Nestled on the corner of Irish Street in Dungannon is a new restaurant in an old, very recognisable building. The stunning property started life as a private residence in 1897, later housing a wine and spirit merchant before becoming three separate banks over the years.
The building was most recently transformed into The Bank House Hotel, but it has been vacant since it closed its doors in 2012.
Now, a little slice of Italy in the form of a new restaurant, Basilico, has moved into the building, and it looks incredible. The interiors are modern and fresh, and the main attraction for me was the open-plan kitchen, where you can see your freshly made pizza and pasta being crafted in front of your eyes.
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The current restaurant is quite small, but the staff told me that they are closing soon for a short period of time to expand into the next room of the building, which will allow for much more seating.
We booked our table on a Saturday lunchtime, but other diners walked in and were welcomed as well. With food as good as we experienced, I’d definitely book if you want to secure your spot.
The menu had all the Italian classics, including lots of pizza and pasta dishes, but after watching the chef create the dough while we sipped on our drinks, it was pizzas all around for us.
What we ordered
2x Pizza Special (Woodfired pizza with pancetta, fresh tomato, burrata and parmesan, topped with rocket
1x Spicy Calabrese Pizza (vodka sauce, nduja sausage, mozzarella and onions
1x Sweet Potato Fries
1x Garlic Chips
The Spicy Calabrese Pizza
What we liked
The pizzas arrived, and my mouth was watering. I wondered how I was going to eat all of this; it looked enormous! But we tucked in, and the dough was as light as air but packed with flavour. The burrata in the centre was just heavenly, and all the flavours just combined perfectly. I’m not even a massive fan of tomatoes, but these were a different level, the freshest I’ve ever tasted.
The sweet potato fries were also the perfect amount of crunch on the outside and fluffy and soft inside, I hate soggy sweet potato fries, so these were delicious.. The side dish portions were also huge, so two between three of us was more than enough alongside the pizza.
The enormous size portions of garlic chips and sweet potato fries
What we didn’t like/would change
It’s hard to really pick something that we didn’t like about this spot, if I had to I’d have liked the Garlic chips to have more of a garlic flavour/more butter, but that’s a personal preference.
How much it cost
Our bill came to £63.97, which I think is pretty reasonably priced for three adults. That included three soft drinks and a cappuccino.
Basilico hasn’t got a drinks licence as yet, but it’s bring your own, so that’s arguably even better, you simply pay a small corkage fee.
Overall thoughts and rating
This spot has a real sense of Italian authenticity about it, and I can’t wait to go back and try other dishes. The pasta I watched being served to other tables looked amazing. I was also told all their fresh ingredients come directly from Italy, which explains the incredible flavours.
For me, this is ⅘ stars. It’s a true hidden gem and well worth a wee trip to Dungannon if you’re a fan of proper Italian food.
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Dining and Cooking