Taste Test
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Our Lakeside meal was bellissimo
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| Delicious - Bella Italia |
THERE is nothing better to build an appetite than a spot of Christmas gift buying.
Having done battle with the bevy of fellow seasonal shoppers at Lakeside one evening we decided to reward ourselves with a hard earned bite to eat.
The Broadwalk at the Thurrock shopping centre has recently reopened with a number of eateries offering everything from classic French to French fries.
Being fans of all things Italian though we were easily lured into the atmospheric low lit cavern of Bella Italia.
Despite being a chain restaurant, the decor is sympathetic to the theme without any of the crass cheesiness to often associated with multinationals.
We were seated immediately and given a warm welcome by our waitress Sian, who proved to be one of many highlights during the meal, not least for her friendly but unobtrusive inquiries as to our well being throughout.
Perusing the menu and stomachs growling with anticipation we opted to share the starter aptly named Assortimento.
It was delivered on a large wooden turntable complete with a hug empty tin which had formally housed artichoke hearts placed underneath.
This rustic touch lifted the platter to the required height which made grabbing one of the tasty morsels, including bruschetta and melt in the mouth breadcrumbed mozzarella with a divine warm tomato dip, just a fingertip away for us both.
Having sated our initial ravenous state we turned our attention to main course and both opted for pizza - although they could not have been more different.
I opted for the fresh and tasty veggie Giardiniera which as well as lashings of stringy, gooey cheese was also studded with roasted onions and peppers, mushrooms and black olive.
My carniverous companion choose the Carne Mista, a meat feast loaded with spicy pepperoni, smoked ham, tasty Italian salami and pancetta which was consumed with equal relish.
We topped off our meal as we started by sharing - this time the interestingly titled Godfather Part II.
This turned out to be an epic finale of bananas, toffee and vanilla ice cream, toffee chunks and sauce which was truly bellisimo!
Bella Italia, The Broadwalk, Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock - 01708 890776
Our verdict
Food - 5/5
Service - 5/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Decor - 4/5
Value - 5/5
What we ate
Starters: Assortimento (£9.25)
Main courses: Pizzeria Giardiniera (£7.65),
Pizzeria Carne Mista (£8.25)
Desserts: Godfather Part II (£6.75)
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