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.

Liverpool's Little Italy

Liverpool’s Scotland or ‘Scottie’ Road is infamous for it’s long and tangled history, spanning back to the 1770′s.



The street, located near Liverpool docks was home to the majority of the city’s migrant communities, comprising mostly of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, Polish and Italian – for over a century the road has been affectionately referred to as ‘Little Italy’ on account of its burgeoning Italian community.

In almost two-and-a-quarter-centuries, the road has played home to five football teams and two hundred public houses hosted countless May Queen celebrations and survived a World War Two blitz.

The road is also known for some of its famous residents; the road was once home to a number of UK household names, including Tom Baker of Dr Who fame and Saturday night Blind Date legend Cilla Black.

In recent years Scottie’s Little Italy’s population has declined, but that’s not to suggest that Scotland Road and Liverpool’s Italian residents haven’t left their mark on the city. Many of the city’s marble, terrazzo and mosaic work was undertaken by Italian immigrants in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, and although much of the work has been lost to the redevelopment of Liverpool, there are still excellent Italian architectural efforts to be found throughout the city.

Why not take a trip down Scotland Road and absorb the diverse local history on the way to one of Liverpool’s best Italian restaurants on Paradise Street.


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Pesto's Picks for June

With restaurants based in both the heart of Manchester and Liverpool (and soon to be Glasgow), Pesto diners are spoiled for choice when it comes to theatres, music venues, cinemas and great shopping. But with all this choice, where to start? 

We've scoured the streets, the papers and the mighty interweb to bring our lovely diners a comprehensive list of the best of the North West this June. 

First up, it's Manchester's very own Take That. The boys have eight sold-out dates at the City of Manchester Stadium starting tonight and running until the 12th of June. 

If you and your mates are lucky enough to be going, why not make a night of it and book a pre-show table at Pesto Deansgate? Our Festa menu is ideal for parties of ten or more, and best of all we've an excellent selection of cocktails to whet your appetite for the Take That party!

Next is Liverpool's favourite funnyman John Bishop, who'll be bringing his unique sardonic wit to the Echo Arena for a two-night stint on the 5th and 6th June. The Echo Arena is just a ten minute walk from Pesto Liverpool One and we're open late, so ideal for pre and post-show food and drinks.
 
If you didn't make it to London for the Royal wedding the TV highlights just didn't cut it, we recommend 'One Night at the Proms', a stunning audio-visual celebration of the Royal marriage from the National Symphony Orchestra and selected singers at the Lowry Theatre on Sunday June 12th. British favourites Rule Britannia, Jerusalem and The Dambusters March are just a few of the musical numbers to feature in the extravaganza. The Lowry Theatre is just a short drive from Pesto Trafford Centre, so why not treat yourself to a glamorous new outfit, followed by delicious Italian piatinni at Pesto and a night at the theatre?
 

Lastly it's there 'Here and Now' tour; a plethora of 80's pop legends bringing two evenings of cheese-laden chart anthems to Manchester's MEN (26th) and Liverpool's Echo Arena (25th). Without the aid of a Delorean, you'd be hard-pushed to see the likes of Rick Astley, Boy George, Bucks Fizz and Bananarama sharing a stage – this really is a one-off nostalgia-fest not to be missed! Both venues are within easy walking distance of Pesto Deansgate and Liverpool One.

If you're planning to attend any of these events and would like to book a table for your pre or post-show party, head to www.pestorestaurants.co.uk/bookings and make a reservation now. Easy!