As we entered the walkway to the restaurant it was inevitable that our taste buds became on high alert as the infamous smell, so representative of any Italian Restaurant wafted through towards us.

We were initially met at the restaurant reception by a friendly young man who showed us to our table and explained who our waitress was to be for the evening, tonight it was the lovely and smiley Beth.  Quite a personal touch I thought, it’s always good to know who you are dealing with and to have the same person serving you throughout your evening. 

The venue was extremely busy, in fact I don’t remember there being a spare seat in the house – word had got around obviously about this new and exciting venture that had been long awaited.  This all accounted for a great atmosphere.

Our menu’s were brought to us and we were asked what our chosen drinks were to be.  There was an excellent selection of wines including, of course Italian to compliment the menu itself.  We plumped for a Pinot Grigio which was very fruity, refreshing and clean on the palette.

The menu was good for choice with many Italian Classics but also some items with a twist on the norm.

We started with garlic bread with Mozzarella and rosemary, beautifully cooked and light and extremely tasty. We had this as a pre starter.

Starters were Caprese salad with an abundance of fresh, juicy tomatoes, Calamari which was served in an earthenware dish and of a decent size proportion along with a garlic mayonnaise. We also ordered the special starter of rustic bread with caramelised onions and melted Mozzarella which went down a treat and my all time favourite dish of King prawns, well cooked and served on skewers with a chilli dressing.

Main courses were 2 pizzas, one which was personally created to incorporate favourite ingredients (and of which nothing was too much trouble), a fillet steak cooked to perfection and chicken with Mozzarella and Parma ham.  The side dishes of chunky chips which came with skin on which we loved, were a fabulous accompaniment as were the Meditteranean vegetables with Pesto which had a lovely char grilled flavour.

By this point dessert was a struggle as we were pretty much fuelled to the hilt but two of us managed to share a cheese platter which contained 3 unusual cheeses and rustic bread plus a pot of caramelised onion chutney.

The staff were attentive and pleasant throughout the evening and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their new venture.  For a first night the service could not be faulted and we had a very enjoyable evening.

Vinny and Vito is a fabulous alternative to have in such a hotel where most have a middle of the road and standard format menu.  To have an Italian restaurant is such a refreshing change and I’m sure will be met with excellent feedback from hotel guests of all ages.

For more information about the Village Hotel, Bury and it’s facilities including Vinny and Vito please click here