The restaurant has gone back to its roots with classic dishes
Inside Pazzo on Whiteladies Road(Image: Chloe Mary)
Pazzo hasn’t even celebrated its second birthday but the Whiteladies Road restaurant has just relaunched with a brand new menu and concept.
What started out as a continuation of the owners’ much-missed Pasta Loco around the corner, with an emphasis on creative pasta dishes, has now gone back to serving simple, honest Italian classics at fair prices.
The change was essentially a response to feedback from customers – they enjoyed the pasta dishes but wanted a broader choice.
Rather than ignore the feedback and stick to plan A – a risky business in the current climate when restaurants are closing at an alarming rate – the owners listened and acted swiftly by introducing the new cantina-style menu.
They’ve also launched an incredible lunch offer of two courses for £16 or three for £19 – if that doesn’t bring in lunchtime diners, nothing will.
The prices on the new cantina menu are kind to the wallet, too, and it would be easy to enjoy three generous courses for well under £30 before drinks.
Starters are priced from £6 to £10, main courses range from an eyebrow-raising £11 for the spaghetti aglio e olio con peperoncino to £32 for the sirloin steak, peppercorn sauce and fries.
A starter of Pazzo meatballs (£9) comprised a handful of bite-size beef and pork meatballs in a silky sauce.
The fritto misto di mare (£10) was a generous portion of hot, crisp-battered seafood and fish served with aioli and a wedge of lemon.
A whole lemon sole (£25) topped with agretti was precisely cooked, the moist white flesh falling away from the bones.
Best of the lot was a proper old-school Italian trattoria favourite of pork chop Milanese (£20), the juicy meat encased in a light and and crunchy breadcrumb coating with a few sage leaves and accompanied by rocket, a flurry of Parmesan and lemon.
Pork chop Milanese, one of the dishes from the new menu at Pazzo(Image: Bristol Live)
We shared a portion of greaseless and herby oregano fries (£5) and seriously good tenderstem broccoli, anchovy, garlic and chilli (£7) with quite a kick.
Other classic dishes on the menu include chicken Orvieto with fennel, potatoes, olives and sage; aubergine parmigiana and lasagna al forno.
To finish, a wobbly, delicately flavoured pistachio pannacotta (£7) was drizzled with good quality olive oil, and the tiramisu (£8) was as good as any I’ve had in Bristol – layers of light and boozy sponge, bitter chocolate and fluffy mascarpone.
The tiramisu at Pazzo on Whiteladies Road(Image: Bristol Live)
Another nice touch at Pazzo is the fact the walls are dotted with black and white photos of people from Bristol’s hospitality scene.
The restaurant business is a tough and competitive one but the owners of Pazzo see the people working in Bristol venues as friends rather than competitors.
At a time when the city’s restaurant scene feels as precarious as ever with the recent closure of Paco Tapas and rumours swirling of other places unlikely to survive the year, or even summer, it’s this tight-knit community spirit among Bristol’s independent restaurants that makes supporting the likes of Pazzo ever more important.
Pazzo, 89 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2NT. Tel: 0117 9733000.