Da Noi - Cheshire West and Chester

The most authentic Italian experience you can find outside of Italy. Da Noi is possibly the most delicious Italian food I have ever had in the UK since I moved here back in 2009. This is a place where the owners run the whole business and everything they do is with pride, passion and love just like high quality family run restaurants in Italy. Now, let's get to the food and drinks! I started off with a gigantic home made light and thin pasta raviolo filled with ricotta cheese and an egg yolk that explodes out when cut in half finished with a porcini mushrooms sauce and truffle oil. The aroma of the porcini and truffle mixed wonderfully with the creaminess of the yolk and the delicious pasta filling. Be aware, you can even order this as a MAIN!!! Together with my starter I ordered a white floral wine from Piemonte called Baratuciat... one word: divine. As a main, I ordered the venison cooked medium rare juicy and tender as it should be, together with a light almond sauce and dauphinoise. Once again, I followed the instructions and gone with the pairing choice, a fruity Barbaresco that enhanced all the flavours on the plate. Amazing. Of course, I had to try a dessert too, so I went for the super traditional Piemontese pudding called Bunet a sort of creme caramel hyped up with coca and amaretti biscuits. Again, hats off. My friend had the same dishes except for the main where he opted for the incredibly succulent and aromatic pheasant. At the end, while sipping an espresso in truly Italian fashion, we had the pleasure to spend some time with owners Valentina, who is the genius mastermind behind the food menu, and Fabrizio, who is incredibly charming and knowledgeable when choosing the wines. Grazie ragazzi, we are very jealous Chester got you! Fil Andrea Vegetarian options: One option in the starters and two options in the mains. It goes without saying these aren't after thoughts vegetarian options :

Delicious food. Even better super Tuscan. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Excellant food with an even better classic wine tasting, and the service was both light and very enjoyable. A definite recommendation Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: £100+ Recommendation for vegetarians: Highly recommend Vegetarian offerings: Vegetarian menu or section

Ate here for the summer tasting menu and thought it was fabulous. The ox cheek was outstanding! Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Very quiet inside and lacking atmosphere or ambience on a Friday night. The food was very much hit and miss. Some dishes had no seasoning whatsoever (Il Benvenuto, for example), and as such tasted bland the natural flavours of the food were infinitesimal, and it was terribly plain. Others were entirely oversalted and inedible (such as Il Canolicchi). We could not finish this dish. For the fifth course, two of our pasta servings arrived hot, yet the other two were ice cold. We all agreed that the Ox Cheek was delicious, but simultaneously couldn’t stand the deconstructed Tiramisu, within which the biscuit was incredibly, incredibly stale. The beef tartare was unseasoned and looked like ground beef. I’m sure it was premium quality but it looked like a burger patty on a plate. It was served with a very large dollop of mustard gelato which overwhelmed the flavour of the meat entirely. I could go on, but won’t as I think what I’ve said captures the gist. The wine was interesting. Two of us chose the classic wine flight and two chose the premium. The premium wines were all very dry and rich, excluding the dessert wine, and the classic wines leant more light, floral and sweet. There was no indication as to why each wine was chosen for each meal, as the flavours were so different when comparing the premium and classic flights. We all preferred the classic wine flight, which was surprising. Onto service again, hit and miss. The tall waitress/server with dark hair was simply fantastic, so knowledgeable and helpful. The other waitress/server with blonde hair, however, was the opposite. After some time she stopped explaining what the dishes were and what the wine was. We had to ask the other waitress what we were eating and drinking. It was odd that a few courses into the meal, the blonde waitress stopped telling us what was put before us. For £670, it was unfortunately underwhelming. To put the cherry on the cake, the chef left the restaurant in her home clothes with a big “goodbye!” whilst multiple tables were still seated. That was something we haven’t seen before. We then felt rushed to leave. In summary, some food was great, some terrible. Some wine great, some terrible. Some service great, some terrible. It truly was a mixed bag and for the price, we won’t be returning.