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    Don Marco

    4.4 (31 reviews)
    ModerateItalian, Pizza
    Open 12:00 pm - 11:30 PM

    Don Marco Photos

    DON MARCO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Quiet
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Don Marco

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    Reviews With Photos

    Alfie B.

    Don Marco's is an excellent Italian restaurant just by Deansgate Station that deserves to be considered one of the better Italians available in Manchester, alongside the Pizza specialists Croma. Don Marco's is not in serious competition with Croma though, as where Croma specializes in Pizza and offers the odd other thing, Don Marco's specializes in other Italian delights and offers the odd Pizza. The pasta, for me, forms the core of the Don Marco's menu. The range is excellent and whilst I previously thought that pasta was a strange thing to have in a restaurant, as you can make it at home, I was forced to change my mind once I'd had one of these beautiful dishes. The Penne Picante, a pasta with spicy Italian sausage and onions, garlic, chilli and spinach, sounds simple but it an absolute joy. As main meals the pastas cost around £8-9. In keeping with Italian tradition though, all the pasta dishes are available cheaper, as a starter, freeing up the main course for a gorgeous steak, halibut fillet or roasted duck! Basically this restaurant is excellent for two reasons, one because the food is beautiful and two because you have the choice of whether to have a lovely large bowl of pasta for a good price or whether to splash out on a special meal for a good £20. Consider both recommended.

    Aiden B.

    This place has the best food I have ever eaten. Authentic Italian hidden away at the bottom of deansgate this unassuming place contains hidden treasure. The beef carpaccio is outstanding and the ribeye melts in your mouth. Every mouthful I eat I do so with my eyes closed because my brain doesn't know what is happening it tastes so good. So why not 5 stars? There is a catch ... while the service is super friendly you can be waiting for attention. Here's the big let down ... even if you book a table for a given time you can be waiting over an hour in the cold to be seated. People jump the queue and in general it is chaos. Be prepared to be unbritish and make a stand for your taste buds. The flip side is that once seated they never rush you to leave. Even with that I'd go again and wait for an hour in the cold because the food is worth it.

    Lucy H.

    This place is classy. The dark wooden interior is contrasted against the musically placed candle array, with the long collection of wine bottles lining the walls around me. It oozes sophistication. Christened Don Marco, I was falling in love with this Italiano. Again the lunch menus just get me into these places. These days it's a £7.95 for any pizza pasta or salad and a choice of drink between 12-4. Before this, £9.99 for two courses. Watch this space for the next superb food for value offer. But what completed this lunch visit was the waiter's interest in who we were and how we found ourselves here. Now some may find it creepy, I felt it was a nice touch, getting to know the custom right.. Mr Don Marco (not sure if it was himself) engaged in the story of travelling the South coast before he opened his little empire here. I liked this bit of history to warm me up for the final course. If you don't get to engage in such conversations per se, you just have to look at the place, with the arcade area for dining al fresco style in the summer, the bustling happy custom (seriously every time I walk past) and venture in and be delighted at the traditional Italian offerings, a selection beyond pizza.

    Yelp Sunday brunch club!
    Shrimoyee C.

    Nice ambience, very generous portions, the squid starter is absolutely delicious and something I've never tasted before! I also loved the main course and their service! Good place for first dates, family meals or even quiet girls dinner date!

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    6 years ago

    Delicious! The prawns were amazing. Lobster ravioli was sublime. It isn't big and flashy but none the less, perfection!

