FOOD WITH THE TRUE TASTE AND PASSION OF ITALY

From the very first day, a few years ago, when Gino D’ A Campo opened the doors to his new restaurant it instantly became the ‘must dine at place’ for discerning diners who love Italian food and its easy to see why

Created by the master himself Ginos menu expresses his passion for the food of his homeland and reflects the soul and character of the country’s many different regions. This is Italian food as it should be with no compromises.

Enter through the heavy wood doors and you could be stepping into an opulent and glamorous restaurant on the far-away shores of the Mediterranean. The place is stylish and the ambience cosmopolitan.

Gino D’ A Campo at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds has clearly been designed with passion and flair. Tables are well spaced affording privacy and adorned with crisp white table cloths, sparkling glasses and highly polished cutlery. Most of the tables are round which given an even more spacious and airy feel to the place with ultra comfortable chairs and the perfect mood lighting.

This restaurant is blessed with a very professional staff that extends from the manager and hosts to the servers and bar staff. They are knowledgeable, polite, unpretentious and although it sounds like a cliché cannot do enough for their patrons making them all feel very special.

Seated near the floor to ceiling large windows overlooking the terrace it was hard to realise we were right in the city centre. We loved the fact we were not rushed in any way at all and could relax as we made our choice from the extensive menu.

Whilst we made our choice we indulged in a Pane Della Casa, which can be highly recommended and looks as good as it tastes. Presented on a sharing board it consisted of home baked focaccia with baby plum tomatoes and Leccino olives, ciabatta bread, grissini with pecorino Romano, pane carasau served with a creamy pesto dip.

For starter I decided on the Ribollita a Tuscan vegetable bean soup which was more than welcoming on a cold and frosty evening. This was no ordinary soup. The dish consisted of beans, potatoes, carrot, onion and broccoli and had a lovely light spicey flavour with toasted ciabatta with Pecorino cheese. It really tasted as good as it looked.

My colleague went for the Cocktail Di Gamberetti that had an amazing presentation. It was wrapped in cucumber with paprika on the top with a generous helping of North Atlantic prawns and avocado, crispy gem lettuce, a very tasty Marie Rose sauce and a crispy Sardinian flatbread on the side. This was the ultimate prawn starter my colleague declared.

Main course was a difficult choice because everything on the menu was so appealing.

My colleague went for the Trofie Al Salmone Affumicato – a thin twisted pasta from Miguria with smoked salmon, asparagus, lemon and a creamy mascarpone sauce. The dish was piping hot. The pasta was a small and very delicate with tasty vegetables. The combination of vegetables and the flavour of the sauce was just right.

Saltimbocca Di Pollo was my choice. The two pan fried chicken escalopes had a crispy Parma ham topping, sage and Marsala and were succulent and tender with the fusion of flavours blending perfectly.

Eventually we felt ready to order a dessert. I chose the Panna Cotta. This heaven on a plate had Italian cream with Baileys liqueur, expresso caramel and was topped with crushed amaretti. It was very smooth and creamy and you could really taste the Baileys with the expresso caramel adding to the overall flavour.

My colleague chose the Tiramisu – an ultimate Italian dessert. It was light and tasty and very creamy and you could taste every one of the overall ingredients. A real sweet treat this is one to really savour.

Even after several dining experiences at Ginos we were both still of the same opinion that Ginos is the jewel in the crown of Italian restaurants where one can experience the real taste of Italy.