Dinner at Marco Polo - 15/05/11

I am a massive fan of Marco Polo in Newcastle. I have been there to eat on numerous occasions. I’d say out of all the restaurants that I’ve eaten at in Newcastle I have eaten at Marco Polo the most. It’s an Italian restaurant but the menu offers so much more than just pizza and pasta.  The food is really good and it’s excellent value for money. I tend to go there with my parents for lunch when they are dropping me off or picking me up as it gives them a nice break between journeys and they love it.

I have nearly sampled the whole menu but I chose the chargrilled lamb cutlets with baked goats cheese, baby spinach, sun-blushed tomatoes and salsa verde. Tegan chose the grilled swordfish with tomato, mint and white crab linguine. Lamb and goat’s cheese aren’t two things that you often find on the same plate but they complement one another beautifully. The goat’s cheese didn’t overpower the flavour of the lamb at all or make the dish overly rich, as lamb is a fairly rich meat anyway. The goat’s cheese was deep-fried. The crisp texture of the outside of it contrasted with the smooth and soft texture of the lamb, whereas the gooey inside complemented it. The two flavours were in perfect synchronisation. The lamb was served pink and was deliciously juicy, tender and flavoursome. The three lamb cutlets came served on top of broccoli, green beans and baby spinach. There was a really minty taste to all of the vegetables which gave the whole dish a really fresh flavour. The salsa verde was served on top of the chops and was a little too vinegary for my liking.

For pudding I chose the roast rhubarb and white chocolate panna cotta. Tegan chose the pear sorbet. The pear sorbet came served with a piece of dried pear on top which was a nice touch. The panna cotta was absolutely amazing. It was so light and creamy and you could really taste the white chocolate. It wasn’t overly sweet and the rhubarb complemented the white chocolate beautifully. It was served with an Italian wafer which added texture to the dish and was fantastic for scooping up the panacotta with. The roast rhubarb wasn’t in the panna cotta itself, it was served as a compote in a little kilner jar which I thought was a really lovely touch in terms of presentation.