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    Don Marco Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Don Marco

    The staff are so friendly and service is very quick, even with a large group.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Giorgio

    Giorgio

    3.8(10 reviews)
    0.4 miOxford Road Corridor
    ££

    I came here to celebrate a friend's birthday. From the offset the service was highly attentive…read more Complimentary bread , olives and dipping oil were first served . I can take or leave olives but these were so moreishly flavoured. The menu consists of the usual Italian segments. Meat, fish , pizzas and pasta. The Meat and fish were really pricey so for starters I opted for a antipasti without the bread for and a seafood risotto for mains. My friends ordered a garlic bread to share and pate while I scoffed the antipasti which consisted of various parmaham, artichoke, prawn salad, cheese and chorizo. This was well presented and tasty..definitely manageable for one person! Next the risotto..again this was cooked beautifully and went well with a large glass of malbec. My friends ordered a simple carbornara which looked really rich. To finish we ended the meal with a liquere coffee. Overall this was a nice Italian..I haven't had much luck with the ones in Manchester! But yes quite pricey if you want something other than a pasta or pizza dish..and they do try charging you a optional service charge. Decor and ambiance is classic Italian with bold reds and "romantic. " I might be back after I've checked out the others .

    We ended up at this restaurant completely by accident. Somebody had recommended Don Giovanni's to…read moreme, but I'd just remembered that it was at the end of Oxford Street and had an Italian sounding name (my hair isn't even that blonde), so we found ourselves in Giorgio, just across the road. The restaurant has more of an Italian feel to it than pseudo-Italian restaurants such as Felicini, and the staff were Italian too, which added to the air of authenticity. Prices are pretty standard - ranging from £6.50 for a margarita (but who orders a margarita?!) to £17.50 for the sea bass. We stuck to pizzas, which were delicious, but for the more wealthy and adventurous there is quite a varied menu including duck marinated in orange liqueur and several variations on the fillet steak. Vegetarian choices are not quite so exciting though there are still a couple of pizzas and pasta dishes to choose from. So, it's an authentic Italian restaurant with good reasonably priced fare. Why only 3 stars? Well, we were sitting not more than 20cm (I kid you not) from another table. I usually quite enjoy a good eavesdrop, but this was too close for comfort. It felt like we should've been sharing food and chatter with the couple next to us. Of course we're British and were too polite to complain as the restaurant was busy at the time, but this little predicament has encouraged me to head over to Don Giovanni's next time I'm on Oxford Street and in the mood for an Italian.

    Photos
    Giorgio - Delicious appetizer cheese was so great

    Delicious appetizer cheese was so great

    Giorgio - Great choose for student

    Great choose for student

    Giorgio - Pate

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    Pate

    San Carlo

    San Carlo

    4.0(51 reviews)
    0.4 miCity Centre
    ££

    This place was packed, which is to me a good sign. There is patio seating available, but for faster…read moreservice we sat inside. There is a full, authentic Italian menu. The table next to us had folks speaking Italian, another good sign. Staff were reasonably attentive though we never did get the water we asked for three times. It was a very noisy Saturday and the ambience was pretty fun. As for food, I had the best caprese salad I've ever had (I want to mimic it at home) and 'pasta normale'.

