JUST for a change we decided to go for a taste of little Italy just down the road in Penistone.
We resisted the temptation to call in at our favourite Indian restaurant, Taste of India, turned right at the bridge and headed a few hundred yards up the Thurlstone Road, turning left, then left again into the Ti Amo car park.
Thursday night and trade was brisk.
It was a raw, windy evening, but the stone cottage that houses Ti Amo was warm and welcoming.
We instantly agreed that we liked the feel of the place.
We had booked a table for two and were welcomed by joint owner Tina in the bar area downstairs and ordered drinks – a glass of white wine and a beer for me.
We sat at a table by the window and huddled round a radiator browsing through the extensive menu.
Decisions, decisions ...
For starters, I liked the sound of the Funghi Giganti, flat mushrooms, oven baked with dolcelatte cheese, parma ham, topped with parmesan shavings, Carol went for the Funghi Aglio – mushrooms cooked in a white wine sauce, garlic, butter and fresh parsley.
For mains we agreed to agree that the Coda di Rospo – grilled monkfish cooked with north region prawns, pernod, cream and saffron was the order of the day.
Pleased with our selections we were ushered upstairs into the main restaurant area and took up our table for two.
Tina came to take our orders.
As Carol was about to recite our pre-determined choices, Tina then told us about that evening’s specials dishes and suddenly it was decision time all over again.
Who could resist the temptation of homemade salmon and halibut fishcakes with a delicate red onion and green salad and chilli dip?
Not I.
Carol found the green-lipped New Zealand mussels impossible to refuse and so our carefully considered mushroom selections were duly amended.
We swapped the starters to compare notes. The fishcakes were every bit as delicious as they promised to be and the mussels – cooked in a garlic and wine sauce – were superb.
We will have to go back and try the monkfish main course at a later date because Tina had tempted us away with a house speciality lobster and crab in giant ravioli parcels cooked in a delicate cream/wine sauce with crabmeat, tiger prawns and ginger and artistically served with Langoustine and lobster claws.
For sweet it was tiramisu – a very large, chilled adaptation of the genre.
All the portions were deceptively generous and attractively presented. We were suitably impressed.
The restaurant areas upstairs and down are imaginatively presented with beams and wooden floors and attractive gable end murals of Rome – the Colosseum – and Venice.
Proprietors Paolo and Tina took over the running of Ti Amo only nine months ago and have created a friendly, relaxed atmosphere to compliment their food. The staff are polite and attentive and the menu extensive and tasteful.
The couple hail from Sheffield where they ran a city centre Italian restaurant for a number of years and appear to be enjoying their latest venture away from the bright lights.
The restaurant, which is available for private functions, events and special occasions, also offers an extensive Italian-based selection of dishes and takeaway meals that can be ordered by arrangement.
There is a wide range of antipasti including garlic bread, bruschetta, varied mushroom, fish and meat dishes, a selection of homemade pizza with extra toppings to order, main course fish and prawn dishes, tortelloni in a creamy tomato sauce with mascarpone cheese and fresh spinach, ravioli with mushrooms, cream and asparagus, gnocchi cooked with smoked bacon, in a garlic, chilli and tomato sauce, tagliatelle variations cooked with smoked salmon, prawns in a white wine and cream sauce, or with onion, smoked bacon, cream, eggs and parmesan cheese, tasty sounding linguine, lasagne, crespella pancake dishes, risottos, a wide range of chicken choices served with seasonal vegetables, duck pork and lamb variations and a range of steaks and side order dishes.
Ti Amo, incidentally, in general terms, means I love you in Italian. The Penistone Ti Amo proved to be an appropriately named destination for what proved to be a most enjoyable evening out.
