Prezzo – Healthy New Year

Its a new year, a new you & the time when a lot of people want to get back to eating healthily and lose that Christmas/New Years spread. I know I do, I cannot believe how much I ate over the festive period and how yucky I feel now after it all. So when I was asked to treat some friends to a yummy meal at Prezzo to try out their new Healthy New Year menu: How could I decline? We also went on my 30th birthday too, so it was an extra special treat with a nice bottle of Prosecco! I took along a few food lovers with me, who had also indulged over Christmas, so it was a great excuse to get some valued opinions.

The new Healthy New Year menu is a limited edition menu that has some fantastic meals on it that are all under 600 calories and judging by my experience and the look of the food, I think you would agree – it doesn’t look like the healthy option. It looks extremely glamorous, very tasty and let me tell you, it was!

I think the Healthy New Year menu speaks for itself, the meals are all under 600 calories and it is a new range of food that is tasty. Please take my word for it, it is not a lie and here’s why:

For my meal I chose:

Cherry Tomato & Oregano Soup
Chicken Andria
Lemon Sorbet

Cherry Tomato & Oregano Soup

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of tomato soup at all. I was expecting the typical loud red of creamed soup with the inevitable dusting of dried parsley; however this particular version did surprise me… The presentation was certainly appetizing with its homemade appearance. Small chunks of tomatoes lay in the centre of the bowl, surrounded by the deep rich red liquid and the scattering of vibrant green fresh herbs. It was seasoned adequately and with its delicate taste, you wouldn’t associate it as the ‘healthy / reduced calorie’ option.

I would definitely consider ordering this again for a tasty lighter choice – especially after the Christmas fill of mince pies – it’s nice to still eat out and eat tasty food, without worrying about the waist-line.

Chicken Andria

The reading of this menu choice sounded lovely, fresh and certainly did not shout out ‘healthy option’ to me. The presentation was very clean and looked and felt like a traditional Italian meal. What was surprising was the flavour: the char-grilled chicken was a great full flavour to accompany the lighter mix of vegetables. I love aubergines and they, as all of the vege, was cooked perfectly. Usually, I shy away from the healthy menu option as I always feel cheated by the empty flavours – this is certainly not the case with this dish – it is satisfying on all levels. It didn’t look like a smaller portion which some restaurants do to make it more of a healthy option and it really filled me up. It was delicious. (I would choose this next time too!).

Lemon Sorbet

This is my friend Zoe’s favourite dessert ever! So it had a lot to live up to… It was presented in a modern ice-cold dish and did not disappoint what-so-ever on flavour, presentation, potion size or enjoyment!

The sorbet was completely smooth and slightly creamy – there were no little chunks of lemon rind (Zoe’s pet hate) or ice, showing that the preparation was carefully attended to. I couldn’t fault the sharpness to sweet ratio and the bold lemon flavour was as it should be.

Having something so full of flavour, knowing it’s the lighter choice, just takes it to another level – plus it’s a really good pallet cleanser for those hitting the town after dinner!

We felt welcomed as soon as we arrived. The restaurant was busy with varying size tables occupied, yet we still had very attentive service, service that perhaps you wouldn’t expect at a chain restaurant. This wasn’t just true of our table – I did notice the party behind us also receiving the same familiar service. Whenever we go to Prezzo with the little ones, we always get well looked after, they are always very patient with Noah and give him his menu and colouring pencils and never complain about the amount of food under the table or pencils flying around! Its a lovely place to take the children and a great place to enjoy a delicious meal with your friends too.

The restaurant itself looks relatively new with a modern décor and a lovely ambiance, which relaxes the evening. We had a fantastic night and I know it was my birthday, so we were going to have a great night anyway, the food, the service and the company made it so. Our waiter was knowledgeable of the menu and was able to recommend dishes when asked (a small touch that’s valued in my opinion). He was right too on all accounts, everything he recommended, was liked by all!

The food and wine menus were full with a variety of good choices – also showing the calorie content for the ‘lighter choices’ should you wish to choose your meal accordingly. Which was great for those of us that couldn’t eat the meals from the Healthy New Year menu. Knowing you can eat out on a diet without having to highlight this to the waiter, your dining companion(s) or the whole restaurant is great! A nice little touch from Prezzo, yet again.

So, I would dash on down to Prezzo and make the most out of this delicious new and limited Healthy New year menu. If you want to book a table at your local restaurant, you can do it on their website: http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/.

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