    San Carlo has a few restaurants around the city centre, this is their main and larger one, on King…read moreStreet West, just off Deansgate and Bridge Street, opposite the House of Fraser. Being one of the first restaurants to reopen for dine-in, I decided to give this place a chance despite my bad experience at their sister restauraunt, Fumo on New Years Day 2020. The Reservations system is awful, due to the ongoing NHS Track and Trace programme, everywhere from pubs to restaurants must, of course, record their diners information with table bookings wherever possible however the online booking system wouldn't accept either one of my emails, with an off-brand Yahoo email or Protonmail, this meant I had to enter a fake email so I didn't receive any confirmation to my booking, which was concerning. The restauraunt is accessed by a couple of steps but there is a disabled entrance which appears to be unsafe as they place a ramp on a very narrow side-street where there is a curb, meaning it can be very difficult for a disabled person to safely use it. They should speak to Manchester City Council regarding extending the pavement or dropping the curb for customer safety. Big changes to the usual dining experience due to the pandemic included protective screens, similar to buses and supermarkets to separate tables and they used disposable menus. Unlike other restaurants, they still had table service without the need to order on an app. My first disappointment was, of course, the reservations system, and the next a violation of UK law which warranted a complaint to the licensing department at Manchester City Council. They refused to serve me tap water. Under UK law, any place which serves alcohol must also serve tap water. Instead, I had to buy a beverage which I didn't want, an orange juice advertised at fresh (which wasn't) for £3.60. This is serious on its' own as it is a breach of the business' alcohol license. The staff also seemed pretty rude, I was originally told they didn't have gluten-free pasta, only to be told they did (bad communication). They also seemed disgusted with the fact I'd ask for tap water (I don't like drinking with standard lunch meals on my own and prefer water), I also had to ask on three occasions to remove the service charge which is optional (It wasn't stated anywhere), I mean I ordered one course and a drink I didn't want for one person, a service charge is a little much? Interestingly, as soon as I sent an item back and denied the service charge at their sister restauraunt, the staff turned on me and turned "toxic" and it seemed to happen again, the staff member seemed openly angry when I denied the service charge, he sighed and tutted very loudly which made me feel uncomfortable. This is after he pretended not to hear me when I asked to remove it the first two times. The restauraunt was surprisingly busy, I don't think the staff were controlling alcohol intake either, this is supposed to be a classy and high-end restauraunt, with the clientele often including footballers, Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City was spotted here recently. Considering this, the fact they let customers openly walk around shouting very loudly made what was supposed to be a high-end experience, seemed cheap in everything but the price. My Gluten-Free Carbonara, unlike Fumo, came out rather quickly and was hot, however, the pasta just didn't taste fresh and the sauce was so bad, it tasted like dishwater and bleach combined. Gross. I've made much better fresh pasta myself which really shocks me considering the reputation this place has made, I'm not sure if they're trying to cut back on the experience due to revenue lost in the pandemic but that is no excuse for subpar food, rude staff and a breach of the law of the land. Multiple breaches here which means I no longer feel sorry for the business from breaches to customer safety, their alcohol license while serving subpar foods at premium costs. I have no intentions to return to any San Carlo location based on today, propped up by my bad experience at San Carlo Fumo earlier this year. 1*

    Photos
    San Carlo - Carb with avocado

    Carb with avocado

    San Carlo - Pizza margherita

    Pizza margherita

    San Carlo - Courtesy of www.sancarlo.co.uk

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    Courtesy of www.sancarlo.co.uk

    Croma - surroundings

    Croma

    4.3(71 reviews)
    0.4 miCity Centre
    ££

    Located in Manchester's city centre on Clarence Street, just off Princess Street and close to St…read moreAnne's Square, Croma is an "independent gourmet pizzeria", with a few branches around Greater Manchester, with this being their only city centre location. Having been impressed by their Prestwich branch, where I most recently awarded it a three-star rating (previously a four!), I decided to try this out after stumbling across Croma on UberEATS. Originally the app didn't allow me to specify gluten free - this is something which needs addressing however after a quick call with the store, the manager seemed friendly to assist and make sure my order was gluten-free and I could still get my food. The restaurant its self is an impressive old building, it is up a couple of steps to get in - which could be a problem for some. I ordered a Gluten Free Americana pizza, the pizza its-self was quite good quality, the passata was a little runny at times but overall the pizza was a decent pizza, especially for gluten-free, much beating most other takeaways I could have had including Domino. The overall prize was good too for delivery, my pizza came delivered the short half a mile journey to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate for £11, the delivery free was set by UberEATS and cost around £2.50 in that total. The pricing for eating in, however, is pretty much average, with it being a small restaurant they lack the offers which bigger chains do, meaning it could work out slightly more expensive than rivals, including (but not limited to) Bella, Pizza Express and Zizzi. The menu selection is pretty good too, if you like pizzas but maybe not so much for everything else. is this somewhere I'd order from or visit again? Yes, and it does definitely warrant a solid three-star rating, issues with pricing when dining inside, selection other than pizza including starters and sides, and the access issues mean I sadly don't feel I can go any higher than a score which would match Croma's other branch I've visited in Pretswich, of three-stars.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the food here. I have become a regular customer now. Wish I had found it…read moresooner as I now live in Birmingham so I'll be missing it when I go back to uni. But I love it really authentic and quirky.

