• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

You may know il forno for incredible pizza, pasta, tiramisu and THAT cheese wheel, but what about everyone’s favourite meat and two veg? The humble roast dinner has made its way to the top end of duke street covered in gravy and smelling amazing, and I went to give it a whirl.

The Il Forno Sunday Roast menu gives you the option to choose your own beef, lamb, pork or chicken roast or to whack it all together on a sharing platter for two, so we went for option B. Our sharing platter was also served with a delicious bottle of wine and side dishes of our choice. We went for the mac and cheese (don’t knock it), red cabbage and creamed spinach to accompany our platter. It arrived on a huge plate, piled high with four different meats, colourful roasted veg, crispy roasties and two huge, fluffy Yorkshire puds. On the wide were two pots of rich, jus like gravy. Heaven.

Now i know us Brits can be fussy about our roast dinners because, as many people will say, nobody quite makes them like at home. And whilst i’ll agree with this statement (even tho i can’t remember the last time we had a roast at home) I think there some pretty bloody good ones on the Liverpool foodie scene (some shocking ones as well but we won’t go there). I was sceptical (they’re the pizza and pasta kings but roast dinner?!) but they smashed it. Loads of meat cooked to perfection (the beef was actually medium rare which was a delight) and the Yorkshire puddings were soft and fluffy just as they should be. The addition of side dishes such as the mac and cheese also added a nice touch and it was safe to say there was MORE than enough food to go round – just as it should be on a Sunday.

With my dinner pipe very much full, but my pudding pipe still empty (something we used to say as kids) we were offered the dessert menu and poured over the options. From chocolate bombs to babana splits and boozey tiramisu, it really was a tough call. In the end we went for the melt in the middle chocolate fondant and the chocolate mousse cake (i forget the proper Italian name for it) and both were as indulgent and as decadent as you’d expect and were a truly delightful end to a slap up meal.

If (like me) you’d never consider Il Forno to satisfy your roast dinner needs, you should definitely re-consider. Whilst they’re perfect to visit for a Friday night of wine n pasta, they’re also a fabulous option for your Sunday afternoon dinner needs.