Classical song and Italian food constantly seem to go collectively. Don’t ask me why – maybe massive opera singers warbling approximately love subliminally make one crave mounds of pasta.
So when a set of 12 people determined to move for a meal before a classical concert in Ulverston a few weeks in the past, Italian needed to be the cuisine. We met at Betulla’s in Queen Street at 5 pm – all hoping for a symphony of flavor sensations and a concerto of communique. First, the environment. Bella’s has a first-rate atmosphere, which by some means does certainly manage to provide off those passionate Italian vibes. The restaurant is buzzy and busy, with smart decor and incredible lighting fixtures. It also has an, in reality, inviting curb attraction, which many restaurants, despite presenting terrific meals and carriers, frequently do not.
We labored our manner thru a fair selection of the menu, with starters starting from baked Camembert (£eight for 2), to garlic mushrooms (£five.50), to king prawns in garlic (£6), to antipasti forums laden with meat, cheese, olives, hummus, prawns and bread (£7). I become on the garlic mushrooms, which came in a deep forged iron pot and protected in rocket and fresh Parmesan cheese. Digging into the creamy mushrooms became a pleasure – and there were masses of crusty ciabatta to mop up the sauce. Yummy.
My husband Gordon had long gone for the Misto board, which for £7 changed into outstanding value. Beautiful cured meats, clean olives and hummus, cheese, prawns, olives – you name it, there has been plenty of it. Superb. Bottles of purple and white wine and jugs of water kept us all nicely provided at the liquid the front, as we awaited our mains and caught up on every different’s current doings. By 6 pm, the restaurant becomes bustling, and the convivial ecosystem changed into palpable.
Our mains duly arrived – once more, and not using a gap in the carrier, and none of that awkward “Do begin… Don’t watch for me/permit your meals to cross cold” nonsense which often occurs while a massive group is consuming out collectively. Gordon (and others) had seafood linguine for £14, which become what I also anticipated to have. But a bowl of spicy meatballs in a Napoli sauce becomes delivered as a substitute. I turned into dissatisfied at the seafood linguine no-display. However, firstly, this becomes no fault of the eating place: the mistake on order turned entirely right down to the member of our institution who had located the booking. Even though the mistake become ours, the personnel presented to update the dish for me – which earns them a big tick for their tremendous and pleasant mindset. Naturally, I declined this kind of offer because the polpette in front of me regarded me so top. And, it truly changed into first-rate certainly. So right, that I would actually order it again; and so proper that I did not remotely feel green with envy on the others’ overjoyed oohs and aahs over their adorable seafood linguine.
Others loved their personal dishes, including a creamy pasta carbonara and a delicious pesto penne. Not a single criticism from 12 human beings (none people shrinking violets) is good for any busy eating place. No room for puddings as the live performance kick-off become beckoning, but we had been all so filled with pasta and so on that, we likely couldn’t have outfitted one in any way. With many dishes within the glad hour offer, the final bill became very reasonable (no longer least because we had had an honest few bottles of wine). And we left feeling that Betulla’s were a tremendous desire of venue for this pre-concert get-collectively. A very harmonious evening for anyone – in every sense of the word. Betula continues to hit the excessive notes.
- Food five
- Service five
- Value 5
- Atmosphere 5
- Pros
- Bags of Italian charm
- Great meals
- Cons
- It gets very busy early, so that stroll-ins can be disappointed.
