Some dishes were disappointing. But ultimately, I was somewhat won over
George is a trainee reporter at Nottinghamshire Live, a role he’s had since March 2025. He previously spent three months at the company in summer 2024 as an Editorial Intern, before working at local news channel Notts TV for eight months on their pathway scheme.
He covers general news across the city, with his main areas of interest and expertise spanning local politics, arts and culture, charities and reporting on underrepresented communities. Outside of work, you can often find him at a gig.
We had a wide array of dishes at Prezzo – they were a real mixed bag(Image: Nottingham Post/George Palmer-Soady)
I’ll be honest – I often overlook Italian-inspired chain restaurants when choosing where to eat out in Nottingham.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t enjoy the flavours of tiramisus and pasta dishes, or think that the often intimate and cosy settings make for a great atmosphere.
But I do, perhaps unfairly, find myself thinking many of the popular Italian restaurants are one of the same and struggling to distinguish between them – whether it be Zizzi, Pizza Express or Bella Italia.
Until very recently, I’d also include Prezzo on that list.
But after visiting the Italian-inspired chain’s Nottingham branch on Forman Street, following a recent revamp, I’ve somewhat changed my mind.
Of course, there’s still all the usual classics – a wide range of thick-dough pizzas so wide and stretchy they come just slightly over the plate, and classic pasta dish after pasta dish occupying hefty space on the menu.
But glance a bit further down the list, and you’ll be surprised.
Chicken Marsala and Beef and Mash are among the newer items on the menu that’ll be sure to make a few people stop in their tracks.
On my visit on Tuesday, September 16, I find myself somewhat overwhelmed by the vast choice and settle on a few starters.
There’s a few of us here, and we’ve worked up quite the appetite after flicking through the menu for quite a while, so we go for some garlic bread with mozzarella (£7.75), oven-baked king prawns (£9.25), a plate of creamy mushrooms (£8.75), and some Italian meatballs (£8.95).
The meatballs and king prawns come with a nice warm piece of focaccia bread which are great for soaking up the residue sauce, whilst the mushrooms and garlic bread makes for a nice calm before what will be, admittedly, a very meaty storm.
The starters all duly impressed and, as we soon discovered, they would end up being the highlight of the meal.
After a cheeky Aperol Spritz (or two!) the main dishes arrive.
I’ve gone for the Tuscan Sausage and Broccoli pizza (£17.50), which comes with a white base.
In the name of good journalistic practice – and not because we were starving – myself and a colleague also split the Chicken Milanese Burger (£14.25).
The other members of our party also opt for a pizza each, whilst we share fries (£4.95) and a plate of tender stem broccoli (£4.95) for sides.
In all honesty, the main dishes somewhat disappointed.
The restaurant on Forman Street has gone through a recent revamp(Image: Submitted)
The pizzas all tasted fairly bang-average, as if little care or thought was put into them, whilst the burger was nothing special and tasted somewhat dry.
In fact, one of my colleagues noted it didn’t taste much different to a Chicken Mayo burger from McDonald’s – only nine times the price, and that’s without chips.
The sides were fine, but, you can’t really go wrong with a few crispy fries and a plate of broccoli.
It’s a shame, because before our visit, we were promised exciting and wacky new flavours.
Yet to see an Italian-inspired staple chain like Prezzo struggle to get even pizzas right makes one wonder if they should focus more on getting the classics bang-on before they get ahead of themselves and start expanding to items like Chicken Masala and Beef and Mash.
Don’t get me wrong, we finished all the food and it wasn’t bad by any means – it just made me wonder if my previous opinion of chain restaurants was fair.
Still, one more Aperol Spritz and it was time for dessert, a chance for Prezzo to redeem itself.
And redeem itself it did indeed.
We all went for something different, whether it be a hot chocolate fudge cake, a bowl of ice cream, or a plate of tiramisu.
I went for the latter (£7.95), and it delivered with strong coffee and mascarpone flavours coming through in every bite.
Ultimately, Prezzo changed my perception on many of the Italian-inspired chains that can be found across in Nottingham.
Of course, the mains were somewhat of a let down, and that was disappointing – but there were plenty of interesting and unique flavours to be found here past the obvious.
I’ll be coming back and perhaps refining my choice of mains as there’s definitely a lot of potential.
It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely worth a try, unless you’re after a chicken burger.
Maybe stick to McDonald’s for that one…
Dining and Cooking