Pesto Italian Restaurant Deansgate manager Anthony Mahmud is a busy man, don't you know? Who has time for interviews when you're busy mingling with the likes of Heather Morris of Glee fame, snapping pics with Katy Perry or, er, having your face painted? Well, we were lucky enough to steal Anthony away from the daily glamour to deliver a good grilling about life at Pesto Italian Restaurant Deansgate.

How long have you been part of the Pesto team?

I have been working for Pesto for two and a half years. I trained at Pesto Trafford Centre, I then opened Pesto Liverpool One and then came to manage Pesto Deansgate.

What is the best thing about working for Pesto?

The involvement we get in the development of the brand. As we are a small privately owned company any suggestions any of the team make are listened and then acted upon.  It gives a real sense of ownership in what we do.

What is your favourite Pesto dish and drink?

There are too many to decide. For the food it’s between the Arancini, I have never had better, the Gamberoni Peppercocino and the cheesecake. I love them all.  My favourite drink is the Frangelic. It’s cocktail we created at Deansgate. It’s a Martini of Stolichnaya Vodka, Kaluha and Frangelico (a hazelnut liquor which is my favourite) topped with cream and crumbled chocolate. It’s divine.

What's the funniest thing to have happened to you in the restaurant?
During a warm Saturday’s afternoon we noticed a group of men across the road. Our outside section was full and everyone was intrigued to see what was happening.  The men dispersed and we notice a half naked man was tied to a lamppost. It was his stag do.  During the afternoon his party kept coming back and played trick on the poor stag. The funniest thing was not that everyone stayed longer to with more wine to watch but that three police vans drove past, stopped, laughed and then drove away.

Which three celebrities (dead and alive) would you invite to dinner at Pesto?

Madonna – As she’s fantastic
Jenson Button – As he’s amazing
Stephen Hawkings – As he’s interesting

What inspired you to become a manager?

I’ve lived and worked within the service industry all my life. I grew up in a pub and most of my jobs have been in bars and restaurants so, I suppose, it’s in my blood. I have been lucky to have worked with amazing managers, including my parents, who put their all into making the customer experience as amazing as it could be. These people have inspired me to become a manager.

After a meal at Pesto, what's the best thing to do in Manchester?
 
Go and party. We have amazing music venues, bars and clubs in Manchester.
 

What was the last show you went to and how was it?
Katy Perry. She was brilliant. She even got audience members up on the stage to dance for one of the songs. At the end of the song a little girl asked for a picture with Katy. Katy took the picture, looked at it and decided it wasn’t good enough so she took another. I thought that was really sweet.

 
What does the next year at Pesto hold for you?

Building of the success of Deansgate, meeting new customers and seeing friends who used to be new customers.

So there you have it folks! To read interviews with more of the Pesto Italian Restaurants team check out our blog at http://pestorestaurants.co.uk/blog or subscribe to the Blogger RSS at http://pestorestaurants.blogspot.com – alternatively you can follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pestorestaurant or keep up on Facebook where you can upload pics of your Pesto party and get tagging! http://facebook.com/pestorestaurants

Pesto Italian Restaurants Manchester Harry Potter event goes down a treat!

The Pesto Italian Restaurants Manchester Harry Potter event went down a treat this weekend, as kids from across the North West lined up to have their faces painted and sample our Butterbeer!

We've added a selection of photographs from the event on this blog, but many more photographs can be found at http://pestorestaurants.co.uk/gallery or on our Facebook page at http://facebook.com/pestorestaurants

Interview: Javier Mellado Pesto Liverpool One

Liverpool One is the UK's largest open air shopping centre, and the tenth largest overall; right at the heart of Liverpool One is Pesto Italian Restaurant, managed by the tall, dark and handsome Javier Mellado. We caught up with Javier to ask him what it's like working at the hub of the UK's biggest and brightest cities.

How long have you been a part of the Pesto team?

I started in October 2010

What is the best thing about working for Pesto Liverpool One?

To be able to contribute on the development  of the business and feel part of the everyday decisions.

What is your favorite Pesto dish and drink?

Cartoccio Merluzzo, Bruschetta Salsiccia and the Moretti beer.

Which three celebrities (dead and alive) would you invite to dinner at Pesto?

Rafael Nadal, Fernando Alonso and Cameron Diaz.

What inspired you to become a manager?

I love the challenge with people, the adrenaline of a busy time and dealing with suppliers.

After a meal at Pesto L1, what's the best thing to do in Liverpool?

Around Pesto you have all types of shops, the Odeon cinemas, the Echo Arena, Albert dock, Mathew Street to visit the Cavern, Victoria Sreet full off night bars, very close to the theaters and why not maybe a football match in Anfield or Goodison park?

What was the last show you went to and how was it? 

My last show was a the Peter Pan Christmas panto at Liverpool Empire with my children. It was very funny.

