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

Interview: Adriana Scholes

The Trafford Centre is one of the UK's biggest and best shopping complexes, with almost three-hundred stores over three floors spanning just shy of two-million square feet. At it's centre is the Great Food Hall, Europe's largest food hall, attracting almost thirty-thousand hungry shoppers each week. At the very heart of the food hall is Manchester's second Pesto site, managed by Il Divo fan Andriana Scholes. We caught up with Andriana for a quick chat about what life is like at Pesto Trafford Centre.

How long have you been part of the Pesto team?

I took over managing the restaurant in February 2010 and haven't looked back

What is the best thing about working for Pesto?

Because Pesto is relatively small as far as companies go, I am privileged to be able to work with the Directors on a one to one basis, inputting ideas and feeling part of a larger family which is what Pesto is.

What is your favorite Pesto dish and drink?

Red wine is my guilty pleasure and I am very fond of our Valpolicella Classico DOC Villa Domiziano which is an excellent one, I also love the Linguine Al Cartoccio con Gamberoni which I thoroughly endorse and recommend.

What's the funniest thing to have happened to you in the restaurant?

On one occasion during a busy shift I was helping out in the kitchen preparing trays of food for customers, I happened to notice a client walking into the kitchen talking on his mobile. He was very embarrassed as he thought the kitchen door was entry to the rest room. I offered him back to his seat, and cheekily remember him asking me if I would like a drink! Left a nice tip though.

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

I think if I could choose any three celebrities to dine at our restaurant it would be the Britain's got talent judges, I would love them to critique the service the food etcetera, although we can't sing or dance we can certainly outperform our competitors and having the Hoff for dinner would be so great!

What inspired you to become a manager?

I have been a restaurant Manager for over 10 years now and love my job. It's a people thing as no two days are the same and you never know what the day will bring. The Industry is spontaneous and that's what attracts me to running restaurants as well as the reward for delivering outstanding service and quality, the staff and all the people I meet are wonderful, it's what gets me up in the morning.

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

Personally I think Manchester has a lot to offer with regards to dinning out, obviously many tastes are catered for but I believe Pesto TC has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere to dine in, the food is superb and also good value which in today's climate goes a long way.

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

The last show I attended was with my husband at MEN Arena Manchester, Il Divo was playing and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

What does the next year at Pesto hold for you?

The future is bright; Pesto is expanding into Glasgow and has a beautiful new site with three floors and over 300 covers to service. It will be the flagship for Pesto and I for one am looking forward to visit Glasgow and dinning at the restaurant. We have seen growth even in these times of austerity and I believe we can build on this strength and make the next year just as exciting. All credit should go to my wonderful team for pulling out all the stops to make TC what it is today, and I thank them all for their hard work and diligence, here's to them and too 2012.

New to the Pesto site? Meet Francis from our soon-to-open Glasgowrestaurant here.

 

Festa del Papa!

This Sunday in the UK and Ireland, the US and a host of other countries across the globe, families will be celebrating Father's Day, or as they say in Italy, Festa del Papa.

According to the history books, Father's Day is a relatively modern celebration, established in 1908 by Grace Golden Clayton to celebrate the lives of the two-hundred and ten fathers who died in the Monogah Mining disaster in December 1907.

The initial celebration of Father's Day was short-lived, and 1909's Father's Day passed by uncelebrated. It wasn't until Sonora Smart Dodd, daughter of American civil war veteran William Jackson Smart, called for greater recognition of fatherhood, that the third Sunday of June was established as Father's Day.

Unlike the US and UK however, Father's Day in Italy is celebrated on St Joseph's Day, March 19th., when most countries are celebrating St Patricks Day.

This isn't to suggest that the Festa del Papa is overshadowed by those pesky leprechauns. As with any Italian celebration it's executed with gusto with lots of tasty food to be devoured!

Traditionally Italian families prepare fresh breads and create a spread for the celebrated Papa, but taking the whole family out for a delicious meal is also an Italian favourite, particularly as men are so notoriously difficult to buy gifts for. As the old adage goes, the way to a mans heart is through his stomach; so should you find yourself stuck for gift ideas this Father's Day, why not treat your papa and the whole family to a meal at Pesto?

Our Festa menu is perfect for la grande famiglia (big families), while our piattini range and kids menu is perfect for smaller gatherings. Our whole menu is available to view online or download here. If you want to spoil not just your papa, but the whole family you can book a special table online or by calling the Pesto Restaurant you'd like to visit.