Secreto Darwen — Restaurant in England

Our first time in this restaurant and initial impressions were very good. Small inside but adequate space around the tables and the bar and restaurant area looked very modern & tidy. We were a booking of 4. Nice selection on the menu and a "specials" to choose from too. Not the cheapest restaurant we've ever visited but we don't mind paying for quality. We ordered starters and mains initially. My starter was King Prawn & mushrooms with chilli, off the specials menu. It was tasty, a decent kick from the chilli too, but I found the prawns quite chewy! Also, would of preferred the sauce/liquor they were served in to be thicker. It was the consistency of a very thin soup! Main course for me & the Mrs was a Mix Greek for 2 people at £36. It consists of Greek Gyros, chicken & pork, chicken skewer, pork sausage, with tzatziki pita bread, tomatoes & onions. We both chose what were described as 'fat chips' as our accompaniment. We had to wait a while for the main, but as it was all going to be cooked fresh, we didn't mind. When it did arrive however, the spread (annoyingly served on a large wooden chopping board rather than a plate) did look impressive, so we tucked in eagerly. We had to ask for side plates too, as the serving board was sat in between us and it was awkward to both eat from this! However, the meat was tasty and well cooked, the onions and tomatoes were well, onions & tomatoes, nothing special about them and the pita bread I found uninspiring! However, the worst thing on the plate, served in tiny baskets were the chips!! The 'fat chips' were not even, homemade (real) chips, they were, in my opinionfreezer chips! Something I could have probably got myself from Iceland!! 🤦🏽‍♂️ We found them really disappointing to be honest in an establishment that is trying to be different with its Mediterranean style menu, you have to make every morsel special! The other 2 members of our party had a various selection off the menu and they seemed pleased with what they had. We were generally pleased also to be fair, but if the few niggles above could be eliminated we would of awarded close to top marks. I mean, its not the cheapest around, but its one of those places you should try for yourself! For dessert, I tried the pistachio cheesecake and this did in some way make up for the poor chips.... Delicious! When the bill arrived it was £160 for the 4 of us... That's 4 starters, 4 mains, a garlic bread (which, by the way was overdone & dried up too), two bottles of Pinot Grigio white wine and 2 pints of Peroni. Like I said, not the cheapest and with some niggles to iron out. Not perfect but a decent effort. Maybe, for now, just a 7 out of 10...

16/04/2024 Time for another review. I've lost count how many times I've been to this fresh, family run, restaurant. I cannot fault it. It is fantastic. Food, service (Jack, aka Ed Sheeran), ambience, Nico and Irina, husband and wife, (who is cooking tonight)? You just cannot beat this tucked away hidden gem of a restaurant. If it's not on the menu, ask, and I promise they will bend over backwards to accommodate your request. We have to support local businesses and not the chain conglomerates. Spread your wealth/cash. You will not be disappointed. I promise. Keep it up guys. 💜

Last minute booking tonight 1/6/23. Absolutely delicious. Service was informative, discreet and superb. It was quiet at 6.00pm but that added to the ambiance. Nice background music. Darwen little gem.

Pick-up takeaway tonight pork gyros pitta tonight. Sublime.

On arrival a table booked for 5 was set for 6. Restaurant was nearly full. A very cold night. Log burner not lit. It didn't feel inviting. Only member of staff so far is dressed as a commis chef. 1/2 pint lager served in a  tumbler and a pint of Perroni in a Budweiser tankard? Disconcerting? There was no specials board. No Greek food. Gyros, Lamb kleftico, beef stifado? Where were they? No wine list on table, we had to ask for one. Lovely Shiraz which was opened and poured at the table. Nice touch these days. We decided on mains only due to what we deemed to be as lack of staff. Wrong. All but the overcooked pizza was delicious which was replaced. I had to ask for parmesan for my carbonnara. The log burner fire was eventually lit but with smoke and fumes which was not nice. Thankfully before our food arrived.  Sample desserts were served. Probably because the restaurant was nearly empty by now? They were delicious. We have already booked for next month. It turned out to be a very enjoyable experience from this husband...

Very cosy and delightful little restaurant. Upon arrival we were greeted, had a little giggle over the 'early' Christmas decorations and was shown to our table. We were served with drinks quickly while waiting for the rest of our party to turn up. Seating by a cosy warm real fire place with soft music in the background was nice. There was complimentary olives and condiments at the start. I actually ate more olives than i ever have in one sitting as i dont like them (I'd like to like them!) but these were ok. Had the chicken liver patè for starters. Really nice, but as with most places the patè to bread ratio wasn't right so we asked for a little more bread. (Hate wasting delicious patè). My main was the Lasagne, which I really enjoyed. Nice crisp cheese topping and tasty right the way through. Topped with parmesan cheese (by the chef) a little unusual as normally the server asks if you would like parmesan but here they just seem to add it without asking. The wife ordered a steak medium rare, now I'm a chefs nightmare 'well done burn the edges' kind of chap so the sight of this medium rare was traumatic for me at best. Nevertheless wifey had some of the steak but left the majority of it. It may have been too rare for her taste (and didnt want to admit it) but she said she just wasn't enjoying it, something about the texture. She didn't raise it with the server so I just told her that's what you get for ordering it like that 😏. Dessert I had the profiteroles which was 3 large, fresh filled rolled that I popped in one at a time. I definitely had my fill and left stuffed..! For 4 of us, 3 beers, 2 soft drinks, 3 starters, 4 mains (Inc 2 steaks), and 3 Deserts it came to about £137, so £35 a head which we thought was reasonable. Thanks guys!...