Show homes key to further success in Easingwold

 With nine eager buyers already signed up, Redrow is hoping to build on the success of Oaklands in Easingwold with the opening of two show homes.

Up until now customers have had to rely on floor plans and visit other Redrow developments in the region to get a feel for the quality and finish of the homes.

But from this Saturday buyers will be able to look around two professionally styled show homes – a three-bedroom Cusworth and a four-bedroom Middleton.

Patsy Aicken, sales director for Redrow Homes, commented: “The number of people who’ve had the confidence to buy a property at Oaklands ‘off plan’ proves that there’s a demand for new homes in Easingwold. It also reaffirms our reputation for building quality homes that people really want to live in. We also have a number of other potential purchasers who are keen to move here but want to see inside the show homes before making a commitment and are looking forward to showing them all that we have to offer.”

Oaklands features a choice of three and four-bedroom properties, with current prices from ￡258,950 for a three-bedroom Cusworth in the same style as one of the show homes.

This detached property features a lounge to the front with an open plan kitchen and dining room to the rear. French doors lead from the dining area to the garden offering lots of natural light and helping to bring the outside ‘in’. There’s also a laundry and cloakroom; while upstairs the master bedroom enjoys the benefit of an en-suite with the remaining two bedrooms sharing the family bathroom.

The four-bedroom Middleton is the larger of the two show detached homes. With a classic central portico entrance, it’s a prime example of how Redrow has incorporated traditional architecture into the design of the homes at Oaklands.

The lounge spans from the front to the rear of the property, as does the open plan kitchen and dining room across the hallway. A utility and cloakroom complete the ground floor.

As with all new Redrow homes, the Middleton features a well equipped kitchen with integrated top brand name appliances, plus floor to ceiling cabinets and extra wide drawers that offer plenty of storage.

All four bedrooms are generously proportioned, with the master bedroom benefitting from an en-suite to complement the family bathroom.

“We’re confident that those who view the show homes at Oaklands will be pleasantly surprised at the high specification, Patsy added.

“Customers will be delighted to know that if they act now, in the development’s early stages they will have more properties to choose from and a greater chance of securing a home in their preferred position. Plus, if you buy early in the build process you have more likelihood of being able to personalise the interior by selecting the finish of things like the kitchen cabinets and the bathroom tiles.”

A stone lion, its jaw frozen in a yawn, greets us before we reach for the door of Bandra's Pizza Metro Pizza restaurant. The infectious melody of an Italian pop song wafts past the sprawling mural of a Mediterranean marketplace and over the tiles of the patterned floor. Gazed upon by the heroes of a series of Italian films whose posters adorn the wall, we take our seat at a marbled table. The bustle of Italian chefs is open to view in the cooking area as they work over an oven, which dominates them all.

With pots and pans suspended from the ceiling, and not a bottle of barbeque sauce or ketchup to offend the purist’s eye, the establishment goes the extra mile in maintaining a form of fusionism-shunning visual integrity while at the same time keeping a chilled-out vibe.

From the antipasti, or appetiser section, we tucked into the Polpette al Sugo and Fritura di Calamari.

The Polpette al Sugo, snowball-sized beef meatballs drenched in tomato sauce and parmesan serve two well but by themselves they have a delicate almost understated taste. Crumbling under the knife, the tender treats whet the senses to the distinct Italian flavouring.

The Fritura di Calamari or fried squid rings should give seafood lovers something to sing paeans about. In the mouth, the cephalopod's crispiness has a happy marriage with the restaurant-made mayonnaise sauce.

Eschewing the obvious pasta, we turned adventurous, sampling the meat and fish listed in the Carni and Pesci section. The sumptuous and well-portioned Polleto Diavoletto is something meat-lovers sink your teeth into. Beneath a layer of salmon pink parma ham and buffalo mozzarella is succulent chicken.

When our half-a-metre-long pizza arrived, we grasped the stunned look of the mustachioed cartoon chef atop the restaurant and the significance of his oversized wooden ruler. Metro, meaning metre after all, refers to the length of the disc-shaped delicacies to whom Naples, traditionally, has been credited as their home. Chicken was conspicuously absent from the toppings of the selection of pizzas in the menu. The Cicciobomba pizza in particular is visually and olfactorily inviting. Proving sumptuous to the carnivores with its generous sprinklings of ham, salami, and meatballs, it is tasty to boot. Adequately chompable, though deceivingly thin to the sight, the pizza base with its fluffy crust was quite well-cooked.

For desert, we topped it all off with the familiar tiramisu and and the not-so-familiar pastiera, a cake of dense consistency made wholly of wheat and cheese. Both were so-so. If you are spoiled for choice with external sweet-tooth soothers or your pockets simply aren’t deep enough or simply stuffed, it would be safe to skip dessert at Pizza Metro Pizza.

The décor which strives for the authentic is relaxingly unpretentious and the food is delectable. But were it not for the graciousness of our hosts, our repast would have blasted quite a hole in this humble reviewer’s modest bank balance. But If you won't let cash come in the way of your engagement of authentic Italian cuisine, Pizza Metro Pizza won’t let you down. Skinflint that I am, I will be returning again.