Every mouthful was enchanting
The Tiramisu at Pasco’s Italian restaurant in Hull(Image: Sofie Jackson for Hull Live)
You may have seen that the popular Pasco’s Italian has recently expanded into the city centre with a very modern looking restaurant in Old Town.
It’s been about 13 years since I last ate at Pasco’s in Cottingham, so for me personally a revisit has been long overdue. The new restaurant in Hull’s Market Place is nearly opposite the Minster.
It’s absolutely huge and has been split into two separate sections, the main restaurant and its ‘Grab & Go’ counter. ‘Grab & Go’ serves meal deals such as focaccia or pasta plus a drink and sweet treat.
I wasn’t there to try out the Grab & Go menu, but I thought it was a good idea and I could see it enticing office workers. I plunged straight into the dinner menu, but first ordered a glass of the house red wine, which was superb.
Before I arrived, I had a quick internet search of what the favourite pizza in Italy is and, to my surprise, it was plain old Margarita. My favourite pizza is Pear and Gorgonzola, but I’ve yet to see this in any restaurant outside northern Italy.
The new Pasco’s Italian restaurant in Market Place, Hull City Centre(Image: Sofie Jackson for Hull Live)
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I was deeply tempted by the specials menu which offered sea bass or a spinach and ricotta cannelloni. But I decided a Margarita was probably a good choice to test the dough and sauce.
My friend picked Frutti di Mare (seafood pizza) which is a traditional Italian favourite. We were waiting less than 15 minutes for the food which was much quicker than either of us expected.
Frutti di Mare pizza at Pasco’s Italian restaurant in Hull(Image: Sofie Jackson for Hull Live)
The pizzas arrived steaming hot and with a fragrant aroma of homemade dough. They were baked to perfection, neither underdone nor charred.
It was a nice dough with a thin and crispy crust. The homemade tomato sauce was delicious and didn’t have the metallic aftertaste you can find with shop-bought ones.
There was a light covering of mozzarella cheese so the predominate flavours were bread, tomato sauce and black pepper. It was nice, but not very interesting. I started to wish I’d gone with my earlier instinct of the cannelloni.
Margarita pizza at Pasco’s Italian restaurant in Hull(Image: Sofie Jackson for Hull Live)
My friend, incidentally part-Italian, was having a much better time with the Frutti di Mare pizza which he said was authentic and top quality. We finished up and ordered coffee and dessert: Tiramisu and Cannoli.
I’ve never had a Cannoli I liked, at other restaurants the pastry has been rock hard like a taco shell, but my friend insisted we give it a try. Pasco’s Cannoli was utterly gorgeous, soft pasty wrapped around fluffy Mascarpone cream and flavoured with candied orange.
Every mouthful was enchanting. The Tiramisu was also beautiful, somehow lighter-than-air while also being decadent and having just the right strength of coffee flavour. It was heavenly and the best homemade dessert I’ve had to date in Hull.
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Dining and Cooking