01/10/2019

Amore Restaurant, Newcastle-Under-Lyme

Amore serves up solid Italian cooking in a friendly, family-run restaurant in Newcastle-Under-Lyme.

On my recent visit I was wowed by their top-notch pasta dishes as well as an unusual starter with a sauce I’d been looking to sample for a while.

Excellent choice of homemade cakes and desserts too.

I first ate at Amore in November 2017. Shopping in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, we decided to make a stop for a quick lunch. I had Gnocchi della Nonna with mushrooms, garlic, cream, wine and chives. If I remember correctly, other half (ID) had gnocchi with a spicy tomato sauce. Anyway, we enjoyed it and resolved to go back for a more leisurely, evening meal.

However, as I find myself writing so many times, it ended up being much longer than we’d anticipated before our next visit. That’s no reflection on what we ate, just that we’re lucky enough to have so many places to eat within reasonable travelling distance of our home in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

When we finally returned to Amore it was actually a last-minute decision. A pre-booked event we were going to had been cancelled, giving us a free Saturday night. Luckily, Amore were able to fit us in at relatively short notice.

Amore Italian Restaurant

Tucked away on Pepper Street in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Amore is easy to miss. Run by chef Francesco Alfano and manager Cassie Alfano, this informal Italian restaurant has been serving homemade pasta, cakes and more since 2013.

Francesco, from Calabria in the south of Italy (a short hop over from Sicily) has a wealth of cooking experience, including training under Michelin-starred chefs and ten years in Rome. He moved to England in 2009, eventually taking over the old Bellini’s site in Newcastle-Under-Lyme with wife Cassie.

STARTERS

At Amore you’ll find lots of familar Italian starters such as an antipasto platter for two (£13.95), bruschetta with tomato and mozzarella (£6.50) plus smaller pasta dishes (£8/£8.50).

But I was pretty sure what starter I was going to order even before we got there.

Manzo Tonnato

If you’re not familiar with it, Manzo Tonnato (£7.95) might sound a little odd.

Described as slices of beef (that’s the manzo bit) with tuna (tonna is Italian for tuna) and homemade mayonnaise, the combination might not jump out at you as an obvious one.

But tonnato is a classic Italian sauce, most famously used in Vitello Tonnato where it’s served over slices of veal. I’d been meaning to have a go at making the rich condiment, possibly as a dressing for chicken, but hadn’t got around to it so far.

However, after tasting it at Amore, I’ll soon be putting that to rights.The powerful sauce was exceptionally good.

Here, the tonnato was thicker than I expected; the consistency of thick mayonnaise rather than a pourable dressing. But I think that was all to the good as it meant the dish wasn’t swamped by it. The tuna had been smoothly combined with the homemade mayo. I loved the way the richness of those two were cut through with the balancing, acidic tang of capers.

Little dollops of the glossy tonnato sat on well-flavoured slices of just-warm beef, of which there were a generous number. Scattered among these were salady bits: lettuce, radicchio, cherry tomatoes and onion.

If you’re still not convinced this dish is for you, then consider chicken Caesar salad. If you like the marrying of that anchovy-based dressing with chicken, then I think you’ll love Manzo Tonnato.

Ravioli

For his starter, ID chose a dish which I’d been considering for a main course.

With our menus, we’d been given a little slip of paper with the day’s special on it. This was Ravioli di Brasato: £8 as a starter or £13 as a main. It turned out there was only one, starter-sized, portion left so ID snapped it up.

Brasato means braised, and in this case meltingly soft beef cheek was combined with vegetables in a wonderfully bold-flavoured stuffing for large ravioli.

The pasta had been rolled nice and thinly and the whole lot came enveloped in a generous amount of creamy, cheesy and tomatoey sauce.

Actually, I should say that because between us we had three dishes which included tomato-based sauces, you might think the above and following plates look a bit samey. But don’t worry. The dishes themselves were certainly not, each having their own distinct flavour and character.

Mains

Main courses at Amore are dominated by pasta (£11.95 – £13.00) and gnocchi (£12.95 – £13.95) plus a vegetarian risotto (£13.50). There’s also roast pork, spicy n’duja stuffed chicken and fish of the day, all served with some form of potato plus vegetable and sauce accompaniments (£14.95 – £15.95).

Gnocchi

I hadn’t been overly disappointed that ID had eaten the last portion of the beef cheek-stuffed pasta that I’d considered for my main. Because I’d also got my eye on Gnocchi al Sugo (£13.95).

Sugo means sauce and refers to the tomato sauce which is the base of so many familar Italian dishes. Here it was combined with braised shredded rib of beef. This was an absolute knock-out, cloaking perfectly cooked gnocchi dumplings.