    Photos
    Croma
    Croma
    Croma

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    Insolito - Siciliana

    Insolito

    4.7(3 reviews)
    0.4 miCity Centre

    Great deal on Monday nights here (two for one pizza) and I would definitely recommend the…read moregorgonzola, parma ham and pear combo. Pizzas were cooked perhaps a hair too long and the toppings ended pretty far from the edge leaving you with quite a lot of crunchy base but overall they are a good example of authentic Italian pizzas. I'd like to come back and try one of the risottos - they had some really interesting options. Service was fine - a little slow on some things and inevitably given the size limitations of a pizza oven, not everybody's food came out at once (for a large group I'd recommend getting some snacks to share to stave off hanger). Unfortunately the restaurant became almost unbearably hot as the night wore on and it filled up - I actually had to go outside at one point (and I don't normally overheat). Hope they can figure out some way to combat that.

    Amazing pizza! I took advantage of Insolito's 2-4-1 deal on a Monday night (between 5pm and 7pm)…read morewith my Italian friend, as we are on the hunt for the best pizza in Manchester. This is certainly a prime contender for that title. The menu has a spectacular selection of classic pizzas and on this occasion I opted for the Siciliana, which was tomato sauce, mozzarella, onions, salame napoli, origano, and olive chilly, with chilli flakes sprinkled all over it. The dough was a compromise between Neopolitan and Roman, but cooked well, although in an electric oven - my preference is always Roman. I love a thin and crispy crust. The pizza itself was ginormous! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it had a great combination of fresh flavour from the mozzarella, salame and olives with the prefect level of spice. One of the things I loved about Insolito is the Italian authenticity - it is managed and staff by Italians and is really pleasant to see, and the staff are extremely friendly and provide great service. The pizzeria is situated perfectly on Mosley Street opposite the Manchester Art Gallery and near the recently re-developed St. Peter's Square. Inside, it's eloquently decorated with large floor to ceiling windows, which opens up the pizzeria.

    Photos
    Insolito - Pizzas

    Pizzas

    Insolito - Wooooow

    Wooooow

    Insolito

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    Fumo - beef tartare

    Fumo

    3.5(26 reviews)
    0.4 miChinatown
    ££

    Fumo is a San Carlo restauraunt at 1 St Peters Square, near the turning onto Oxford Road and…read moreopposite Central Library. I decided to call here to grab some food, having been impressed with their gluten-free selection of risottod and pastas online, however their gluten-free menu was a pretty lazy laminated list compared to their very good online system - It didn't even describe the dishes eg) what is inside the risotto, type of pasta and it even didn't include some menu dishes including the pumpkin risotto. They have step-free access through the main 1 St Peter's Square building but it is still rather difficult as they seem to block it off with barriers for some bizarre reason. The food is tapas style and I really struggle to comprehend the need for italian style tapas, especially considering the prices are only slightly cheaper than what you'd pay for a full sized dish, meaning if you do purchase a couple (which you have to do), it can work out pretty expensive. The food was pretty slow and when my gluten-free carbonara was served it was cold, it did taste rather nice apart from that however after sending it back for it to be reheated it appeared that they remade it to the point it was sloppy with too much sauce and just not as good: it was obviously rushed and the worst part: it wasn't much hotter? Still being hungry, I decided to order the lobster risotto which is where everything turned. I sent my food back as the risotto just wasnt good, the rice was dry while the tomato flavour was just disgusting, it tasted like vommit. The lobster was even poor quality. After complaining, the manager forced me to explain three times what was wrong with it (he didnt seem to care or pay attention), after I asked them to knock it off my bill he originally refused because 'I already had used a 50% off food.' I mean come on, how can you charge someone for food that poor, looking down on someone for using a promotion they offer to all customers with a reservation anyway? To make matters worse, they charged me for a spaghetti dish which would have cost £4 more than the price anyway which he also refused to change at first. It seemed from that point onwards I was looked down upon, no staff member even looked at me, thanked me or said goodbye and left me to struggle to get out of the store including the doors and barriers - they just didn't care. The atmosphere was toxic and with a manager causing this what hope does Fumo have? No one even apologised to me for my issues, nor did they even explain the unique restaurant concept. A disgrace to the San Carlo name and brand, failing to treat their patrons with any decency. It is a real shame my first review of 2020 has to be a negative one. 1*

    I left a review two days ago complaining about the quality of food and service and today I noticed…read morethat on the bill a 10% gratuity was automatically added. We were a party of two so I find this to be ridiculous as well! So again, you can do better elsewhere!

