Pesto's Picks for August

Now, many would have you believe that the only place worth being in Old Blighty through the month of August is Scotland's capital city Edinburgh for the world-famous Fringe Fest. Well, that just ain't true; Pesto Glasgow opens at the end of the month, and boy does this city like to keep the capital on its toes! 

Blonde, brash, trailer trash queen Dolly Parton rolls into Glasgow on the 20^th August for a two night stint at one of the city's biggest venues, the SECC. With over fifty studio albums under her belt it's bound to be a real all-night barn-burner!

Later in the month Glasgow Life Welcome Visits is offering people the chance to explore areas of the city not ordinarily open to the public. The City Halls and Old Fruitmarket Tour runs from 11am on the 29^th August and tickets are absolutely free! If all the walking gets you hungry, why not stop in at Pesto Glasgow which opens at 6pm on the 29^th?

Through the month of August Manchester will play host to the Pride Fringe and Big Weekend, from the 19^th to the 29^th. Big names such as Alexandra Burke and Pixie Lott will be putting in appearances in addition to a number of up-and-coming musicians, film-makers and artists.

Pesto Deansgate is just a short walk away from many of the festival venues, our Festa party menu and extensive selection of cocktails make it the perfect starting point for the Big Weekend!

If you're over in the west this month, don't let your wallet dictate your social calendar. The free Matthew Street Festival on the 28^th and 29^th August is set to be a scorcher, with over eighty hours of music spread over two days – who needs the Carling Weekend? Pah! Matthew Street is literally round the corner from Pesto Liverpool One where our Festa menu is ideal for big parties who want delicious, traditional Italian food without breaking the bank.

To keep up with all things Pesto you can follow us on Twitter or 'like' us on Facebook

http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/whatson/event/113709-Glasgow-Life-Welcome-Visits:-City-Halls-&-Old-Fruitmarket-Tour

http://dollyparton.com

http://manchesterpride.com/whatson/fringe

http://.manchesterpride.com/media/2011/Event_Application_Form_2011.pdf

http://alexandraburkeofficial.com/

http://pixielott.com

http://mathewstreetfestival.org/

http://carling.com/music/festival/information/

Interview: Sarah Henderson

Pesto Italian Restaurants Liverpool One deputy manager and Take That enthusiast Sarah Henderson took time out from opening restaurants and, er, 'sampling' Pesto's fine Italian wines to tell us about life at L1.

How long have you been part of the Pesto team?

Four and a half years now! I have worked in all three restaurants – I opened Trafford & Liverpool and am off next month to open Glasgow too.

What is the best thing about working for Pesto?

I have had the opportunity to really be part of something here; it’s a small company so you are far more than just another cog in the machine.

What is your favourite Pesto dish and drink?

Drink wise, I love the Pinot Grigio Blush. I wouldn’t like to count how many bottles I have drunk over the years! Food wise, I go through phases of which are my favourites! Bruschetta Pomodoro has always stayed pretty near the top though…and the Fiorentina pizza…oh and I do like the gamberoni peperoncino.

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

Oh too many things to remember! I have had brilliant teams of people in all three sites over the years, there’s been so many characters who have entertained me every day!

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

I would love to say someone high brow to make me look intelligent and interesting, but to be honest my life would be made if Take That had come in while they were here! Am I allowed five? Just Robbie would be perfect if not.

What inspired you to become a manager?
I just developed a passion for it very early on in my career - I love the people in the industry and have loved developing and working with all different types of people.

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

You can’t go wrong with a nice glass of wine or two on the L1 terrace on a summer’s eve! 

What was the last show you went to and how was it?
I have been to both Take That and Kings of Leon this month in Manchester. Two very different concerts but both just amazing!

What does the next year at Pesto hold for you?

Hopefully I will just get to continue helping build the brand and, if I am lucky, get to spend a bit of time in some great cities opening a couple more great restaurants…..watch this space!

That's all for now peeps - keep your eyes peeled for Pesto's Picks for August tomorrow and our latest team member introduction next week! You can also check out our latest celebrity diner here - Debbie Harry at Pesto Italian Restaurants Liverpool One!

Keep up with Pesto Italian Restaurants Liverpool One Manchester and Glasgow on Facebook and Twitter - and don't forget when you come to visit to check in on FB or Foursquare!

http://facebook.com/pestorestaurants

http://twitter.com/pestorestaurant

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.

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.

 

Giggling with Glee!

The Pesto Deansgate team were treated to an unexpected celebrity visit this week when Heather Morris of Glee fame stopped by for dinner and drinks with fellow cast and crew team from Glee live! 

The Glee stars enjoyed our light and refreshing Peroni by the pint and a selection of cocktails, including Cosmopolitans and Frangelics and our brand new Bloody Mary's. Our gorgeous barmen Marcus and and Stuart were also very popular!

Pesto manager Anthony and assistant Vicky were lucky enough to have themselves papped with our celeb diners and after a few hours at the restaurant the Glee team lured Anthony away to act as a tour guide for the remainder of the evening. We shan't be posting those pictures!

The two night run of Glee live at the MEN ends this evening and Pesto is only a short walk away from the venue; pop in later and you lovely Gleeks might be fortunate enough to spot a celeb at Pesto!

For full menu information, directions, contact info and much, much more please visit www.pestorestaurants.co.uk