~* Battle of the Italians!*~

Happy New Year!!! First post of 2013!!

In this post, I wanted to blog about 2 popular Italian restaurants in my hometown of Washington (Tyne & Wear, UK) - Fiume, which I have blogged about before, and Amiro's.

I picked these 2 particular restaurants to write about for a couple reasons. One, because I have just recently visited both and two, because if there are any restaurants in Washington that are in competition, it's these ones. Please note that these reviews are purely personal, and are based only on recent visits to each restaurant.

Let the battle of the Italian restaurants commence!!

Amiro's (www.amirosrestaurant.co.uk)

Seafood Risotto
 

Amiro's is a fairly new restaurant which I believe has been open for just under 5 years, and is situated just past Bonemill Lane in Harraton/Rickleton (for those familiar with this area, it used to be the Old George pub). It is quite a popular little restaurant, attracting people of all ages for any type of occassion, and the elegant setting and soft lighting helps create a very calm, romantic mood.

My last visit to Amiro's was my third one. I came with 2 friends of mine for dinner, and since it was going to be our last meal together before the new year, we decided to treat ourselves by spending a bit more than usual (which is not a lot - we are a tight bunch ;))

First of all, we ordered our starters, which we decided to share amongst each other. We ordered a portion of Calamari, potato skins and a Caprese salad (basil, tomatoes and mozzarella). Amiro's is known for their generous sized portions, and they certainly didn't disappoint that night. What they did disappoint us on however, was the quality of the potato skins. The Calamari and the Caprese salad were fine, very tasty and fresh, but the potato skins were far too salty. I am a big believer in only lightly seasoning food at cooking stage then letting diners season to taste as they please, but this was just too much. Such a shame considering the other 2 dishes were so delicious, and I am surprised we didn't end up leaving the restaurant with severe sodium poisoning :-s For our mains, my friends ordered pasta dishes (I can't remember which ones though, sorry :( ) and I went for my all-time favourite Italian dish - Seafood Risotto. Again, the portions were massive which of course we were happy with, but because of the size of the starters, we weren't sure if we could even finish our mains.

My Seafood Risotto was tasty, but not the best I have ever had. If anything, it was UNDER seasoned; ironic after complaining about how salty our potato skins were!! Nevertheless, there was a good mix of seafood in there so it actually looked and tasted like a Seafood Risotto. My friends seemed to have enjoyed their pasta dishes too, but unfortunately, a lot was left on the plate as we were all so stuffed from the starters!



OVERALL VERDICT: 7.5/10. Don't get me wrong, I would recommend Amiro's to anyone as it is not one of those places I would never ever visit again, however it could be improved by balance and consistency. Everytime I have eaten at Amiro's, my opinions have been different each time. The first time was awful, the second time was brilliant and the third time was OK. Though I am a fan of large portions, the starters are big enough to eat as a main, so it would be good to see the size of those decreased *ever so slightly*. With regards to the taste of the food - GO EASY ON THE SALT ON THE POTATO SKINS!!

VALUE FOR MONEY:  Very good. Reasonable price, large portions, OK food (which has the potential to be excellent food).

AMIRO'S
55 New Road,
Washington
Tyne & Wear
NE38 9AT

Fiume (http://www.popololeisure.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=195)

I have blogged about Fiume before (in a post about eating Sunday Lunch there), but just to give a bit of background, it is a small Italian restaurant situated in the village of Fatfield, and is upstairs to one of the most popular bars in Washington, The Riverbar.

Like Amiro's, Fiume attracts a wide range of customers and it is very common to see people celebrating birthdays and other special occassions here. With the restaurant being upstairs to The Riverbar, as well as being in close proximity of a pub and another popular bar, the location is ideal for those who want a bit of alcoholic fun after their meal without having to travel too far.

My most recent visit to Fiume was with Kris, after we realised we didn't have a lot of food in the house and were too late to go food shopping.

Fiume always has great special deals before 7pm, so we decided to take advantage of this and treat ourselves without spending a fortune.

Our meal deal consisted of a starter (at £2 each) and a main (ranging from £4.95 - £7.95, depending on what it was).

For starters, I ordered a Caprese salad, and Kris ordered a Minestrone soup with bread. Both dishes were incredibly delicious, and the portion sizes were generous enough without them being too filling. I have ordered Caprese salad from Fiume in the past, and it is by far my favourite starter - it is always so good!! Of course, I took a cheeky taste of Kris's Minestrone, and it was superb.


Minestrone Soup
 



Caprese Salad
 

For our mains, I ordered a small portion of Al Salmone with spaghetti and a side salad (£5.95), and Kris had Pollo Picante with vegetables (£7.95). Al Salmone is my "safe choice", as I have eaten it before and everytime I do eat it, it gets tastier and tastier. By having it with side salad, I felt less guilty about having a cream-based dish, but it wasn't too heavy anyway - I think the chefs have perfected this dish wonderfully :) Kris's Pollo Picante was also very nice, however due to the spices that were in the dish (I am no good with spice :( ), the kick it had was a little too much for me, but was perfect for Kris, who loves spice.

 

Al Salmone
 

Chicken

OVERALL VERDICT: 9/10. The meal both Kris and I had in Fiume was excellent, but this was no surprise as the food there is consistently at a high standard.Unlike Amiro's, the food tends to be seasoned well, not too much and not too little, and we very rarely find ourselves adding any salt or pepper to our dishes. Fiume still remains our "go to" place where we are guaranteed a good meal for a good price, and I would definately recommend it to anyone who has never been before.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Very good. Though slightly pricier than Amiro's, the quality of the food is usually excellent, and the meal deals which are on offer before 7pm (Sunday - Thursdays) are reasonable. It is the perfect little treat for anyone wanting to go out for a meal without having to dig too deep into their pockets.

FIUME
16 Bonemill Lane
Washington
Tyne & Wear
NE38 8AJ