MANCHESTER, Italian Restaurant Guide

“Seemingly effortlessly classy and convivial” – these attractive spinoffs from the national San Carlo chain provide “casual dining with Italian small plates in a lively setting” and can be particularly “great for a pre-theatre meal” given their “very convenient locations for the West End” (including a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus). There are drawbacks though: “quality of the dishes is a little variable”; “tables are squeezed in”; and conversation can be “difficult” (“this place is described as ’buzzy’, for which I would read loud”).

“Almost like a speakeasy to get into”, and based in a railway arch, but once inside you’ll find a “totally charming place” that makes for “the perfect cheap ’n’ cheerful night out”. The MO is “fabulous” and “slightly bonkers”: spätzle (a Swabian, noodle-like pasta dish) is the star of the show, with William Sitwell in his June 2025 review – one of many journos to rave about what he called this “Manchester institution” – claiming that “all seems well with the world as you guzzle them”; also on the menu, other “great-value Polish and Eastern European food”, all of which is “wonderfully presented” too. No wonder fans “love everything about this place”.

2024 Review: “Pizza with an inventive streak” – plus all the standards “for those who are less adventurous” – is the offer at this surviving branch of an independent Manchester group founded in 2000. The flagship in the city centre and the Didsbury branch have closed down in recent times, to the dismay of their many fans, leaving just Chorlton and Prestwick standing.

2024 Review: “Forget flying to southern Italy – go to Sud for wonderful pasta and other Italian dishes”, say fans of the “fresh, vibrant, authentic food” served at this “fun” Altrincham outfit with “slick and friendly service” – the original of a group now with outposts in Ancoats, Sale and Manchester city centre, and which changed its name from Sugo to avoid a clash with a Glasgow operation of that name. “Lots of eye-rolling, and funny noises came out of my mouth, and my wife and I literally didn’t speak for 15 minutes during the main course – I’ll never eat pasta with a knife and fork again!”.

“Bloody-tasty pasta!” – handmade on site – is the USP at this lone surviving branch of a group that has expanded and contracted across Manchester under different names (Pasta Sugo; Pasta Sud) over the past 10 years. “Now that they’ve settled down from an ill-advised rebrand and colour scheme and focused efforts on their Altrincham site, it’s back to its best quality wise” and “delicious as ever”. “Living up to its Puglian roots with super food and wines in a communal seating – it’s a great foodie destination opposite the Altrincham Market. A limited menu is loaded with cracking pasta and seafood dishes and appetising aromas waft from the adjacent small kitchen”. (“There’s just this Altrincham branch left now” – those in Sale and central Manchester have gone – “but the quality of the food remains brilliant… it’s the place to go if you love pasta!”)

“Very much a place to see and be seen” in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle – “great for celeb-watching and the waiters are proud of that” – this two-year-old from the national Italian stable is the result of a reputed £3m makeover, complete with palm trees and a terrace with a retractable roof. Investment has continued, with the addition of the 60-cover ‘Il Giardino’ for al-fresco dining last summer. Marcello Distefano, who now runs the group founded by his father Carlo, grew up in the area and knows the site well from its days as Brasingamens nightclub, a celebrated hangout for WAGs in the ’90s and ’00s.