City News

Fancy a gelato on the piazza this Spring Bank Holiday?  You don’t need to get on your Vespa and head for the Via Veneto.  A new arrival at Birmingham’s Brindleyplace in the form of Italian restaurant and bar Piccolino (opening late May 2008) means you can be sipping a fresh peach Bellini or a glass of chilled Prosecco without having to clock up any air miles.

Authentic modern and classic Italian dishes, homemade bread and a sensational array of desserts, including ice cream, all made fresh on the premises, form the basis of an abundant and diverse menu that captures the spirit of the best Italian trattoria.   

From mixed Antipasti plates brimming with Italian cured ham, field mushroom and goats cheese bruschetta, caprese salad, king prawns, fried squid, artichokes and olive salad, to mouth-watering risottos and pasta dishes there’s something to please every palate. A range of traditionally baked pizzas also features as well as a superb selection of meat and fish mains including Baked Cod with sweet and sour peppers, raisins and pine nuts and Roast Duck with Honey Roasted Apples and a Valpolicella wine sauce.

Enticing desserts abound and for those who can’t choose between them, the Dolci con Amici, a sharing plate of the most popular including Tiramisu, profiteroles, warm chocolate pudding, baked vanilla cheesecake, raspberries and strawberries with prosecco and vanilla syrup is the perfect end to a meal.

The 150 seat restaurant and bar which has a private dining area seating up to 50 people will open at 9 Brindleyplace overlooking Oozells Square next to the Ikon Gallery following a £1.5million refurbishment of the former Brasserie Blanc site. Red leather upholstery complemented by rich wood panelling and a Neapolitan wood fired oven, which fronts an open kitchen, will create a warm, inviting interior giving an overall ambience of a New York brasserie. In summer months the outdoor terrace will provide the perfect place to watch the world go by Italian style.

Piccolino’s overwhelming passion for authentic Italian food is personified in Piccolino’s Development Chef, Alessandro Cristiano, who is responsible for testing and evolving seasonal dishes that will find their way onto the menu each month as well as reviewing the core menu to ensure that it’s authentic and up to the minute.

Working from the development kitchen at Piccolino’s head office which is equipped with its own bar and restaurant tables Alessandro said “It is very exciting to be able to select some of my favourite recipes from all over Italy and to be bringing Italian food as it should be to this vibrant city”