might call a chequered
history. Years ago it was
the Old Barley Corn, before
being transformed from olde
English pub to upmarket Italian
eaterie when La Locanda moved
here from its home by the banks of
the River Wharfe in Wetherby.
Owners Franco and Catherine Del
Buono attracted a loyal north Leeds
clientele and picked up industry
plaudits before selling up about seven
years ago.
After that it hit financial trouble and
was eventually sold on as the first
Yorkshire acquisition of the somewhat
incongruously-named Individual
Restaurant Company, which operates
the Piccolino chain.
There are Piccolinos in
Ilkely and on Park Row in
Leeds city centre, while
the stable also includes
Restaurant Bar and Grill on
City Square.
However, despite its chain
links, this particular
Piccolino makes a decent
fist of giving itself an air of
individuality.
Nothing much has changed since the
La Locanda days perhaps, but the pale
wood of the tables and chairs gives it a
pleasantly relaxed feel and there is
plenty of light streaming in from the
conservatory-style area overlooking
the fields on the other side of the A58.
An inviting bar and outside seating
area makes waiting for a table no great
hardship. Although there was no need
for us to kick our heels when we
arrived given that the dining room was
far from full, which was no great
surprise given that it was early in the
week.
That’s not to say it wasn’t still loud and
lively in the way Italian restaurants
should be, with the chink of crockery
and glasses competing with the happy
noise of young families and tables of
friends locked in convivial
conversation.
The menu was due to change, we
were told, a couple of days after our
visit, so an in-depth rundown of the
dishes on offer won’t be much use
other than as a general guide as to
what to expect.
There was certainly plenty to go at,
with an antipasti selection ranging
from simple dishes like a Tuscan bean
and cabbage soup (£5) and
bruschetta with vineripened
tomatoes (£5) to
more extravagant fare
such as steamed mussels
with white wine, garlic and
parsley cream (£7.75) and
carpaccio, thinly sliced
peppered fillet with rocket
and parmesan (£8.95).
Feeling hungry and in search of
something hearty, I chose the salsiccia
risotto (£6.50) while my dining partner
opted for the roasted field mushrooms
(£6.95).
I was hoping to find some meaty
chunks of spicy Italian sausage in my
risotto, so was a little disappointed to
discover it was rather subtly-seasoned
and in an almost shredded form, mixed
deep into the dish.
The result was that the meat was a
little too anonymous for my liking,
though the tarragon and braised fennel
notes provided welcome spikes of
flavour.
My partner’s dish was a pleasing pile
of flat mushroom, goat’s cheese,
wilted spinach, pesto and pine nuts,
served with a slice of toasted
bruschetta.
The only thing it seemed to be lacking
in sufficient quantity was the garlic.
Another check of the description on the
menu noted the lack of a comma
between garlic and spinach,
suggesting the latter was infused with
the former.
It may well have been, but these
particular taste buds largely failed to
detect it in any great quantity.
The main courses offered a mix of
pasta dishes ranging from old
favourites such as spaghetti carbonara
(£9.50) to the likes of linguine with
king prawns, garlic, chilli and
courgettes (£11.50).
A quattro stagioni pizza with Italian
cured ham, wild mushrooms, roasted
sweet peppers, buffalo mozzarella and
vine ripened tomatoes will set you
back £9.50.
Other options included Tuscan sausage
with cannellini, borlotti beans and a
tomato sauce (£14.95) and chicken
with fontina cheese and ham and
roasted sweet peppers (£15).
My partner went for the fish of the day,
a sea bass baked in brown paper with
olives and capers (£17.95).
Perfectly cooked and bone-free with
tender white flesh, it was magnificent.
The olives and tangy capers providing
a wonderful mediterranean flavour to
the dish.
My filetto (£22.75), fillet steak to you
and I, came cooked exactly to order
and was a decent eight ounce slab of
beef, which I was told is sourced from
a Yorkshire supplier.
It was good if not particularly special,
though the flavour was bolstered by a
very decent peppercorn sauce, well
more a gravy really, that accompanied
it, along with a couple of grilled flat
mushrooms and succulent halves of
tomato.
The hand-cut chips (£3.35) we chose
to accompany our mains were simply
wonderful. Golden brown on the
outside and white and fluffy on the
inside, they were chips as they should
be and the best I have tasted for years.
The seasonal greens with basil butter
(£3.75) were once again cooked nicely
so that they retained a pleasing
crunch, though the basil butter was too
thin on the ground to be easily
discernible.
Our desserts were hit and miss.
Someone had gone overboard on the
sugar with the dark chocolate and
amaretto biscuit mousse (£5.65) which
ended up leaning too far towards the
sickly sort of sweet and being the only
real dud of the evening.
The polenta crumble with blackberries
and chunks of apple, topped off with a
dollop of mascarpone cheese (£6.15)
was in a different league altogether.
Even more impressive was the fact
that, unlike at many restaurants one
could mention, we were assured it was
home-made.
With a carafe of pinot grigio (£11.70),
coffee and tip, there wasn’t much
change from £100, which seems
slightly on the expensive side for an
Italian chain restaurant, even if it
doesn’t necessarily feel like one.
But the overall experience was a
pleasant one and, as a venue for
special occasions or family
celebrations, you could do worse than
picking this particular Piccolino.
| FACTFILE | |
| Piccolino, Wetherby Road,
Collingham, Wetherby, LS22 5AY Tel: 01937 579 797 www.piccolinorestaurants.co.uk Open Mon-Sat noon-11pm and Sun noon-10.30pm | |
| STAR RATING | |
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| Service |
Atmosphere 
| Value  |
