210 Heaton Road has been in the Rea family since 1981, with the building owned during its various different incarnations as a hotbed of Italian cooking.
Now, for the first time in the venue’s history, Brothers Damiano Rea and Zeno Meynel-Rea – who manage the adjacent Heaton Property estate agents – bring their own family’s venture to their corner of suburban Heaton. The Brothers Rea have eschewed the crowded “penne franco/ waxy chianti bottle” marketplace and have set out to create something fun, fresh and contemporary. The result is Punto – a stylish, high-quality Italian kitchen serving freshly made pasta and sourdough pizza to a mix of locals, professionals and families.
In line with the new approach, Damiano and Zeno have created a versatile dining space which at various points in the day can play Italian coffee house, buzzy bistro or gourmet takeaway.
Punto then is a neighbourhood hub where one can enjoy an espresso at the bar (Italian-style), light lunchtime bite or more traditional sit-down meal.
I am of course an avowed fan of Italian cooking in all of its various guises so pitched up with my son Jack – a grumpy, hobbling figure who had sprained his ankle the night prior- to review the experience. Early feedback has been exceptional so we blocked out a Friday afternoon to really take our time.
On arrival, we were warmly welcomed by restaurant manager, Andrew, an ebullient host and real credit to the place. Andrew talked us through a deliberately succinct wine menu whilst also inviting us to kick off with a schooner or two of the American pale ale Gamma Ray brewed by the ever-popular Beavertown brewery. The dining area is decidedly modern, punctuated by rich shades of blue, exposed brickwork and high resolution photography. At its heart is an impressive, marbled, circular bar whilst an open-style Gozney wood-fired pizza oven lends a real sense of spectacle.
The bright and airy space also possessed a lively atmosphere, all lunchtime chatter, not to mention the occasional hiss of the La Pavoni lever pull espresso machine. One chat with Damiano and Zeno reveals a pair of unabashed foodies whose knowledge and enthusiasm is infectious. This is realised in Punto’s winter menu.
To begin, the restaurant offers a host of antipasti dishes which can be shared tapas-style or used to make up a more formal starter/main course approach. We chose the latter (old habits and that) with Jack enjoying a stunning seafood antipasto comprising calamari, white bait and oven-baked filo pastry prawns whilst I tucked into the bruschetta with pan-toasted sourdough and vine-ripened tomatoes.
These really captured the vim and vigour of Italian cooking and even put a smile back on the eldest bambino’s face.
Pizza or pasta was the conundrum facing us for main course with both boasting their respective merits. All of Punto’s pasta for instance is made daily on-site by an accomplished team of pastai using the highest quality flour, durum semolina and eggs. Pizza dough meanwhile is made using finely milled ‘doppio zero’ flour from Napoli, the restaurant’s own starter yeast culture, kneaded and shaped before being aged for three days for unforgettable flavour.
Jack chose tagliatelle pasta with white crab and prawns in a creamy lemon and vodka sauce whilst I plumped for the veggieladen Fiorentina pizza with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, fior di latte and two (!) eggs.
A pair of limoncellos with café latte chasers completed what had been an excellent meal which is unsurprising given some strong early feedback. You could say then that Punto has been 40 years in the making.
These two estate agents have brought a new lease of life.