It serves a range of Italian favourites and there are new dishes on the menu
Il Michelangelo restaurant on Weston-super-Mare seafront(Image: Bristol Live)
OK, the view of the brown and distant sea isn’t quite up there with the cobalt blue waters of the Amalfi coast.
Still, with a cold glass of Aperol spritz in your hand and a menu that includes all the Italian classics, you soon forget you’re looking out across to the beach at Weston-super-Mare.
And, yes, on a sunny day, it really does feel like being on holiday even if there’s a faint whiff of donkey dung and chips in the salty air.
Il Michelangelo has long enjoyed a reputation as one of Weston-super-Mare’s more upmarket restaurants, a place where people dress up a bit rather than simply turn up in swim shorts and sliders carrying an inflatable rubber ring.
The stylish interior of Il Michelangelo restaurant on Weston-super-Mare seafront(Image: Bristol Live)
Beyond the outdoor terrace, the restaurant is spacious, with a twinkling spotlit ceiling, blue LED strip lights, white linen tablecloths and an open kitchen at the far end.
Walls are decorated with huge Michelangelo murals and smartly dressed waiting staff patrol tables with eagle eyes, never missing a trick.
On the evening I was there, the place was packed with families and large groups, many of them celebrating birthdays.
There were huge helium balloons attached to backs of chairs for a wide range of ages – 18, 65 and 80 among them.
Over the years, I’ve stopped off at Il Michelangelo for pizzas, pasta dishes and fish specials from the ‘catch of the day’ menu.
The ‘perfectly cooked’ sirloin steak at Il Michelangelo restaurant on Weston-super-Mare seafront(Image: Bristol Live)
This time, it’s for the 8oz ‘bistecca’ sirloin steak (£25) smoky from the chargrill and perfectly cooked, pink and juicy within.
It’s served with good chips – hot, crisp and salty – and, for an extra, £3 peppercorn sauce with a proper tingle.
Before that, I tried the new starter – burrata invernale (£13) comprising a cool and creamy burrata with slices of Parma ham, wedges of deep-flavoured heritage tomatoes, basil pesto and rye and almond ‘crumble’ (essentially a scattering of toasted crumbs).
The Burrata and Parma ham starter(Image: Bristol Live)
Other new dishes on the menu bookmarked for next time include the Zozza pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, red onion, scamorza, Tuscan sausage and oregano) and the starter of slow-cooked pork ribs marinated in red wine, barbecue sauce, chillies and fennel seeds.
I finish with torta della nona (£7.95) – a Tuscan tart with crisp pastry, zesty lemon custard filling, almonds and pine nuts. Delicious.
It was good to be back at Il Michelangelo, a well-established restaurant that appeals as much to locals as it does holidaymakers and daytrippers.
‘It was lovely having you here’ came the friendly farewell from the waitress, followed by a handshake from the manager.
Old school hospitality to match the authentic Italian cooking – little things like that make a difference and I’ll be back to try more new dishes this summer.
Il Michelangelo, 50a Knightstone Road, Weston-Super-Mare, BS23 2BE.