Est Est Est

...site that I realised that Est Est Est is actually a chain of restaurants and currently has 20 outlets in the UK. I’ve eaten in the restaurants in Alderley Edge and central Manchester, but my guess is that they are all very similar. I absolutely adore Italian food, but although there are plenty of Italian restaurants around, I don’t generally find that there are a lot of GOOD Italian restaurants around.

(Owing to the fact ...
...refer to the place as Est from now on.)

DÉCOR AND AMBIENCE

Est restaurants are decorated in a very modern, contemporary design – chrome, wood and glass feature heavily in the decorating materials. The lighting is quite bright – this isn’t really an intimate place to eat – but the music played in the background is normally very quiet and not in the least bit intrusive. The Manchester restaurant ... more

It wasn’t until I looked up a few things on the official web site that I realised that Est Est Est is actually a chain of restaurants and currently has 20 outlets in the UK. I’ve eaten in the restaurants in Alderley Edge and central Manchester, but my guess is that they are all very similar. I absolutely adore Italian food, but although there are plenty of Italian restaurants around, I don’t generally find that there are a lot of GOOD Italian restaurants around.

(Owing to the fact that it’s playing havoc with my spell checker, and because it really is a very irritating name, I’m just going to refer to the place as Est from now on.)

DÉCOR AND AMBIENCE

Est restaurants are decorated in a very modern, contemporary design – chrome, wood and glass feature heavily in the decorating materials. The lighting is quite bright – this isn’t really an intimate place to eat – but the music played in the background is normally very quiet and not in the least bit intrusive. The Manchester restaurant is situated across two floors, but I generally prefer to eat on the ground floor, because the basement level has no windows, so there is a lack of natural light. The restaurant has quite a large capacity for diners, and can accommodate couples as easily as parties of a dozen or more. Some of the table have soft padded seating arched against the wall, whereas other are conventional round or square wooden tables that seat four people.

I’m not sure when the Est restaurant opened in Manchester, but I have noticed that the furniture is already starting to look a bit battered. The tables and chairs are peppered with little bits of damage and the floor looks like a rhino has been eating there in places. The table decorations are very limited and I’m afraid have a rather cheap feel. They don’t use real table linen, so everything is made from disposable paper, which quickly gets wet and tears. The same applies to the napkins and I find myself longing for a real linen napkin to wipe my fingers on. Even the cutlery used in here is very cheap – it reminds me of the stainless steel stuff we had at school. I find it quite interesting how the restaurant looks expensive and trendy at first glance, but then starts to look a bit cheap when you examine things more closely.

The Manchester restaurant would accommodate disabled guests, as the entrance is wide and opens on to street level. The only problem would be the toilets, which are in the basement down some stairs – there is no lift. The restaurant is popular with young couples and business parties – you will very rarely see families in here, although there is a child’s menu. I think the lack of kids is more due to the central location. Sadly, there are no non-smoking areas in the restaurant and I will normally find that smokers happily puff away whilst everyone else is eating their food.

THE MENU

Est has an impressive menu. It is presented at your table on an enormous sheet of card and at first glance will literally leave you spoilt for choice.

For starters, there are around 20 different Antipasti, with a good selection of items for all tastes. There are vegetarian options, as well as salads, seafood and meat dishes. One thing that I really like is the fact that you can also select one of the main course pastas as a starter and just have a smaller portion. This almost doubles the number of options available. According to the size of my appetite, I will normally have one of the garlic pizza breads, available with cheese or tomato, which are always hot, fresh and very tasty.

The main courses are split into Pasta dishes, Pizzas and Speciality dishes and once again the choice is enormous. There are around 15 different pasta dishes, including old favourites such as lasagne and bolognese as well as a number of other more unusual varieties. Over half the dishes are available in vegetarian options, meaning that you aren’t restricted to one or two boring ideas. My personal recommendation would be the Fusilli pesto con pollo - fusilli pasta tossed with chargrilled chicken, pesto, pine nuts and sunblushed tomatoes. It’s absolutely delicious! The range of pizzas is also excellent, with some unusual seafood varieties that I have never seen elsewhere. The pizzas are normally served on a traditional thin and crispy base, which I much prefer to the deep, doughy bases so often used. The speciality menu is probably my favourite part of the range, with a dozen different dishes that are all to die for. There are lots of delicious chicken dishes – the Milan chicken served with garlic, salsa and mozzarella is addictive. Once again, there are also some seafood dishes, as well as some steaks – although most of my friends who have tried the steak have commented that it tends to be a bit tough.

Most of the dishes are served with side orders, but there is a good selection of vegetable dishes and other accompaniments – I wish they did their Chunky Chips to take away – they’re gorgeous! A child’s menu is advertised on the web site but I have never really seen it or dined with kids, so I can’t really comment. The bar sells the normal range of beer and alcoholic drinks but the wine menu is fairly limited.

QUALITY OF FOOD

The food is normally of a very high standard and well presented. There are always lashings of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, as well as colourful side salads and dressings that make everything look extremely appetising. The flavours are normally rich and strong and even the normal dishes like Lasagne seem to have an edge over their counterparts in other restaurants. The meat dishes tend to be very lean and flavoursome – apart from the steaks, of course. Ground pepper and grated cheese is always offered, regardless of what you order, and the side orders are always a nice addition. The food is not outstanding though – there is still a lack of genuine creativity and a number of the dishes are quite conventional. Given that the average cost of a main course is around £9, I’m not entirely sure that the food complements the money charged. I enjoy Est for lunchtime meals, rather than dinners, as I find the food much more enjoyable in slightly smaller portions. It has to be said that the food is not quite able to shake off that chain restaurant feel.

QUALITY OF SERVICE

The service in the Manchester restaurant is acceptable, but not fantastic. When I’ve dined in larger parties, most of our attempts to have a joke with the waiters have been greeted by a reluctant smile and the staff has never inspired me to leave a huge tip. Later on in the evening, they do seem in a hurry to clean up, and quite often you’ll be sat there chatting when an arm suddenly appears in front of you and whips your plate away. The service is quite fast – you don’t tend to have to wait long between course – but I’m afraid smiles are few and far between. Nobody is ever rude – but the welcome isn’t terribly warm either.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I’ve never had in meal in the restaurant that I didn’t finish, which to me is a good indication that the food is nice. The portion sizes are quite generous, and as the food is always freshly prepared the quality is usually very good. You can expect to pay around £5 for a starter, £9 for a main course and £4 for a dessert. With drinks and side orders, this will normally average out about £20 per head, which is an average price for a decent meal. I think that some of the main courses are over-priced, but most menu items seem fairly priced. The only thing that offsets the value is the lukewarm service, which does make me slightly hesitant to pay to eat out so willingly. I also find that the cheap table settings don’t really match the price you are expected to pay for the food.

OVERALL VERDICT

I’m generally happy with Est, and will continue to eat here as and when the occasion arises. When you become familiar with the menu, you start to find favourites and there are one or two dishes here that I absolutely adore. I’d like to see an improvement in service standards and a warmer welcome for diners regardless of the time of day. I’d also like to have more expensive tableware – and linen napkins are a must!

Recommended overall
 

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