    Photos
    Fumo - Queen of scallop

    Queen of scallop

    Fumo - Dessert

    Dessert

    Fumo - Downstairs @ Fumo

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    Downstairs @ Fumo

    Rudy's Neapolitan  Pizza - The Marina pizza .. no cheese but super delicious

    Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza

    4.4(53 reviews)
    1.1 miAncoats, Petersfield
    £

    I was FINALLY able to try Rudy's, even though the universe seemed to be against me the whole time…read morebut I finally got in. I've wanted to try this place for some time now, and every time I see people in Manchester asking about the best pizza places, Rudy's is always peoples number one choice. I made a point to want to go there on this visit, so I did everything I needed to do in the city, and then headed over for when it opened so I knew I would be able to get a table. A few people went in before me and the staff member was talking to people a little bit so I had a feeling something was wrong. When I got to the them, it turns out the pizza oven wasn't turning on so there would have been a minimum of 30 minute delay, I could be seated but they couldn't do any orders until the people in had sorted out the problem. I decided to go off and do something else (there's an amazing coffee shop around the corner so I went there for a bit) and then return when, hopefully, it was all fixed. I was gone around 40-45 minutes and when I walked down the street, alongside the extractor vents, I could smell pizza so knew it was all working. When I got in, there was a lot more people inside so it must have been fixed pretty quick and people were going for food. I got seated at the bar area, which was actually where a group of chefs were making the pizzas. I was in front of the one shaping the dough into the pizza shape. I felt a bit awkward looking at them so did it a bit slyly out the corner of my eye. They weren't looking at me so maybe it was as uncomfortable for them as me ... or maybe its just me being an awkward person at a new place. Looking at the menu there was a lot of choice. All of it seemed authentic Neapolitan pizza which Ive never had before so it was new to me. The menu was extensive and I decided to go for good old fashioned basic. HOWEVER, it turns out I ordered even more basic as I got the marinara rather than the margarita ... I did order that but didn't realise the marinara was without cheese. SO that was a shock at first but MY GOD it was delicious. Perfectly cooked and I could see them cooking it, perfect amount of garlic shavings and basil and the sauce and base was to die for. I can see why people say its the best, and there was a number of delivery or to take out orders as a staff member was constantly going out with piles of boxes. On the table where I was there was a tomato tin filled with the cutlery and napkins and a giant pizza cutter which I thought was pretty cool, so I was able to slice my own pizza into whatever sized pieces I wanted. Obviously I ate it how it should be eaten (in my opinion)... into slices and picked up and folded and it was great. I also got a jug of water before my order was taken which I love, and went for a simple blood orange san Pellegrino which came with ice and an orange slice. The pizza was around 9 inch I think ... a good size either way and all in all it only came to £10 which was a bargain. I will, for sure, return and maybe get some cheese on it this time ... and maybe mushrooms as the fungi pizza looked amazing (the guy who sat next to me ordered that) and when I can finally move up to Manchester, I shall order from there more often.

    A nice neighborhood spot for a solid wood fired pizza! We visited at lunch and were seated…read moreimmediately.

    Photos
    Rudy's Neapolitan  Pizza - Front of the restaurant .. the signs is usually lit up

    Front of the restaurant .. the signs is usually lit up

    Rudy's Neapolitan  Pizza - Caesar salad, Portobello pizza, Rudy's Kick Ass Lemonade

    Caesar salad, Portobello pizza, Rudy's Kick Ass Lemonade

    Rudy's Neapolitan  Pizza - What's on every table ... looked quite chic

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    What's on every table ... looked quite chic

    Don Marco - italian - Updated May 2026

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