Milano - Restaurant Review

After receiving a link to a ‘too good to believe’ coupon, giving two mains for €15 at any Milano, a visit to the Dún Laoghaire branch was swiftly arranged. Arriving with a companion on a Thursday afternoon, the restaurant on Harbour Square was quiet enough with only one family and a few other couples dotted around the room.

Thankfully, we weren’t seated right up next to another table to make the room appear busier from the outside, a tactic that makes for an uncomfortable dining experience. Rather, we were seated alone at a small table and before coats were off were asked for beverage requests. Ordering a glass of the house white (a pinot grigio €6.35) and a Coca-Cola (€3.05), we perused the menu. I settled on the Tricolore to start (€7.50), a thin rosemary dough topped with buffalo mozzarella, guacamole and roasted tomatoes, while my companion ordered bruschetta (€6.35).

The Tricolore is part of the new Francesco Mazzei menu which is advertised with mouth watering images in a booklet on each table. The intro arrived on a slate tile with a pizza cutter, while the dough was crisp and flavoursome and the guacamole perfect, the mozzarella was piled high and tasteless. My companion was let down by the bruschetta, announcing ‘I wasn’t expecting a boat of bruschetta’, the plate hosted a large mound of dough swimming in oil and topped with both red onion and seasoned tomatoes. The Moby Dick of bruschetta was tasty, although quite filling for a starter.

The mains arrived perfectly timed from the starter, we both opted for pizza. I, the American Hot (pepperoni and jalapeno peppers) and my companion, the Il Padrino (torn chicken breast, char grilled Italian vegetables and roast tomatoes) - two mains for €15. The American Hot was plentiful of pepperoni but very scant on jalapenos, my companion certainly made the better decision - the Il Padrino was sublime, the chicken juicy and the vegetables cooked firm, not mushy.

We finished things off with a giant Toffee Fudge Glory (€6.95) and two scoops of Gelato, one flavourful pistachio and one pod heavy vanilla (€4.85). The total bill of €50.50 was delivered by our attentive and

efficient waiter. Although the final bill ended up being more than we expected on our 'bargain' meal, we can attribute that to our greed, but considering we both had 3 courses and a drink, €50 was good value.

The two mains for €15 offer is available any day (bar Saturdays and Valentine’s Day) until March 7th 2010 - get your voucher here. But seriously, who would pull out a coupon on Valentine's anyway?

Milano, Harbour Square, Crofton Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. Tel: 01 633 7640