Like the beef cheek, the shredded beef was wonderfully tender. Its meatiness embued the rich, thick tomato sauce which collected in the little clefts of the hand rolled gnocchi.

Coincidentally, my own Beef Short Rib Ragu was one of my favourite home cooked recipes of last year. I must admit it gave me some satisfaction to know that an experienced Italian chef was thinking on the same lines as a simple home cook like me.

The thing that was new to me was the aged ricotta sprinkled over the top. Previously only familiar with the soft, cottage cheese-like ricotta, this strained, pressed and salted version was a pleasant surprise. Still very mild and fresh, I thought it a good counterpoint to the rich sugo and a welcome change from the usual Parmesan.

Pasta Calabrese

ID chose Pasta Calabrese (£11.95) for his main. This meant he’d ended up having a course of pasta with tomato sauce, followed by another course of pasta with tomato sauce.

But, as I’ve mentioned, it’s testament to the quality of the cooking that both were very different on the palate. Whereas the tomato sauce served over his ravioli had been rich and creamy, this was hot and spicy.

Mind you, coming from Calabria, chef Francesco should make a good Pasta Calabrese, shouldn’t he? The region is known for its use of chilli peppers and is the home of the now widely popular n’duja spicy spreadable salami.

Besides minced pork and the hot tomato sauce, there was plenty of one of my favourite spices: fennel. This liquorice flavoured seed goes exceptionally well with pork (I still think about the fantastic fennel sausages we got from a market in Sicily) and it added to the robustness of this excellent dish.

Over the top was more of that aged ricotta.

SIDES

To accompany our main courses we shared a couple of side dishes.

A salad (£3) was fresh with the same mix of lettuce and red and white radicchio, onions and tomatoes found in my Manzo Tonnato, plus peppers, cucumber and a simple dressing.

Focaccia (£3) came in the form of four big hunks of the good and chewy bread. You can have it plain, but we went for the version bathed in garlicky oil.

DESSERTS

Amore has a big range of homemade cakes and desserts.

If you’re not sure which to pick, then you can take a look at those temptingly displayed on the counter.

Apple Cake

I chose Apple Cake (£5.95). The cake itself, dryish with a slight hint of spice, was studded with pieces of apple. But it was the accompaniments that really made this dessert for me.

There was a thick and creamy custard; although maybe in this context I should call it crema Inglese? Forkfuls of the cake dipped into this brought it alive. More chunks of tender apple, not too sweet, added welcome acidity and there was a fabulous, biscuity-flavoured ice cream too.

I loved all the different flavours and textures in this dessert, which was completed with a crunchy biscuit and a scattering of crumbs.

Cheesecake

ID chose the Amaretto & Orange Cheesecake (£5.95).

The flavours really shone through in this perfectly baked cheesecake. All too often, I find they can be overly sweet, loaded with flavours that mask any cheesyness. This one was perfect.

There was more of that custard too and another very good ice cream, vanilla this time. Fruity blobs of jam (damson, was it?) were a good contrast to all the creamyness.

While the nature of our starters and mains probably didn’t offer the kitchen much opportunity to show off their artistic skills, the desserts did. Both plates looked incredibly attractive and were full of interest. Importantly, they delivered flavourwise too.

We found the customer service informal and friendly. Admittedly we ate early so there weren’t many other diners until later, but we didn’t have to wait long for our food. When we ordered our desserts we told our server that we were in a bit of a rush, and they managed to bring them out in double-quick time.

A nice touch was that Francesco himself came out to take our order for starters and mains, giving diners the chance to ask any questions.

You couldn’t say, in regard to both the food and the decor, that Amore is cutting edge. In fact, in some ways it’s quite old fashioned; at the end of our meal there was a rose for me and the bill was passed to my male partner (we swapped).

But we don’t always want cutting edge, do we? This is solid Italian cooking and I couldn’t fault a thing I ate. More than that, I don’t think I’ve had such good pasta and meat dishes since visiting Bologna over fifteen years ago.

Not bad for a small, family-run restaurant hidden away in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Recommended.

ACCESSIBILITY

I’m not aware of a formal access statement for this venue and the following is my subjective impression only. Please note, however, that I’m not mobility impaired so you may wish to contact the venue directly to check whether it meets your own requirements.

There is a small ramp into the restaurant from the street. From the door to the dining area is a longish, but wide and gentle slope. Moderate space between tables. To access the area where the toilet is, you’ll need to go down one very deep step: there’s a small handrail on the wall to help you. Toilet cubicle is of a reasonable size.

If you’ve visited this venue and can provide more information useful for people with disabilities, please leave a comment below. If you’re the owner of this venue, I’d be happy to update this post with any further information about accessibility.

Filed Under: Eating Out