Italian flavours served up at Mold restaurant

New Street, Mold

Tel: 01352 757457

Web: primoamoreitalianrestaurant.co.uk

I'd not eaten out for a while (I've a wedding to get in shape for) so it was decided a family outing was definitely due.

Adamant we would try somewhere new, I ended up checking out the menu online for Primo Amore, an Italian restaurant in Mold.

Familiar with the venue in its previous guises, I knew it wasn't big but the menu certainly is!

Seeing it had something to suit everyone, I booked online and informed the troops - my teenage son and my dad.

Primo Amore, Mold.

We headed out on a Thursday evening. It wasn't busy but a large party arrived not long after us, and headed to the wine bar space upstairs.

Italian is to be one of my favourites, and I was not prepared to count calories on this visit.

The menu comprises starters, risotto, fish, meat, pizza and pasta. It took some choosing but decisions were made.

Calamari fritti for me (£5.50), garlic bread with mozzarella (£4.50) for the youngster and bianchetti (breaded whitebait £5.50) for dad.

All were good portions, especially the whitebait, served with salad and tartare sauce for the fish dishes.

The garlic bread was cut into batons and was piping hot and apparently too good to share!

My calamari had just the right amount of bite before melting in the mouth, and went great with the tartare sauce.

Whitebait at Primo Amore, Mold.

Taking our order, the manager had informed us everything was cooked fresh, explaining that on their busier nights this might see a longer wait than people are used to. But so far, any wait seemed worth it in our opinion.

Now the main event.

Having agonised over the choices, spaghetti carbonara was in the running, my son eventually went for pepperoni pizza (£12.50).

It was generously topped, and with cheese that - according to the teen - did "that thing you only see in movies" when someone takes a slice.

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The crust was soft enough to be devoured in total, no crunchy offerings left on this plate. A few bites in, he declared "we definitely have to come here again". High praise indeed.

Dad almost went for tagliatelle prosecco - king prawns, prosecco, saffron, garlic and herbs in a white creamy sauce but in the end it was another pasta dish that caught his eye.

He had tagliatelle al fungi (£13.50) - chicken, smoked pancetta, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, garlic and herbs in a white wine creamy tomato sauce.

Another pretty decent portion that had dad saying he was unlikely to have room for pudding.

I had deliberated over one of the many risotto dishes but went to the baked pasta section. That cheesy topping always makes it seem that bit more indulgent.

Goat cheese penne at Primo Amore, Mold.

On this occasion it was goat cheese penne (£13) - goat cheese, mushrooms, peppers and spinach in a pesto creamy sauce, topped with mozzarella and baked in the oven.

The portion was big, and took me some time to get through but I was savouring every mouthful.

It looked very rich but the peppers gave it a light lift, and was very filling. It was incredibly moreish and I had no regrets with my choice.

Vanilla creme brulee at Primo Amore, Mold.

None of us really had room for pudding but heard the options anyway. Usually the chef only did tiramisu (award-winning no less) but had recently included a panna cotta and creme brulee (£4.75 each).

All three offered such a nice light and sweet ending, we couldn't help ourselves. Two vanilla creme brulee and one strawberry panna cotta were soon on their way.

These were the perfect finale, just enough of a treat to round off what had been a great meal for all three of us.

We had really enjoyed everything about our visit, and friends have already booked in for a special occasion on our recommendation.

Eccellente!