What does the next year at Pesto L1 hold for you?

Hopefully a lot of people through the door and a exciting campaign that'll put Pesto in Liverpool's top ten eateries.

Two New Additions to the Pesto Italian Restaurant Team!

Spiedini and Gamberoni

There were two new additions to the Pesto Manchester Deansgate restaurant team yesterday, as two beautiful little birds decided to set up camp underneath one of our outside tables.

The birds, appropriately dubbed Spiedini and Gamberoni were nestled underneath a side table on the Deansgate restaurant terrace. 

Restaurant manager Vicki coaxed the birds into a box filled with treats to keep the tiny creatures safe until they are collected by the RSPCA Manchester later this afternoon. 

Can anyone identify from the picture what kind of birds they are? If so, tweet us your answers on Twitter @Pestorestaurant or leave us a comment on Facebook www.facebook.com/pestorestaurants

Check out our Wednesday blog for the latest human addition to the Pesto Italian Restaurant Team! 

Harry Potter: The End of and Era

Following a decade of Pigwidgeon, Quidditch and general wizardry, the Harry Potter film series is coming to an end.

Thousands of Harry Potter enthusiasts from across the globe braved the typically wet British weather and camped out in Trafalgar Square for several days in anticipation of Thursday's world premier of the final instalment in the franchise. 

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the multi-billion pound series arrived first on the red carpet, and described the experience as “emotional” and as his favourite moment from his time in the films.

The final film, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two' makes its UK cinema debut on July 15th, and at Pesto you can turn your cinema trip into an entire day of spells and sorcery with Butterbeer and face-painting!

To mark the occasion we've created our very own Butterbeer drink consisting of butterscotch syrup, cream soda and hair of Hippogriff* topped with cream and for our adult diners we have a special alcoholic version with butterscotch Schnapps, Havana rum and essence of Boggart** for just £5.

We'll also be offering free Harry Potter themed face-painting for kids and adults with every Butterbeer purchase - and one free kids Butterbeer when you show us your Harry Potter cinema stub!

Times and locations of the events are underneath the official (and stunning!) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer vid from Warner. 

Photographs and video footage of the event will be posted to Facebook so you don't even have to worry about packing your camera! If you're not already a Pesto fan, click here to like or if you're more partial to the odd tweet, click here to follow us on Twitter.

So gather up muggles and squibs, grab some galleon from the gringotts and treat the whole family to a magic day out!

 Friday 15th July 

Pesto Deansgate

Face-painting from 3pm - 5pm

Butterbeer served all week!

Saturday 16th July

Pesto Trafford Centre

Face-painting from 3pm - 5pm

Butterbeer served all week!

* we made this up
** and this

Pesto's Picks for July

The people of Manchester and indeed of the North West are really spoiled for the month of July thanks to the plethora of fantastic events hosted as part of the Manchester International Festival.

Running from the 30th June (previews) through to the 17th July, the festival promises '18 days of extraordinary premiers', and here at Pesto's Picks, we've highlighted the best of what's on offer.

Icelandic Queen of all things bizarre Bjork opened the festival last night with the audio-visual spectacular 'Biophilia', ahead of her next album release, also entitled 'Biophilia'. The response to the show following its debut has been outstanding (see video for audience reaction) and is certainly not one to be missed. 

Bjork will perform a further eight shows as part of the festival at Campfield Market Hall, situated only five minutes walk away from Pesto Deansgate – ideal for a food and drinks before or after this truly unique event.

Next up we have Punchdrunk: The Crash of the Elysium, a Doctor Who special running from the 1st July to the 17th. The show, specially created for children aged six to twleve, is a live Doctor Who adventure centred around audience participation, whereby the audience become the stars in this near-sellout extravaganza. All adults must be accompanied by a child, but don't worry, the kids don't get to keep all the fun to themselves – special adult-only shows run most evenings from 8pm.



The show is held at MediaCityUK at Salford Keys and for those looking to make a whole day of the show, the venue is just a short drive from Pesto Trafford Centre or Pesto Deansgate. We have a tasty kids menu and menu options that will tantalise the fussiest of palates without breaking the bank. For the big kids participating in the later shows, our bar is open until 11pm offering a delicious and diverse range of beers, wines and cocktails.

Lastly, we look over the way to Liverpool! On the 2nd and 30th of July the one and only, ahem, Brit Floyd will get their strats out for “the Ultimate Pink Floyd Tribute Show”. Now, although most tribute shows have a (massive) element of naffness to them, this one actually seems pretty good. The chances of a Pink Floyd reforming and embarking on a world tour is about as unlikely as Kerry Katona scooping her second Mum of the Year award, so this really is as good as it gets, and if you check out the vid we've posted you'll see that it really is pretty darn great!



The Liverpool Echo arena is just a two minute walk from Pesto Liverpool One – with Peroni on tap it's the perfect spot to get a little comfortably numb before the show.