The award winning Artezzan opened in the summer of 2021. We were invited to sample their menu so 2 members of the team went along to the popular Pepper street restaurant.
“Artezzan describes itself as a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and bar and did not disappoint. We dined between late afternoon and early evening service (5.30pm-7pm), upon entry, the restaurant was already busy with a mixture of families with children dining alongside couples.
The atmosphere had a positive buzz of people enjoying their meals, the restaurant was light and airy, and the staff was welcoming, knowledgeable, and personable. There is an extensive menu, catering to all tastes and diets, which is reasonably priced and suitable for first dates or parties. (We saw a few of both on the night!) We were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t an identical standard pre-prepared chain outlet offering experience.
It was a well-thought-out offering of homemade med-inspired dining courses, which are freshly prepared each day. We were particularly impressed with the bread oven and were told that they make and bake it fresh each morning, which must smell lovely!
We chose the margs cocktails to drink as we love the margs in the beloved Death by Tacos. And well they were quite special! We were amazed that somewhere else could even come close to DBT but by gods, Artezzan margs are damn good! Perhaps they should have a margs-off competition? The smoked berry marg that comes out under a dome for full effect was very fancy!
The starter was freshly made artisanal bread and a selection of dips. For mains we had oven baked Fillet of gilt head bream served with grilled asparagus, Menai mussels, dauphinoise potatoes, and a white wine, cream sauce, and chargrilled tuna loin in a lemon and pepper crumb, soft-boiled quails’ eggs, vegetables Niçoise and Salsa Verde. It was delicious, especially with a side of triple-cooked chips!
The staff were attentive and very good at dealing with loud kids and stroppy parents. Special thanks to Seb, who served us well and chatted throughout the service!
The Chester blog 