News from Nico

Valentines Menu

2009-01-27T12:17:00.002Z

Iced flute of sparkling rose.

Asparagus soup with crab meat
Sliced cured beef with rocket salad, parmesan flakes & Italian dressing.
Asparagus with fried egg, truffles topped with parmesan.
Baked chestnut mushrooms with a swiss fondue topped with parma ham.
Gnocchi with tuscan venison sausage & canelini beans in a red wine sauce.

Seabass with Oyster.
Suckling Pig with wild mushrooms.
Veal with saffron & red peppers sauce.
Sirloin Steak wrapped in smoked Italian pancetta with dolce latte cheese.
Tortelloni with goats cheese, sundried tomatoes, black olives & cherry tomatoes.

Home Made Tiramisu
Home Made Panna Cotta with raspberrys.

Coffee & Homemade truffles.

Complimentary Bottle of Wine.

Food Quality Certificate

2009-01-21T11:00:00.003Z

Nico is pleased to announce that the restaurant has been awarded a "Selected Restaurant" Certificate by Quality Food Online. This is for the standard of presentation and service provided at Da Nico.

For more details about this award see www.qualityfoodonline.com.

Private Chef & Culinary Lessons

2008-10-02T18:17:00.002+01:00

Hello all!

Just to keep everyone up to date on Tuesday 01.10.08 we launched Mia-Passione, this business is for any one who wants to hire me "Nico" as a personal chef, maybe it's a dinner party,a family celebration or just for a couple who wish to dine at home but have the trimmings of a restaurant, you may choose to cook yourself but would like to have some culinary lessons to be able to cook for your guests? Mia Passione is here for all that.

Please take alook at the site www.mia-passione.co.uk and let me know what you think.

Thanks
Nico

Credit Card Charges

2008-09-17T09:14:00.010+01:00

On September 12th Da Nico's restaurant after 16 yrs has decided to no longer accept credit cards - now there are a few reasons. Since the business opened in the early 90's we had voucher slips, some young people won't remember them, at that time the credit card charges were low and affordable and speaking with the bank manager was not a problem, unfortunately the new breed of bank manager's and banking system's has moved on creating a new way of banking like computerised, all this is suppost to make things easy! they say that the new credit card terminal's are their to avoid fraud - another invention to provide more profit for the banks, meanwhile charges for the new machine's have gone up along with transaction charges and guess who has picked up the charges, all the business owner's, now customers will say their is nothing wrong with that yes off course if only things were that easy, let me give you a typical example, over a weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday those are the day's when most of the business's are busy, banks are closed creating a 2 day profit already for the banks so all the takings sit nicely somewhere, your money you may think is transfered as soon as your card is swiped, that isn't the case, if you pay on a Friday it doesn't hit our accounts untill the following Wednesday if there is a bank holiday it won't hit until the Thursday/Friday.

Two years ago the merchant banking services introduced the chip and pin machine so the old terminal was to be replaced with new technology which cost more money to rent and on top of that business's still have to pay transaction charges from 50p minimum up to £5 on a visa/ master card depending on the total of the bill but despite all this new computerised banking system my money is still not dispatched any early as I would of expected in today's "COMPUTERISED BANKING".

Two years ago I had a interesting conversation with someone who works for a credit card merchant bank and you wouldn't believe what he told me, basically all the weekend transactions get used from the bank, they gain interest, they lend to other banks or they invest oversea's, just imagine the billions of pound that people spend only the weekend while the banks enjoy profit for 3 - 4 days, small business's have to wait for their money, now lets recap business's with cash flow problem's, no overdraft facility have serious problem's, now not only do we have to pay for renting the terminal's which cost between £15 - £20, we also have to pay for each transaction, these new terminals have minimized fraud on credit card's which is fantastic for them but the money still come's in 3 - 4 day's later, they want new technology but the money still come's late how clever is that! In the last 6 mths I carried a little survey out with costumer's, well believe it or not most of them said "WE THOUGHT THAT ONCE THE MONEY COMES OUT OF OUR ACCOUNT'S THEY GO STRAIGHT INTO YOURS", so if you think that debit and credit card payment's go out from your account and straight to the business account well think twice because they don't. So my final thought is I am sorry for all my costumers and I hope that people start to realise that there is only one winner on this matter, the banks and look at the state they are in, so if you are not paying them back in time guess who is the next victim of high charges, think about it and please let me know your thought's, I would be interested to hear them email me.

Thanks

Nico

italia v pseudo italians

2008-05-21T11:15:00.005+01:00

Here I am after sixteen years in the restaurant trade and twenty five in catering writing on a blog, if someone had said to me back then that this is what I would be doing in the future I would of told them where to go in Italian!

Looking back when people used to go out dining and restaurants were busy because of word of mouth, this is now being replaced by people who have no time, so they find their new place on the web which is fantastic.

