Eating Out: Paperino's West End

Jun 24 2010 Ben Spencer

Paperinos

227 Byres Road,
Tel: 0141 334 3811
Web: www.paperinos.co.uk

Byres Road, in the heart of the West End, was almost designed for strolling and pottering, taking in all the shops and restaurants on view.

With that in mind , Paperino's offers a large glass view of much of the front of their eaterie, beckoning in those same hungry, curious or tired pedestrians.

Inside, however, there is more than meets the eye, as the restaurant stretches back into the recesses with tables and booths as well as an upstairs section.

The food is also prepared to stretch beyond the traditional canon of Italian favourites.

Visiting on a midweek evening, I started my dinner with some breaded mozzarella sticks (£5.80).

A possible influence from the American-Italian style of eating, these were tasty and I returned time and time again to dip them into the accompanying spicy tomato sauce.

My partner was feeling more health conscious and possibly more traditional as she ordered up a prosciutto di Parma e melone - fresh honeydew melon with slices of wafer-thin Parma ham (£6.50). This was crisp and light and t he perfect start to the rest of the meal.

For our main course, we swapped roles as I went for a more traditional Italian dish - Penne Salsiccia (£8.90).

My plate arrived covered in penne with a spicy arrabiata sauce and minced Italian sausage with plenty of kick.

I had to take more than a few sips of a substantial large glass of Merlot (£4.95).

But my partner may have stumbled upon the highlight of the meal when she chose fillets of sea bass for her main (£15.50). Her fish was pan-fried perfectly and seasoned with white wine and lemon juice.

The accompanying vegetables finished off a filling but light dish.

Our desserts were of an equally high quality. My companion's lemon sorbet (£4.15) was refreshing and quickly disappeared.

I also enjoyed my tiramisu (£4.85) with a well judged mix of alcohol, chocolate and cream.

Fortunately, after all that food, my partner and I were in the perfect spot for a post-dinner walk to burn off some of those calories.