Ask Italian, Belle Vue Terrace, Malvern

11:59am Friday 27th June 2008

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RIGHT now, the hottest tables to be had – and conversely also the coolest – are in Malvern, where national chain Ask has opened its latest restaurant on Belle Vue Terrace.

It has renovated a former florist’s shop and stationers to unveil a chic eaterie with an al fresco extra which will continue to have enormous pulling power just so long as the days are hot and the evenings remain warm. In the five weeks since it opened Ask has been continually busy, endorsing the boardroom decision to move into a town that’s gasping for a little glitz.

Directly off the street is an intimate dining area but you need to be upstairs for the full-on action.

Here, the vast room, open to the rafters, has its bar on one side and service on the other. Diners inhabit the space between – and what a space. There are glimpses of the Severn valley and the Priory tower in one direction and that inviting roof terrace in the other.

We arrive to find that our name isn’t on the reservation list, but figure that something akin to it with question marks alongside must be us (the night I booked the telephone conversation was barely audible in either direction).

The serving staff are all young but very enthusiastic and general manager David de Jager will be the first to admit – well he did to us – that because they are mostly inexperienced there have been a few minor problems with service. But fear not, dear reader, we are in safe hands tonight.

Waitress Beth says she’s looking after us, that in September she’s going to study fashion photography at Hereford and that I’m missing a knife which she will replace.

Two glasses of tap water with slices of lemon and a bottle of crisp frascati (£13.55) arrive pronto.

Ask, like its stablemate Zizzi, has been successful in high streets up and down the country in providing Italian food at reasonable prices.

In Malvern, the latin ethos is even more pronounced, but I do wonder why spaghetti bolognese is on the menu given that in Italy there is no such dish. Bolognese sauce is traditionally served with tagliatelle or rigatoni. Be that as it may, this is a place for everyone; singles, couples, groups of friends, families… there’s a teenage girl having a birthday party and the staff, advancing with a cake, gather around to belt out the usual accompaniment with gusto.

We get stuck into gamberoni al forno mantecati (£6.95 worth of fat and juicy butterfly prawns still sizzling in a pan with a tomato dip that’s just a little heavy on the chilli) and cozze alla marinara – mussels in a moreish garlic, tomato, basil and white wine sauce (£5.95). Both lots of seafood are served in their shells so it’s a messy business, but well worth the effort, although it would be nice to have fingerbowls.

Then comes filetto di salmone all’insalata (£10.95) and terrina Mediterranea (£8.95). “So much for asking for the salmon without rocket and red onions,” whispers the Loved One across the table. As if by magic, Beth is at her side. She has realised the kitchen’s mistake and within a few minutes it is replaced. The salmon is as light as TLO hoped it would be and the chicken breast and king prawn casserole is a steamy baked delight with large butter beans, black olives and peppers. A toasted rosemary ciabatta and a spoon come in very handy for unashamedly mopping up the rich tomato sauce. It is after this that things begin to go awry. Coffees arrive before the puddings and are sent away. Then comes a long wait, followed by news that the tiramisu can’t be served because it’s still frozen (an indication, perhaps, that it isn’t made on the premises?) Instead TLO makes do with scoops of vanilla ice-cream (£4.95) – “but delicious, all the same” and the semi freddo profiteroles bathing in a warm chocolate sauce (£4.95) are an experience to which I would dearly love to get addicted.

The bill is £56.05 – £3.50 for two coffees is knocked off for the muddle over the salad (and despite the long delay they come exactly as ordered, one with hot milk, the other as weak as a granny’s bladder).

In conclusion: Bene. Multo bene. Our evening may have had a couple of glitches but they were nothing more than teething problems that time and experience should remedy. Meantime the word is getting about what’s on offer and at 10pm the punters are still packing in. The only question you should ask is – can I book a table… and hope that those dodgy telephone lines have been sorted out.

HOW IT RATED

Ask Italian,

6-8 Belle Vue Terrace,

Malvern.

Telephone: 01684 893500

Food **** Value for money **** Ambience **** Service ***