Before talking about planet franchise I want to say thank you to all my former ITALIAN chefs Raffaele, Davide, Enzo, Gigi and Mario, with these professional boys we started a new way of cooking in 1991 and put this town on the map for authentic regional Italian cuisine giving the opportunity to taste different dishes and new menu's, looking back can you imagine serving sun dried tomato rocket salad, roasted fennel risotto with pumpkin and many more, for some customer's it was a new experience, I remember their was no supermarket beside's sainsbury's and you were lucky to find some Italian produce, my disappointment goes to those who had the chance to taste some authentic dishes but for some reason maybe my location saying that warrington is not exactly in the chiantishire perhaps some people were just not prepared to experience new food's, or maybe we were to ahead for that type of cuisine, in fact I remember very little choice in restaurants but hundreds of takeaways. I knew one day this type of company would come to Warrington so in 2004 yes in 2004 they open introducing new dishes sun dry tomato rocket salad, roasted fennel and risotto with pumpkin, exactly fifteen years later served in large plate's, no table cloth small portions and charging a fortune £ 4.50 for a glass of wine! never mind the financial crunch seems to me that these guys have discovered the new eating fashion, I go along with Gordon Ramsey his view is to keep food nice and simple, absolutely agree .

I would like to ask those people who have been to Italy, France or even Spain if they have seen any chain restaurant? be side's the one on the motorways and MC Donald's, the answer is NO and why aren't there any? because Italian, French and the rest of Mediterranean are not prepared to be ripped off, they like to know who owns the restaurant and there approach to food is completely different, before talking about Italian or Mediterranean franchise business's in UK I would like to spend a word for the biggest chain MC DONALD'S, a few years ago in a small town in Puglia a little food and bakery shop forced this big chain to closed down, the young people in the town found the regional food more attractive and healthy of course, this fast food company as the courage to call them selves 'restaurants' on their television adverts, these in my world are NOT RESTAURANTS just bad food house's.

Back to my topic, I think their is a large quantity of people that are not interested if the actual food has been cooked by Italian chefs as long as it's trendy it doesn't matter, the truth is that in most of these franchise's their isn't a shadow of a Italian chef and probably they are not even interested to employ one beside's why would a professional chef, well paid in Italy want to leave Lake Garda ,Tuscany or Venice to work for these guys who pay peanuts and get monkeys as they say in England, in fact most of the staff now are from eastern Europe come with little professionality, only interested in the money with lack of catering experience but customer's still paying high price's for poor service unfortunately people keep going back, I still don't understand, maybe someone can blog me on this one!

There are more fake Italian restaurant's in the UK then anywhere else, how would you feel if you walk in to a Chinese and a tanned Italian comes to your table, do you expect him to speak Cantonese, obviously not, so this is exactly my point most people go to these places probably with out even thinking about Italy, then complain because it's not authentic or not to the standard, not long ago in the press I read that Italian food is now the most popular cuisine in UK but only a fraction of British people have actually been there to taste the authenticity, so that means a lot of people never experience the Italian life style and food there!

A few years ago a good friend of mine took his family in to a Chain restaurant in knutsford Cheshire, as they walked into the restaurant with a lady in a wheel chair, a member of their staff very abruptly said "where are we going to put her now"! How embarrassing, this kind of attitude reflects on the Italian trade mark leaving a bad reputation and negative feedback on real Italian's, everyone knows how hospitable we are. and caring about this business?

There is nothing we can do as authentic Italians, the market want this type of establishment putting more press ion on small restaurant's run by independent owner's, unfortunately the UK has adopted the American strategy, fast food and franchise, quick turn over little time for the customers, its a disaster and a defeat in a way.

My last thought is for all the remaining few Italian owner's, don't let the romance go, how we say it in Italy "chi la dura la vince DA NICO RISTORANTE ".

Nico on BBC Mastermind

2008-05-08T19:28:00.003+01:00

Nico and his restaurant appeared in the final of the BBC quiz show Mastermind. During the programme, which was shown on Easter Monday on BBC2, Nico is seen playing host to Mastermind finalist Derek Moody, from Warrington, and serving him a meal.

The restaurant was selected by BBC researchers to provide an authentic Italian backdrop for filming Mr. Moody while he talks about his interest in The Godfather movies.

If the video above doesn't work, then see Nico on You Tube

More details can also be found in this article in the Warrington Guardian.

Our Menu

2008-05-07T19:51:00.018+01:00

Please note that our menu is being changed this week. Nico is working on a new "trattoria-style" menu concentrating on simple traditional, and affordable, pizza and pasta dishes. Fresh meat and fish will of course still be available from the specials menu.

Seasonal dishes and other specials are updated regularly on the chalk board by the door in the restaurant. For the latest information either call us on 01925 240258 or check our blog News from Nico.

Antipasti

Peperoni Farciti £5.95

Traditional Sicilian dish, oven baked with red peppers stuffed with rice, sundried tomatoes, anchovies & mozzarella.

Parmiggiana £6.15

Famous dish from Romagna Region layers of fried aubergine topped in tomato sauce, fresh herbs, parmesan cheese & mozzarella.

Funghi Alla Parigina £5.95

Chestnut mushrooms trifolati style with pancetta, garlic in a creamy sauce served in a warm brioche.

Antipasto Fantasia £8.50

Selection of Italian cured meat served with vegetables in olive oil & mozzarella. (serves 2 people)

Asparagi Alla Milanese £6.50

Poached Asparagus served in a butter and truffle sauce, topped with a fried egg & parmesan cheese.

