San Rocco, off Ashley Road, Hale, WA15 9SP
Telephone 0161 941 6171

This restaurant is easily found, being situated next to the car park which is close to the Co-operative supermarket in the village centre.

I went with my solicitor friend, Michael, and we sat next to a large window from where we looked down on the busy comings and goings in the car park.

Although San Rocco is long established and well known I have never visited before. Downstairs there is a nice bar and upstairs there is a spacious, airy dining room.
 

The San Rocco was very quiet throughout our visit. We ordered Pinot Grigio, sparkling water, were provided with extensive menus and our attention was directed to a blackboard with fresh fish of the day thereon. At this point I had a distinct feeling of déjà vu and mentioned to the restaurant manager that the board was reminiscent of Marcello’s. He smiled and said this might be because the former chef of Marcello’s, called Chris, is now the chef at the San Rocco. What excellent news!

Some readers may recall Marcello’s restaurant in Hale, which closed in July 2006 due to the ill health of the now sadly deceased owner, Marcello. We remember it fondly because we rated Marcello’s as one of the finest fresh fish restaurants in the area.

We started with tasty Bruschetta and swiftly moved on to a perfectly pan fried Dover sole for me and a lovely sea bass cooked in white wine sauce for Michael. For dessert we had chocolate cake with chocolate sauce  and finished with cappuccinos.

We enjoyed our lunch very much and the food was reminiscent of great, fresh, fish dishes at Marcello’s. If you like fresh fish then give this a try. The bill was £60, good value in Hale for what we had, and the really good news is that it was Michael’s turn to pay.

Will we return?

Absolutely! A good fresh fish restaurant is hard to find and shouldn’t be neglected.
 

And TMD’s Verdict:

Atmosphere 6/10
Service 8/10
Food 9/10