Azzurro Restaurant

Aww… I’m quite sad at how this place has translated as mediocre in some experiences. Stuart treated me to a meal in here tonight and it was lovely!
We fancied going somewhere a wee bit different and hadn’t tried Azzurro before. Situated at the end of Cambridge Street that tails off into Cowcaddens, it’s still central and one of the first restaurants you’ll see if you’ve got off at neighbouring Cowcaddens Underground station. It’s fairly small but tastefully decorated — rustic Italian meets contemporary restaurant. The terracotta coloured walls and unobtrusive art on the walls make for calming surroundings, and although it was fairly busy it wasn’t uncomfortably packed.
The menu is pretty straightforward — pasta dishes are the big speciality here. They are very well done though, and there are enough options to appease both vegetarians and meat eaters. Stuart got spag bol which was lovely, and I got the Spaghetti Primavera, which I’ve never tried but the veg in it reminded me a bit of a paella dish. The carrots, peas and spinich was an unusual option, so I decided to go for it. It was yummy! The portions were very generous, but we still managed to polish them off. Pasta was boiled well and it had a nice amount of sauce without veering into oily territory.
The service was good. Staff seemed to take their job seriously but they were nevertheless friendly and polite! There was also an Italian couple eating in here, which is a good sign of an authentic restaurant.
Yes, it’s not anything too fancy. The bar isn’t the biggest, they shut fairly early and although they have a decent food and wine selection, it’s not extensive. But it’s very homely, and the quality of the food is great. I enjoyed my meal at Azzurro and for the likes of my mum and less adventurous friends, I’d bring them here since I know they could order something traditional that they would like. Some great, simple pasta dishes — I liked!

Azzurro is satisfactorily fair, there is nothing very special at all about this plain Italian (again) restaurant. There are just so many Italian restaurants in town, so if you are going to open one, you have got to be prepared to do something… anything…different if possible to make your restaurant, THE restaurant to go to. Azzurro does nothing of the sort, everything about the experience was fine, and fine is not a good word in a review. I must say it is not as bad as some, in fact it was not bad, but man is it boring.
No excitement from the menu, to the lack of smiles from the staff. Not great! It does have a good location, so I guess it survives on passing trade and people who like same same.

First things first: I went here on a first date.
2^nd thing: The date was awful.
So, the review (of the date or restaurant? Ha, I jest…)?
I arranged to meet my ‘date’ (we’ll call him Jim) at Azzurro (never having heard of it, I did a quick google before I left). I went into the restaurant, which in itself was lovely — modern but relatively traditional. Then I noticed it was quiet. Not just quiet, dead. Eeep. So, needless to say, I was shown to ‘our’ table, where I ordered a glass of wine, and got comfortable. Jim was late (surprise surprise), so I scowered the menu, and settled on an old favourite, Penne arrabiata. This was inbetween every waiter/​chef/​host in the place asking me if I wanted to order «er, no, waiting on someone.»
Jim eventually showed up 20 minutes late (doing well so far, mate). By this time, the large glass of wine I’d just drank was working it’s way through my brain, so I was fine with it. So, he chose and we (eventually) ordered (where were all the staff from before?!), not before he had quizzed the waitress about the ingredients of the food, and their origins (when someone starts a question with, «I’m very carbon concious — do you know how far some fruit/​veg travels!?» you know it’s going to be a good meal).
My 2^nd glass of wine arrived, and we made the obligatory small talk «what do you do? where are you from?». Well, he did anyway. I didn’t get a word in edgeways. Our food came out pretty speedily, which was nice (in fact, at this point in time, it was fantastic: the quicker the food came out, the quicker I could eat, and thus the quicker I could leave), although, mine looked like it had been haphazardly thrown into the bowl. Nevermind, the proof is in the taste. My 3^rd glass of wine may have skewed my tastebuds, but it wasn’t the best pasta I’ve ever tasted, but it did the job. Jim seemed to enjoy his Carbonara (he scraped the plate with his finger so I take that as a good sign (ewwww — not in public!)).
I declined desert («Why… another glass of wine would be just PERFECT!»), but Jim ordered one of their specials. Thankfully, before you knew it, his desert was gone (as was my wine) and we were paying the bill. We said our awkward goodbyes, walked to the underground, and was gome regaling my flatmates with the awful tale less than 2 hours after it had begun. Best part of the night.
Needless to say, I never ventured out for another date with Jim, not have I been back to Azzurro.
Maybe it was just the (awful) date, but something didn’t seem to click with me here. I might try it again though, but for the moment, Azzurro, I think we should see other people (wine was good though).