A week later, I was off on the plane again. This time, I was traveling alone, and it felt sort of weird. At least I was traveling to Manchester where people spoke English, so I wasn’t as worried about getting lost. My plane had delayed, so by the time I got into the city, it was already getting dark. I took a bus from the airport into the city and it took roughly an hour. Luckily, N somehow magically hopped on the same bus I was on, or else I’d probably have some trouble meeting up with them. After meeting up with S, they took me to Rosso Restaurant and Bar.

The inside is really decked out and I would categorize it as fine-dining. I felt sort of shabby in my backpack and jeans, but they still let us in. It’s an Italian restaurant, and also offers a bar.

They even had a wall full of pictures of celebrities who have dined here.

Garlic Bread – Half Tomato, Half Cheese

The waiter suggested the Garlic Bread for us to share and start. When it came, we were sort of confused. Not exactly the garlic bread we were imagining. It was more like a pizza. You can choose tomato sauce or cheese, or half of each, which the latter we chose. The bread was really fluffy and surprisingly was really good. It was a bit plain though since it was only lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. To be honest, I couldn’t really taste any garlic taste to it. It tasted more like a pizza dough with cheese and tomato toppings.

Risotto Al Funghi Selvatici – Arborio rice cooked with mixed wild mushrooms and fresh cream, finished with a drizzle of truffle oil

For our mains, we all went for pasta. However, their pastas come in two sizes. You can get it as a antipasti or the regular entree size. The waiter said that assuming we didn’t eat too much, the starter size would be enough to get us filled. The plates were definitely a starter size, but by the end of the meal, I was pretty full. I guess if you order an appetizer like bread, you’ll get filled up already. I chose the Risotto al Funghi Selvatici. The rice was cooked perfectly so it was al dente and the mix of mushrooms with cream was really good. It was topped with some Parmesan cheese. The menu says there’s truffle oil, but I didn’t really taste it. It must’ve been a small drizzle!

Ravioli Con Melanzane – Fresh pasta parcels filled with aubergine, buffalo ricotta and mozzarella, cooked with cherry tomato and basil sauce

N got the Ravioli con Melanzane. There were only 4 or 5 raviolis, but because they were filled with cheese, she said she was quite full by the end. I tried a bit of it, and it was quite good! The sauce really made it tasty, and the pasta was really fresh.

Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola E Noci – Potato gnocchi with blue cheese and walnuts

S got the Gnocchi al Gorgonzola e Noci. The gnocchi were made well so it wasn’t a bunch of sticky flour. I hate it when gnocchi just tastes like you’re eating dough. I did find the Gorgonzola to be a little powerful, since it’s a blue cheese. However, that’s just because I’m not a fan of blue cheese.

Overall, Rosso was a decent Italian restaurant. I think it would be a great place to have celebrations at, such as birthdays or holidays. The atmosphere is classy so it’s definitely not a casual dining restaurant. Prices were a little expensive, but I guess it would be reasonable when you take into account the whole ambiance. Also, everything in the UK is just expensive in general compared to Spain. The soaring pounds really make everything more expensive than it appears! Lastly, some of the waiters here were extremely friendly, but there was this one waitress who we found really rude. She would continually ask if we were done with our food and when we told her we’re still working on it, she would give us some attitude. Other than her, the other staff gave us good service. Also, a reminder that in the UK, you need to tip!