Max Italia is on Lee Lane in Horwich. It's the source of some confusion at times as it was once an…read moreItalian restaurant called Max Max. Since Max Max closed, it reopened as the short lived Siam Balcony, before closing and reopening as the current Italian restaurant with the familiarly named Max Italia, seemingly wanting to hark back to the days of Max Max, and informing the locals of what they're about.
It took me a while to get to Max Italia, as I live very nearby it, but assumed it was the same people behind Max Max, so never really gave it much thought. However on one night we fancied giving it a try, and so called the number to make a booking. Oddly the phone was simply answered with "hello?", leading me to ask "uh... is that Max Italia?" "yes" ... awkward. But still, we got a table booked, and went along.
When we arrived we realised how busy it was! We were greeted, and seated in a waiting area by the bar with a menu to look at whilst our table was prepared. It only took a couple of minutes before we were seated.
The decor is modern but simple, with clever tricks like stone effect printed wallpaper for texture (I thought it was real stone at first) and large mirrors on one wall to give the space a feeling of more room. Dishes are written across the top of the wall, a la Frankie & Benny's. The tables are simple white linen with red square accent cloths. Classic Italian restaurant with a slight modernisation. No Chianti bottles with melted candles here.. The only thing I thought spoilt the look a bit was plastic fake vines occasionally strewn around lampshades and around windows. It really doesn't need them. The bar area is white tiles, glass blocks, and blue lighting, giving a slight feeling of a swimming baths, but still functional and modern.
The menu has some great classic offerings without going too over the top. It also has several special offers to tempt people into giving them a try. On the night we were visiting, there were two long lines of tables celebrating a retirement, so it was loud but not terrible. We were worried about the time for food to arrive, but they were seemingly finishing their main course as we settled in, so that wouldn't be too much of an issue.
To start we ordered plain garlic bread topped with oregano and Fungo Al Pepe, which is a large mushroom topped with black pudding and blue cheese in a creamy pepper sauce.
The garlic bread, although a nice texture, was quite subtle in terms of garlic. It was however still pleasant, and worked very well dunked in the sauce that came with the Fungo Al Pepe, which in itself seems a little bit Italy-via-Lancashire. I'm not sure if it's a classic dish you'd find in bistros in Firenze, but despite the appearance, it was bubbling when it arrived, and was in itself very tasty and enjoyable.
For our mains we decided on Penne Gratinate, which is penne pasta with onions, mushrooms and peas, in a creamy sauce, topped with cheese and cooked in the oven, and a classic spaghetti carbonara.
These too arrived in pretty good time from the open-fronted kitchen at one end of the restaurant.
Suffice to say, both of these dishes were superb. Fresh, creamy and tasty, they were satisfying right down to the last forkful, and then to the last spoonful as we finished every last bit! The penne gratinate was satisfying and creamy, with wonderful flavours, and the carbonara was fresh and nicely presented.
At this point we could see that the large tables with the retirement party were eyeing up the dessert menus, so we got our order in quickly. We chose a simple vanilla ice cream, and the chocolate profiteroles. Again, both arrived in good time. The ice cream was good, topped in a chocolate sauce, which although nice, I didn't ask for (I'm not usually a fan of chocolate sauce), and the profiteroles were delicious and very chocolatey!
Service was friendly but very busy (presumably due to that retirement party), servers were hard to get hold of at times, especially when we were trying to get the bill, but those who we did speak to and were served by were friendly and polite. As we had trouble getting the bill, we weren't sure whether we would be paying at the table with a card machine, or if it best to head up to the bar. We did the latter to be safe.
We really enjoyed our meals, and although busy, the experience itself was very pleasant. We were flabbergasted that for our entire meal of starters, main courses, desserts and drinks, the bill came to only just over £31! We at first thought perhaps we hadn't been charged for our desserts, but we were told by the friendly barman that it was part of a mid-week offer. Well that's just dandy!
We had a great meal at a local independent restaurant within walking distance, and it didn't even disturb the bank, let alone break it. We recommend it if you're in the Horwich area, and definitely to any locals unsure of whether to give it a try.
