Frankie and Benny's - Victoria Square - Belfast

I just realised that I completely forgot to write a review on a dinner Damien and I shared in Frankie and Benny’s. To be honest, it probably has something to do with the fact that I was not overly impressed.

I remember that night, we both badly wanted to get out of the flat and at the same time we really needed something cheap and cheerful. That’s exactly how we ended up in Frankie and Benny’s on a very busy pre-Christmas night.

I have to say that I was fairly impressed by the little wait despite the restaurant being absolutely packed.

Damien and I were both ravenous and ready to give up if there was going to be too much of a queue but we barely waited 15 minutes and had time to order a bottle of wine before being directed to our table. That was some amazingly efficient service!

At Frankie and Benny’s, everything is some sort of comfort food, either inspired of American classics that you would get in a traditional diner or rich, simple Italian dishes such as oven pasta in creamy sauces.

Burgers seemed to be a good option, perfect to satisfy our hearty appetite without presenting too much risk of disappointment. After all, what can really go wrong with a burger? Well to start with, even for people like me that tend to be a bit specific about red meat, a dried out-no-juice-left patty is not so much fun to chew on! Let’s be fair though, except from the buns that came straight out of a packet, the rest of the burger was not too bad. A generous number of bacon crispy stripes topped the melting cheese and a lovely béarnaise complemented it all and kind of compensated the dryness of the patty. 

As for the fries, congratulations to the chef, I couldn’t say if they were homemade and they were probably not but they were skinny and cooked to the perfection, providing that amazingly satisfying crunch at each bite! Yum!

After that, I still had cravings for something sweet, as per usual. So, after a quick look at the menu I chose the banoffee brownie while Damien ordered the salt caramel cheesecake. If I had been truly honest with myself I shouldn’t have had high expectations really. Well, the brownie was awful, I mean dry, crumbly, cardboard style looking and covered with banana slices and bottled caramel sauce: massive disappointment on my behalf obviously. 

As for Damien, not being as difficult as I am, he ate away his cheesecake without excessive enthusiasm and concluded that his dessert as well, was industrial.

Our dinner was certainly cheap; you can’t beat 11.95 for a main course and dessert. The wine was not too bad either and the place was packed and buzzing, which is always nice when you go out. I won’t be back any time soon but I won’t say it didn’t do the trick for a non-pretentious non-expensive night out either.

Coppi - St Anne's Square - Belfast - Sampling the new menu

I already told you all about Coppi’s beautiful food in one of my previous posts but when I walked past it the other day and caught a glimpse of the new winter menu, I couldn’t resist trying it out.

So I walked in, booked a table for two and brought the menu home with me. It was tantalizing, full of exciting promises and I couldn’t wait to go.

When the day came, I already had a pretty good idea of what I was craving for. Damien and I shared several of the cichetti/tapas, as a starter. The crispy squid, served with a wedge of lemon and a refreshing tangy lime mayonnaise, were a real treat. The contrast of textures between the soft, tender squid and the light crunchy batter was absolutely amazing. We had ordered feta fritters as well, those are a classic we have become addicted too. The hot tasty feta melting inside a beautiful golden crust and layered with rich honey; who could resist that? The last one we ordered was called “popeltini”. They looked like meatballs but tasted so much better. The mince inside was rich and bursting with flavours, an incredible mix of fresh herbs and spices. It was also coated with a very thin layer of batter that kind of had the consistence of choux pastry. Oh my god, I couldn’t have enough!

Choosing the main course was more difficult as they were so many new appealing options on the menu. I opted for a revisited carbonara, which blew me away. There is nothing like homemade pasta. They were served with buttery guanciale, crispy chunks of bacon and sprinkled with shaving of aged Parmesan. The sauce was juicy rather than creamy and brought a whole new dimension to that classic dish. It was not as heavy and so much more refined.

As for Damien, he had ordered a pizzeta topped with Parma ham, fresh roquette and Pecorino cheese. It was a real Italian cheese pizza, thin and crispy dough, tasty ingredients scattered all over but not loaded with melted cheese and tomato sauce. We both enjoyed it. With the pizzeta, he had asked for a side of rosemary and Parmesan fries and sage butter green beans. Both were unreal! I am usually not a big fan of green beans as I have traumatic memories of them from my childhood but those were a revelation, crunchy and deliciously coated with the rich sage butter. The fries were gone in no time as well, skinny, hand cut, rubbed in olive oil and rosemary and sprinkled with grated Parmesan. Those are definitely one of my favorites.

Coppi is definitely on my top 2 restaurants list; their cuisine is so creative and tasty. I wish I could go back every week and sample everything on the menu. So, please do yourself a favour and try it as soon as possible, you won’t be disappointed!