Pinocchio restaurant — Restaurant in Tameside

Right now I am in a delightful food coma after visiting this gem of an Italian restaurant in the heart of Ashton Under Lyne. Tonight 10 of us dined here. From the moment I made the booking for my family till we ate our absolute fill & left the restaurant- the staff have been nothing short of wonderful.

Upon entering, we were shown to our table by friendly & courteous staff. We ordered drinks & our starters and mains. I had the chicken liver pate for my starter ( much to my family’s dismay as they aren’t fond of it). Though it looked like chocolate mousse & jam to everyone else, I happily tucked into my delicious starter which was followed by a scrumptious flat pasta main with goats cheese & mushrooms in a creamy sauce. Everyone at my tabled loved their food. The pace was perfect, every dish was hot not to mention tasty & everyone’s food arrived together.

The staff were super attentive & gave us halal options - the chicken is halal. They also made sure there was no alcohol in any of our orders. What I absolutely loved was that each of our requests were accommodated in a professional & efficient manner - even when we asked if there was somewhere to pray after our meal. We were given a designated space which was hugely appreciated by us.

Desserts & hot drinks followed. Again the staff members let us know which ones might contain alcohol. By the time we finished we were very happy & content. It is definitely a restaurant we will be returning to & though my waist line might not thank me for it, I will happily eat my carbs here on a treat day knowing each mouthful is worth the wait! A really lovely experience ~ thank you to all your brilliant staff especially the ones working tonight & hats off...

We dined tonight the 16th May for a friend's 88th birthday. He and my husband ordered asparagus and parma ham starter. He started his food and said "oh what's that?" There was a large beetle that crawled out of his salad, onto the edge of the plate then onto the table. Darting in and out of the crockery. We called the waiter who caught the beetle into a napkin, apologised and said the dish would be taken off the bill. That was magnanimous!!! There were a couple next to us who were horrified and said that deserves champagne! The head waiter was hovering and never said a word. We got the bill off him and the price of our friends starter had been taken off. We then had a cocktail and further drinks. The staff had left. It was 10.45. They always leave early. The head waiter never apologised for the beetle. Why had this happened? Salad. Not washed? We really thought that 50% off the bill, a bottle of champagne or a free meal for our friend would have been reasonable. Nothing.. No acknowledgement. To say we will never return is an understatement. PINOCCHIOS - WE ARE REPORTING YOU TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH....

Can't fault them. In fact i just loved the experience. We booked in advance as a group and then needed to increase to an odd number but there was no issue at all. Greeted on arrival and everything was great. The service was perfect. We loved our main server, feel bad for not getting her name but she was completely in control, knowledgeable, very clear and responsive with a discreet sense of humour. We felt valued and looked after. The food was delicious. Two of us in the party are vegan and the the main reason we chose pinochios was they have a vegan menu. No guessing and no need to ask what was plant based. All other staff were equally attentive and its clear they all take huge pride in maintaining a level of service that's above par. This is a gem of a restaurant and that they're still here, in Ashton, having grown from the smaller venue they started with, is testament to the quality. Please don't ever leave the town. We will return (but might hold off on the shots next time!) Thanks to everyone and...