I tried ASK Italian's new summer menu, but is it worth going to yourself before the items leave the restaurant?
The chain launched the new menu items on Tuesday, June 2, and they will be available until Monday, August 31.
New dishes include the likes of Pollo Picante Crocchettes as starters, a Prosciutto, Truffle and Stracciatella pizza and a Lemon Meringue Pie Sundae.
Jemma Townsend, Marketing Director at ASK Italian said: “At its heart, Italian dining is a generous occasion, all about a fuller table for everyone to enjoy.
"Our new menu celebrates this ‘Italian way of dining’, inviting the joy of passing plates and discovering new flavours together."
I had not been to an ASK Italian in more than 15 years, but when I was asked if I wanted to try the new items, I was curious to give it a go.
I tried ASK Italian's new summer menu
After being seated and having a free shot of cloudy lemonade, it was time to pick out my choices.
For starters, there were two choices from the summer specials.
One was Grande Fitto Miso, which is intended as a sharing platter that combines battered calamari, prawns and zucchini.
Meanwhile, the one I went for was the Pollo Picante Crocchettes, which is chicken, piquillo peppers, potato and pancetta coated in breadcrumbs.
You get four of these in a little basket with a small tub of spicy mayo to go with it.
Spicy food isn't usually my favourite, so I was happy to find that the taste had a little kick, but it wasn't overwhelming.
Depending on how you like your spice, that might not be enough, but I thought it contributed to a pleasant mix.
The highlight, though, was the mayo, which helped elevate the flavour and helped it avoid being too dry.
Next up, I went for the Prosciutto, Truffle and Stracciatella pizza for the main.
You could also get a smoky chicken salad and sticky beef short rib if you fancy.
This was certainly a hefty dish, and I was glad I didn't eat much building up to the evening meal.
The overwhelming taste coming through here was the sweetness of the honey.
If you have a sweet tooth, that may be more up your alley, but I found the saltiness of the prosciutto and the stracciatella didn't cut through it enough to have a great balance.
Overall, I still liked it but it ends up being decent in my book, rather than exceptional.
Finally, I was onto dessert, which I wasn't sure at first I was going to have enough room for.
Thankfully, I manifested a second stomach to try the Lemon Meringue Pie Sundae.
This ended up being the highlight of the meal for me, with there being mini slices of lemon tart atop meringue and vanilla gelato.
Once you made your way through a decent chunk of it, there was also some Biscoff crumb hiding at the bottom of the dish for an extra treat.
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The verdict
Overall, I enjoyed the summer special options, with the Lemon Meringue Pie Sundae certainly being an exceptional dish.
There were a couple of slight drawbacks in my opinion to the pizza, but the Pollo Picante Crocchettes were solid.
Will you be trying out ASK Italian's new summer menu? Let us know in the comments.
