Palmiro

I ate there recently and had a truly awful experience. It was a busy weekend night with one member of staff attending to a busy restaurant. My partner and I ordered a lamb stew dish that consisted of a huge plate of boiled potatoes topped with a piece of lamb fat and half a pound of cheese - a complaint to the waitress brought another plate of food that was no better. The red wine we ordered was corked, and the poor waitress looked very upset when we complained - i hate to say this but she also looked terrible - wearing dirty clothes and unwashed hair. She also became very defensive when we asked for money off our bill and was clearly very stressed and inexperienced.

I'm all for a casual ambience but on this occasion Palmiro looked shabby and unprofessional. What makes this sad is that I have had a number of really fabulous meals there over the years and have always loved it - it has been a real treat and somewhere I have visited frequently with friends and family.

I hope that Palmiro can sort itself out because it is clear that in the past it has got it so right - which makes it all the more shocking when it gets it so wrong!

Having lived in the local area for a number of years, Palmiro has been a lovely treat on many occasions. The wine list is great and the atmosphere and staff have always been a delight - which makes my recent experience all the more sad.
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Saturday, May 03, 2008

We got married there on account of the excellent food, great wine list, great service, and modern and cool bar. Stefano did a great job and we were thrilled with everything - as were all out guests. It's a truly excellent venue and Stefano couldn't have been more hellpful.
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Alex
Saturday, February 02, 2008

There are so many boring fake-italian resturants in Manchetser - with laminate floors, ikea furniture, magnolia walls, big mirrors, and with an extensive list of over priced boring "pasta in sauce" dishes. Thank godness for Palmiro. You sense that the manager and the staff genuinely care about the food and wine, and want the restaurant to be great because of its food and wine. It's stylish, informal, and a place to spend all evening. The food is pricey, buts it's different. The wine list is outstanding and very reasonably priced. If you want fast service, and bland food go elsewhere.
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Saturday, July 14, 2007

Absolutely awful experience all round.

There was only one member of staff serving a fully seated restaurant. I felt sorry for her.

It wouldn't have been as bad if the food had been any good. The ravioli came out as a lump of congealed pasta on top of a watery sauce, the sea bass was tasty but so small it barely touched the stamach corners, the lamb looked (and tasted) like it came out of a tin. My sister commented that it was like a very very bad school dinner.

We waited for 40 minutes between every course and the waitress I felt sorry for was very aggressive when we complained.

Don't think I'll be heading back again and if you value your hard earned money, neither will you.
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Rachel Chisnall
Friday, February 23, 2007

Absolutely awful experience all round.

There was only one member of staff serving a fully seated restaurant. I felt sorry for her.

It wouldn't have been as bad if the food had been any good. The ravioli came out as a lump of congealed pasta on top of a watery sauce, the sea bass was tasty but so small it barely touched the stamach corners, the lamb looked (and tasted) like it came out of a tin. My sister commented that it was like a very very bad school dinner.

We waited for 40 minutes between every course and the waitress I felt sorry for was very aggressive when we complained.

Don't think I'll be heading back again and if you value your hard earned money, neither will you.
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Rachel Chisnall
Friday, February 23, 2007

I thought the food was very good. I had an antipasto-style starter, though it went by another name that I have since forgotten, followed by cacciucco (Tuscan fish stew), both of which were very good. As with most Italian restaurants, the beer choice didn't stretch beyond Italian pilsners, but there was a good choice of wines of a better quality than one usually gets for comparable prices in restaurants. The staff were friendly and efficient. There have been a couple of comments about the relatively small number of menu options. That's fine. Good restaurants don't have an excessively long menu. It's better to do a few dishes well than to offer a wide choice of mediocrity. An added bonus: it's right next door to the Hillary Step, Manchester's smoke-free, music-free real ale bar. I'll be back.
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Mike Griffin
Thursday, April 20, 2006

went here with high hopes after reading a good write up. badly let down. only three dishes available, food was dry and cold. had to wait forty (count 'em) minutes for our order-this after 20 minutes before being asked to order after sitting). the wait was so long that the apologetic staff offered us a bowl of olives after we complained. then charged us for them. a terrible experience.
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rob
Friday, November 11, 2005

Despite much promise, we were rather disappointed with Palmiro. We were seated nearly an hour later than we had booked due to tables not being available, during which we were advised to pass the time in the bar next door (which by the way is quite pleasurable). Upon being seated we had to wait sometime before having our order taken. The menu choice is limited to 6 maincorses unfortunately the two we had chosen were not available and we were left with a choice of 4 which were not to our immediate taste. The steak was fatty and rarer than requested whilst the cod with polenta was enjoyable it was overpriced for the portion size. The waitress was efficient although it seemed that some duties were left to the manager(?) which contributed to our long wait. The drinks list was extensive and dessert was suitably priced and rather delicious. It seemed that we were not the only disgruntled customers as another table complained about the service. All in all the restaurant is tastefully furbished and appealing but currently the service and availability of dishes remains limited.
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Sunday, October 02, 2005