Pepata Di Cozze £6.25

Scottish mussels served in a black pepper, parsley, garlic and white wine sauce with crostone bread.

Fegatini Di pollo £5.25

Pan fried chicken livers cooked in shallotswith a white wine sauce & served with a crispy sage & tagliatelle pasta.

Secondi

Filetto Al Procini £19.95

Grilled Fillet Steak served with Italian Ceps served in a reduction of beef stock, garlic & rosemary.

Filetto Del Marchese £19.50

Grilled Fillet Steak served with a reduction of sweet sicilian wine, truffle sauce and a goose pate.

Filetto Ai Sapori Italiani £18.50

Grilled Fillet Steak served in a bed of rocket salad, parmesan flakes & truffle olive oil drizzle.

Bisteeca Misto Pepe £15.95

Sirloin Steak grilled, cooked in a creamy pink & green peppercorn sauce with chestnut mushrooms.

Pollo Locanda Mamma £12.95

Grilled breast of chicken wrapped with a pancetta bacon, served in dolce latte, cheese & tarragon.

Vitello Alla Romana £15.95

Veal scallops pan fried & topped wih parma ham. cooked in white wine sage and a demy glace sauce.

Vitello Alla Zafferano £14.95

Veal scallops flambeed in white wine, pan fried saffron sauce reduction & grilled red peppers & risotto alla milanese.

Vitello Agli Asparagi £14.50

Pan fried veal scallops covered in white wine, served in a creamy asparagus sauce with articoke leaves.

(Please note that all our main courses are served with vegetables and potatoes included in the price.)

Insalate

Caprese £5.25

Vine tomatoes & basil, along with a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic.

Mediterranea £4.20

Green salad, tuna, anchovies, olives, tomatoes, onions & mushrooms.

Rucola E Parmiggiano £3.95

Rocket salad with parmesan flakes & balsamic reduction.

Dal Forno

Pane E Olive £3.95

Selection of Italian Olives served with ciabatta bread.

Bruschetta Tradizionale £2.50

Baked ciabatta bread with vine tomatoes, oregano, basil & garlic (per person)

Focaccie

Focaccia with garlic, olive oil & oregano £3.20

Focaccia with onion, rock salt, rosemary & olive oil. £3.40

Focaccia with garlic, olive oil, raw tomato & oregano £3.95

Focaccia with garlic, olive oil, fresh mozzarella & oregano £4.50

Focaccia with olive oil, garlic, raw tomato, basil & mozzarella £5.95

Le Pasta

Mezzelune Donna Pina £9.15

My Mum's best receipe! Half Moon shaped pasta filled with ricotta cheese & spinach, served with a creamy asparagus sauce.

Tortelli Buon Gustaio £8.75

Fresh Half Moon pasta filled with goats cheese, sun blushed tomatoes & olives, served in a delicate tomato sauce.

Fagottini Villa D'este £8.95

Fresh Pasta filled with wild smoked salmon & served in a fish fumetto butter & sage sauce.

Crespelle Alla Lucana £9.15

Home made pancakes filled with wild mushroom, served with a light creamy cheese sauce.

Fettuccine Alla Campagnola £7.25

Spinach & Egg ribbon pasta served with pork guanciale, basil,chilli, red onion & fresh tomato sauce.

Linguine Alla Pescatora £9.25

Linguine served with mussels, tiger prawns,fresh asparagus & saffron, white wine, garlic & fumetto sauce.

Penne Alla Paesana £8.15

Penne served with grilled chicken breas, egg yolk, pancetta pecorino cheese sauce.

Strozza Preti Belin £8.95

Strangle Priest style pasta served in a cherry tomato sauce, black olives, fresh basil, garlic cloves and queen scallops.

Gnocchi Primavera £8.75

Fresh Potato Pasta served with greenland pine nuts, prawns and rocket salad & creamy saffron sauce.

Le Pizze

Capricciosa £7.95

Fresh tomato mozzarella,black olives, mushrooms, articokes and ham.

Rustica £8.50

Mozzarella, parma ham topped with rocket salad & parmesan flakes.

Regina £6.95

Fresh tomato, mozzarella, fillet of anchovies, oregano & basil.

Quattro Formaggi £7.95

Selection of the four best italian cheeses.

Lucana £7.50

Fresh tomato mozzarella, peppers and spicy sausage - from my region!

Vegetariana £7.10

Fresh tomato, mozzarella and a selection of vegetables.

Please note all our pizzas are served with 100% fresh mozzarella.

Due to an increase in bank and credit card merchant services we are now only accepting cash

or cheque (with a valid bank card).

Return to our main website or look on our blog for the latest specials and read the News from Nico.

Welcome to News from Nico

2008-05-06T19:00:00.001+01:00

Welcome to my new blog. This is where I will be posting all the latest news about my restaurant including changes to the menu and new special dishes.

I will also be posting advice and opinions about the restaurant trade and how customers can be sure that they are getting the real thing when they visit an Italian restaurant.

If you have any questions or comments that you would like to make, please leave a comment on the blog or email me.