The latest Italian restaurant to join Liverpool’s busy dining scene hits the spot for Emma Johnson

IF A restaurant is good enough for a Hollywood A-lister, then it is good enough for me, and when that A-lister is a certain Sex and the City actress, well, book me a table for two now.

Liverpool’s Prego restaurant, in One Park West, had barely opened its doors to the public before Kim Cattrall started dropping in back when she was in the city starring in Antony and Cleopatra at The Playhouse.

I had no such starry engagement when I swung by there with my husband, merely a surprise free afternoon.

Unfortunately, it seemed we were the only ones able to escape the office that day, because as we were seated at our table for two it dawned on us we were the only diners in the restaurant.

Having seen the place bustling on a Saturday night, though, I am certain this was merely a timing issue. I imagine few eateries are packed out at 3.30pm on a Friday.

When it first opened, one of Prego’s little quirks was that it is an Italian restaurant that does not serve pizza.

That had altered on our latest visit and there was a good selection of pizzas available. They are joined on the menu by a wide selection of antipasti, bruschetta and nibbles, plus a good array of pastas and risottos featuring plenty of dishes you will be familiar with and a few you may not.

For example, when did you last see a tagliatelle Sophia Loren on a menu or Tortelloni Michael Caine? (For the record, the Michael Caine dish, a fabulous meat filled pasta baked with cream, bacon, pepperoni and mozzarella is definitely worth a go; I had it last time I dined at Prego.)

Naturally, there are also secondis of meat and fish.

Apparently the spaghetti vongole with clams and linguine was Ms Cattrall’s favourite dish, but in the end I went for the classic lasagne (£8.95) while my husband ordered the pollo prosciutto e funghi.

To start, I picked the gamberoni pancetta – king prawns with cured ham in a creamy sauce (£8.95) while my husband ordered the fritelle de pesce – fishcakes (£6.95) and just in case that little lot was not enough we threw in a portion of bruschetta funghi (£4.85) for good measure.

To wash it all down, we indulged our new-found passion for the Cortese grape and ordered a bottle of Gavi di Gavi La Meirana (£25.95).

The starters and bruschetta arrived shortly after we had taken our first few sips of the wine, which was so deliciously creamy it was all we could do not to order a second bottle.

Given that it wasn’t yet four o’clock in the afternoon, though, I thought that might be slightly indecent.

The bruschetta was excellent, four little pieces of toasted bread topped with smokey mushrooms with a sweet kick of balsamic and a tangy smattering of melted cheese.

My prawn starter also had a smokey flavour to it, coming, I presume, from the ham. Initially, it made for something of an odd taste combination; however, the ham actually brought out the flavours of the prawns and the creamy sauce perfectly complemented the meaty/fishy concoction.

My husband’s fishcakes were also a success, light and fluffy and plenty more fish than potato.

After a short but comfortable break, the mains arrived. Sadly, the restaurant still had yet to fill up, but the waiters kept themselves busy so we never had that under surveillance feeling you can sometimes encounter in a quiet venue.

Although I love the dish, I rarely order lasagne in restaurants, because it is often disappointing and usually too hot to eat.

Prego pulled it out of the bag here, though. Yes, the dish was hot, but it was edible in a few minutes and it ticked all the taste boxes.

The sauce was rich and thick, the cheese was creamy, it was packed with tasty beef and, most importantly, the pasta was nicely firm, not the baby mush you are sometimes presented with.

My husband’s dish was similarly bursting with flavour.

A large leg of chicken came smothered in a thick sauce packed with prosciutto and mushrooms and with a side of potatoes. He described the chicken as tasty and moist and the potatoes salty and sagey.

You might have thought we would stop eating there, and for our waistlines’ sakes we probably should have, but I could not resist a peep at the desserts.

All in the interests of giving as full a review as possible, you understand . . .

Before I knew it, I had a giant slab of Italian chocolate sponge cake drowned in orange liqueur before me (torta sasher, £5.45). It was rich and devilish and naughty, and the orange flavour took me back to my childhood, and afternoons eating Terry’s Chocolate Oranges with my Nan.

My husband took the simpler option, ordering ice cream (£4.45) and scoops of pistachio, strawberry and chocolate ice cream soon arrived accompanied, much to his delight, by a huge bowl of Amaretto biscuits.

While I finished off my last glass of the delicious Gavi, my husband rounded off his meal with a latte – and the last of those biscuits.

Prego may have been quiet when we visited, but that let the food do all the talking and we will be going back. Thanks for the tip, Kim.