Food review: Pomodoro, Bewdley

Tuesday night is the new Friday. It's official, well in Bewdley it seems to be the case.

Heading out for a spontaneous dinner my friend and I were sure we could go wherever our hearts' desired. She was visiting from America so there was plenty of catching up to do and we just wanted to sit down, relax and talk, alot! So we met up and ventured to a riverside pub which has a restaurant.

"Table for two please?" We enquired.

"Sorry we're fully booked," said the smiley bar man.

"On a Tuesday?" We looked at each other, aghast. Apparently so. We were astonished.

Off we went to explore Plan B, a recently opened bar. That didn't come to fruition either. No 'proper' food on a Tuesday only bar nibbles. Oh well.

Our last port of call was Pomodoro. Third time lucky. Back in 2014, when it was last reviewed, it was fairly new and Bewdley had welcomed the opening of an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant. It made a change from all the curry houses, Chinese takeaways and fish and chips that dominated the town. It was pretty good. Now almost three years down the line, it's still going strong and getting rave reviews with the odd negative one mixed in. Each to their own and all that.

It's set in an historic building, the timber-frame dating back hundreds of years. Insides it's all wooden beams and full of olde worlde charm intermingled with a modern and Mediterranean feel. The tables and chairs are an eclectic mix of mismatched pieces but it's charming and effortlessly stylish yet rustic too. There are quirky touches here and there: cutlery in tin cans; rows of coloured glass bottles; bold prints on canvasses; metal signs and lots of little knick knacks adorning the walls and shelving. The lighting is soft and creates a nice calm and laid back vibe ideal for enjoying a meal. The big wooden bar is perfect for perching at if you happen to be waiting any length of time for a table.

It was busy, for a Tuesday, and most of the tables were occupied by cheery, chatty diners enjoying eating out. A good sign we hoped. We were seated swiftly and left with the menu but not before being offered drinks. Rosé for two and very nice it was, refreshingly sweet. The menu has a good choice, plenty of different starters for all tastes, several sharing boards, pizzas, Mediterranean meals, pasta dishes along with a few lighter bites and sides.

Neither of us had massive appetites so we decided on sharing a few antipasti and one main.

We were served with a smile and munched on breadsticks and a spicy-ish mayo dip while we waited.

We were absorbed in conversation when the food arrived beautifully presented and containing pretty decent sized portions.

The antipasti dishes were served on a slab of wood, looking and smelling delicious.

We tucked in. The Medi kafta was heavenly. The skewers were served with houmous, tabule salad and Arabic bread. The houmous was gorgeously creamy and oily with the mild flavour of chickpeas. It was off-the-scale good and so much better than the solid stuff you buy from the supermarket. It went perfectly with the light and pitta-like Arabic (was it really though?) bread. The tabule salad was zesty and fresh with small pieces of tomato and cucumber offering a nice cool taste.

The meat was fragrantly seasoned and moist complementing the other elements of the dish.

There was plenty of nodding, mmms and ahhhs as we ate along with lots of 'ooooh try this, it tastes amazing'.

Moving on to the mushrooms which were served in a small metal frying pan. They were beautifully tender and garlicky in the white wine and cream sauce, the only criticism would be that they were swimming in oil. It didn't detract from the flavours but just looked a little unappealing. The dish came with huge hunks of wholemeal bread which was soft and tasty.

The bruschetta tricolor was a thick slice of white loaf with a fine layer of pesto butter topped with a plumpcious slab of mozzarella, sun blush tomato, Parma ham, basil and olive oil. The bread was a little soggy and would have been better toasted but the pesto, mozarella, tomato and ham were perfect toppings. The sweet tomato and mild cheese worked well with the salty meat, aromatic basil and the fruity olive oil.

The linguine carbonara was absolutely divine. The sauce was lovely and thick unlike some variations which have a very thin, almost liquid sauce. The big pieces of pancetta, gave the dish a salty edge which was delicious with the creamy egg sauce. What also made it all the more appetising was the linguine which was perfectly cooked; not overdone and almost soggy but not too al dente either. The additional sprinkling of Parmesan topped off the filling dish.

We didn't have room for a dessert or anymore drinks, but happily sat in the pleasant surrounds as the serving staff bustled around us getting ready to shut up shop.

The service could've done with being a little more attentive but it did seem busy and we were too caught up in our conversation to really notice. They were probably being kind and leaving us to it!

My friend did note that compared to American serving staff it seemed a little slack but then in the next breath said: "American waiters and waitresses whizz around like they've been taking drugs, they make all their money from the tips though." Here, they do not.

It's a great place to go with a carefree ambience and a good selection of food. It's only open from 5pm until 10pm which does seem a little early, not perhaps on a week night but certainly at the weekend when a more leisurely meal and drinks is often nice.

We left feeling satisfactorily stuffed, full of scrummy food and content with our choice of dining destination. It's good to see an independently-run restaurant doing well, let's hope it stands the test of even more time.

By Lisa Williams