News from Nico

Nico is Moving

2010-02-24T17:00:00.001Z

Nico is moving

After more than eighteen years on Lovely Lane in Warrington, Nico is now moving to a new venture in Stockton Heath.

Nico@Jasper's

Nico will be bringing his well known passion for food and authentic Italian cuisine to Jasper's Café in Stockton Heath. In the evenings Jasper's will be transformed into Nico's Southern Italian Restaurant. For more details see his new website for Nico@Jasper's.

Thank You

Nico would like to thank all his loyal customers who have supported him over the years at Lovely Lane and he hopes that he will see you again soon at his new restaurant.

New Website

For full details of Nico's new Southern Italian Restaurant in Stockton Heath, please visit his new website www.nicojaspers.co.uk.

Valentines Day Menu. 14.02.10

2010-02-02T15:21:00.011Z

Da Nico's
Valentines Menus

Crema di Asparagi
Creamy Asparagus Soup with King Prawns

Funghi Romana
Field Wild Mushrooms in white wine & garlic with Pancetta, served on a warm croissant

Pappardelle Contadina
Fresh Egg ribbon pasta, served with spicy sausage in a red wine & pork juice

Capesante Milanese
King Scalops flambed in sambuca & served in a saffron risotto & fish stock

***

Branzino alla Ostriche
Pan Fried Seabass served in a oyster & shallot sauce with white wine & fish stock

Agnello al Tartufo
Welsh Rack of Lamb, served in a truffle & rosemary sauce

Pollo alla Parmiggiana
Breast of Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham and served in a dolcelatte & chicken stock

Bistecca Pepata
21 days mature sirloin steak served in a green peppercorn sauce with caramelised red onion & beef stock

Tortelloni al Porcini
Fresh Homemade Pasta filled with wild mushrooms & served in a garlic creamy sauce & parmesan cheese

***

Nico's Homemade Tiramisu

Homemade Blueberry Cheesecake

Lemon Sorbet with Vodka

***

Coffee

£26.00 per person

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.

Opening Times

2008-05-31T23:53:00.004+01:00

Please note that Nico is open from 5.30pm on a Sunday evening.

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.