Alderley Edge’s new upmarket seafood restaurant is well manicured yet authentically Italian. Head chef Mirko Capomaggi, shipped all the way from his own successful restaurant chain in Rome, takes a no nonsense, stripped back approach to seafood at Blue Lobster. The seafood here is the star, along with vast quantities of high quality olive oil and Capomaggi is a master at letting the simplicity of fresh seafood and gourmet pasta shine.

When it comes to Italian food you should always do as the Italians do. Forget starter, main and dessert, here it’s all about antipasti, primo, secondo, and dolce. So without further ado, here are our top picks from the Blue Lobster menu.

If you are a seafood fanatic you are going to be dying to get your claws into this new Alderley Edge hot spot

Before you even reach the antipasti, a small selection of oysters paired with a cool glass of Franciacorta sparkling wine makes a delicious aperitivo or amuse bouche. Alternatively, they are also a luxurious way to cleanse your palate between courses. They are hand-shucked, to use the technical term, by the Blue Lobster chefs and served raw, over ice. The oysters are unbelievably fresh and are a little mouthful of the sea. They really are glamorous treat for any seafood lover.

Antipasti; a snack before your pasta dish, and yes there is such a course in Italy. Alas, the confines of the working week will not allow us to nip on the next flight to Milano, but Blue Lobster is the next best thing. They serve Tonno e melograno on the antipasti menu, a salad of small pieces of lemon marinated tuna served with pomegranate seeds, parmesan cheese and peppery rocket. It is fresh and light with lots of varying texture and enjoyable bursts of sweetness from the pomegranate. Top marks.

If you are feeling a little adventurous then a dip into the polpo waters is a must. Polpo is of course octopus. In this dish it was chopped very fine with carrot, celery and dressed with lemon juice, pepper and lots of olive oil. The tender octopus was sweet, wonderfully fresh and packed with flavour. Even if you are a little squeamish we promise you’ll never look back after giving it a go.

Primo; we opted for the Fusilli all’Italiana which has succulent prawns nestled in the authentically al dente pasta, bursts of flavour from the cherry tomatoes and delicately flavoured with saffron. Then the Spaghetti Bolognese made us feel like we’d been invited to a beloved Italian Grandmother’s family dinner and treated to a taste of the family recipe guarded and passed down generations.

The Linguine all’aragosta is a taste of Italia; lobster is served whole with fresh pasta stirred with a light tomato sauce and plenty of olive oil on the side.

Secondo; we recommend Blue Lobster’s namesake here. When it comes to lobster this place really knows what its talking about. It’s all in the name after all, and there are so many ways to eat it here. If you want to keep it simple the half or whole lobster cooked in butter and served with garlic potatoes. Or if shellfish isn’t your thing, we can also recommend the Tagliata di Tonno or the fried calamari. As with the lobster Mirko really allows the quality of the ingredients to shine through, complimenting the flavours with a little garlic and olive oil, are you starting to see a theme here.

Dolce; it does not matter where you are from when it comes to dessert, it is universally considered the only way to end a meal and Blue Lobster does not disappoint. Pana cotta is an Italian favourite and this one really does the country justice. Equally, the pistachio tiramisu was a creamy delight and an interesting variation from the coffee you expect. Bailey’s mousse was also on the menu, so make sure you leave room for dessert.