Piazza By Anthony

Biggeoff

Every Monday night that Anthony's Piazza is guinea pig night - no, you don't get served spatchcocked guinea pig in some Peruvian sauce, but whatever dishes of the chefs are developing for possible inclusion on later menus. The deal is that you hand over £20, get fed what they want to serve you for three courses and thereafter some feedback at the end. Four of us went along and were pleased to find that there were four different dishes for each of starter, main course and dessert. You are encouraged to swap around so that they get feedback from several people on each course and we did that, each eating around a quarter of each course. Comments on the food later.It's a great idea, and we suggested that it would be improved by having detailed menus on each table - the courses were simply presented to us with relatively little explanation by the wait staff. Giving us a menu would also be helpful when it came to writing feedback at the end of the evening - it was nearly 3 hours from sitting down to leaving and we had to wrack our brains a little bit to remember what we had earlier on and what components were in the dishes.Service was a little bit slow, especially considering that the place was barely a quarter full, yet the wait staff were friendly enough and amiable. Guinea pig wine is also offered at £10 a bottle-choice of one red or one white - and we opted for a bottle of perfectly drinkable but nothing remarkable sauvignon blanc. It was typical low end sauvignon blanc, slightly great fruity, slightly gooseberry, slight grassiness, acid to the palate with no length. But at £10 a bottle in a restaurant it was just about value for money.Onto the food. Starters consisted of mussels in a very well-defined Thai style source, heavy on the lemongrass and chilli; a potato-based tortilla, which was perfectly okay and well executed but nothing outstanding; our third starter was a ham hock terrine served with peas and a crispy pig's ear - this was a very nice terrine although it could have done with a little bit more of the lovely crispy pigs ear; finally, and for me the outstanding starter, some crispy and shredded duck confit served with dressed cold noodles - most of the noodles were soft and there was a topping of crispy noodles, which could have done to of been slightly more well-provided.On to the main courses. Firstly, chorizo and shredded chicken gnocchi with a creamy tomato sauce - this was extremely tasty, well-balanced and filling. The second main was a piece of panfried cod served over brown shrimps and poached fennel in a fish bisque - again this was excellent, the bisque in particular being rich and deep although the cod could have been served with crispy skin rather than the soft skin with which we were presented. Third was a piece of roast lamb served very simply, quite rare (as it should be) and with a swish of cauliflower purée - this was about the lamb and extremely good lamb it was too. Lastly, and for most of us the outstanding main course, a chicken and pistachio ballotin that got the balance between the crunchy pistachos and the soft flavoursome chicken just right. An interesting and unusual combination of chicken and nut. The gnocchi dish was probably more of a bistro or lunch â€“, whilst the others could easily grace an above average dinner table.Finally, not surprisingly, deserts. A re-imagined tiramisu served in a tiny little Kilner jar had a crumb base, a coffee flavoured middle layer that was more like crème caramel than the typical mascarpone based cream in a tiramisu and topped with what I think was a cherry and coffee jelly; very tasty although it could have done with a slightly larger portion and served with a teaspoon. Second was a banana parfait served with yoghurt ice cream (?) And a few chopped dried islands - competent and no complaints, but not outstanding. Thirdly, a concoction of nuts, mousse and a few other bits and pieces - the fact that I cannot remember it perhaps says all it needs to be said; it was perfectly okay but again, not outstanding. What was however outstanding was the fourth desert - a cream cheese parfait served with slightly sour yoghurt and glazed white figs. The little log of parfait had been rolled in crushed nuts and had a wonderfully slightly sour astringent edge, which on chatting to the chef I discovered was due to the inclusion of lemon juice. Quartered white figs glazed with caster sugar and a bit of honey and a slightly sour yoghurt adding another taste and texture. This was a truly outstanding dessert and again I learned from the chefs that this was the one desert they were actively considering putting on the main restaurant menu.All in all a really enjoyable experience, we each got a taste of four starters, four main courses and four deserts, all of which were perfectly okay and some of which were outstanding. Well worth 20 quid of anybody's money - go along and see what you get offered, the menu changes weekly.

Jonez82

The Corn Exchange is an amazing venue but the restaurant was pretty disappointing. Went there for my birthday with a large group... probably better for a quieter date-type evening as there wasn't much atmosphere. It was also freezing. Having had a good meal at Anthony's main restaurant - the food was a disappointing. It wasn't BAD but not great. Service was pretty average too.

Elshalimo

As a venue it's fantastic. Just looking up to the night sky through the roof lights is fab. But the dining experience doesn't match the wonderful surroundings. The food is good, it's all well presented and the wine is very good. However there are big problems with the service. I had to return my main because it was very cold, it returned a few minutes later having been nuked in some microwave type oven. So I had a meal that was nearly at the correct temperature with tinder-dry garnish. The meals did not all arrive at the same time. The water and wine arrived at a pace best described as glacial. The staff just didn't seem to know how to do the basics correctly. Quite sad really. The automatically added "optional service charge" was removed from the bill when requested. It was the best bit of service we had that night. Overall I left disappointed.

Bammers

Stunning location...staff were friendly. Fantastic food, delicious well thought out menu. Awesome wine selection. I will definitely go again & would heartily recommend to all.

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