Manteca lives up to the hype and is closer to 4.5 than 4. The whole place feels effortlessly cool -- industrial but warm, with that busy East London energy where you know something good is happening in the kitchen. The pasta is the star. Perfectly al dente, rich without being heavy, and layered with flavor in a way that makes you slow down and taste it. Service was relaxed but dialed in. We went with a large group and did the set menu, but this is a great date spot. And I think I recommend ordering à la carte. This is the kind of place you go with a small group so you can share everything. Go hungry, order broadly, and don't skip the pasta. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in London. read more

One of our favorite Italian spots! The tagliatelle al ragu was delicious. We normally love everything we try here but we didn't love the lumache with kale and chili this time around. The loquat dessert was unique as I have never seen loquats on any menu! Overall a solid place! read more

See all

I did a solo date night here and throughly enjoyed all the food. It was so fresh and flavorful. The kale pasta was insanely delicious and the ricotta and fresh bread were to die for. The apple gelato was a first. My servers were great and helped provide recommendations as well. read more

See all

A cozy spot featuring small menu with pastas and antipastas - Kale Pasta was very bright and lemony! The Hazelnut Tart was one of the best desserts I've eaten in recent memory. The appetizer and bread were alright, but cocktails were solid. read more

See all

Overall restaurant was decent. The ambiance was nice and the service was good. However, there were some major hits and misses. Overall I'd say some items were just completely lacking flavor. I tasted almost no rosemary in the rosemary focaccia and no chili in the home made ricotta. The radicchio salad was good. The viral lumache had 0 flavor and I had to tell the waiter and thankfully he took it off our check. The campanelle and tonnareli were both good. Finally, the roasted whole fish was nice and fresh but could have used at least some sort of seasoning. read more

See all

Horrible experience with the hostess here. We had a 1915 reservation and battled marathon crowds to make it on time. We called again and again to reach someone and no one picked up the phone. We emailed to cancel or reschedule for fear we'd be charged for a no show. When we arrived the hostess couldn't be bothered and would only say someone else took our spot. She made zero effort to help. I can't comment on the food, but the service is terrible. read more

Great Italian spot in Shoreditch! Start with the focaccia & ricotta and pair with the kale salad + 2 pastas. This split between 2 people is perfect. The chitarra verde was my favorite pasta & loved pairing it with a fresh green salad for some balance. read more

See all

Best part of the meal were the nduja mussels. I normally don't like nduja but my love for mussels overcame my antipathy to nduja and i was pleasantly surprised. Mussels were enormous gobs of lusciousness. Despite the very generous portion I could easily have devoured the same amounts again. We shared a perfect focaccia which left our fingers dripping with olive oil. Sublime. My ribs weren't fabulous it has to be said, being on the dry side, but the roast potatoes more than made up for any minor disappointment. Very nice and comfortable restaurant with efficient friendly service. It wasn't cheap but then what is in London? On my goto list next time. My dessert was an espresso martini n while my companions shared enormous puddings which they couldn't finish Recommended. read more

Great service, great food, and great ambiance. Went to this location with my aunt and British friend and we were very satisfied. Steak - YUM, Pasta -YUM. Every happy read more

See all

We have eaten here 4 times now and always enjoy it. The first visit when they had just opened was worthy of 5 stars, the 3 visits since 4 stars. The pastas are always top notch, the meats and salumi are excellent. It sounds horrible but if they have the pig face ragu on the menu, order it. It's amazing ! read more

What a delightful experience! I came here at the recommendation of my colleague (an Italian) and I'm so glad I did. The restaurant is tight but feels intimate and not crowded. The energy is bustling and I love the open kitchen. I sat at the chat at the salad, dessert, and charcuterie station and loved watching everything be crafted in front of me. I had the tomato salad and the brown butter crab pasta (though I heard the kale pasta was amazing). The tomatoes were bright and fresh, perfectly dressed with olive oil and kissed with Maldon salt. The pasta was rich and al dente but not too heavy. The wine selection is excellent and affordable, and my server was very amenable to letting me taste a few before settling. Will definitely be back at this lovely spot in Shoreditch. Make a reservation, though, it gets full! read more

manteca - Tomato salad - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Delicious food for our group of 4. We ordered 4 of the appetizers and 3 main courses, which was enough for all of us to be full. Each of us had a different favorite appetizer. The pork skin ragu was savory and rich which balanced out with the more mellow appetizers. We all really loved the sauce in the mussels that we could've drank it out the dish. The mussels themselves were cooked perfectly as well. They were not too chewy/overcooked. We were asked if we wanted bread to clean up the sauce, which we agreed to (keep in mind that bread has a charge and is not complimentary). The pate was so creamy. It was my personal favorite. The sea bass had a milder taste to it. There wasn't too much flavor there since it had a cucumber garnish but the fish was very fresh. For our main courses we had the crab tonarelli, ragu parpadelle, and the duck. The tonarelli had a very strong crab taste to it so only get it if you really loved crab. The sauce had all the essence of crab in it. Our favorite was the duck, which was cooked perfectly and was complimented with a delicious coleslaw and the potatoes, which had a nice crisp to them. We really enjoyed the meal and would definitely come back if we were in London! read more

See all

Received this recommendation from a local we met. It was super busy at lunch time but we were able to snag a table. They recommended a seat at the bar where they were cooking but they were all booked. We received quick service with drinks and food and appreciated the recommendations the server provided to us. Drinks were unique and delicious. Food was great but servings were small for the price. The place itself is nothing special but think the food is more the experience. read more

AMAZING FOOD. I've had the best mussel in my life here. The sauce is so flavorful but tbh it was a bit salty so the bread soaked in the bottom is rather inedible. Just try everything they can order tbh everything is try My server was yawning while speaking to us so it made us feel so unwelcome. Anyways the food is good so still worth a go read more

See all

This place has been on my radar for quite some time. The finishes are modern and trendy, but it is not overdone! The seating arrangements are a bit crowded, so getting up and moving around can be tricky. However, the whole experience feels very intimate. The staff was super kind and helped us select our dishes. They recommended 2-3 dishes per person. I believe that sounds about right if you want to sample their menu. I had a salad and the brown butter crab pasta. The pasta dishes we ordered were rich and al dente, but not too heavy! The wine selection was broad and affordable. If you want good pasta without breaking the bank, I highly recommend Manteca! PS I recommend making a reservation; the place is always packed! read more

See all

We sat at the bar and watched them cook. It was like watching an episode of "the bear". Yes chef. It was a definitely a bit warm, but a fun experience until we got a live tapeworm in the fish we got. Of course that was taken off our bill and they comped our dessert. But honestly felt quite grossed out and didn't want to eat anything else at that point. I think the whole meal should have probably been comped for that grave of an error, but whatever. They clearly need some quality control for selecting seafood/meat, so if you're planning on going maybe stay away from the fish. read more

manteca - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

See all

This seems to be where London's cool kids eat pasta. The vibes skew towards the trendy and stylish. The lighting is dim and the aura sleek. But even if you came for the vibes, you'll stay for the food. First off, everyone, EVERYONE orders the bread. And they know what they're doing. Do yourself a favor, and follow suit. The focaccia is excellent, airy and moist with a pillowy, almost cotton-candy softness and a savory infusion of rosemary and olive oil. From there, you can go in so many different directions. As far as I can tell, there are no wrong choices. We ordered the very fresh tasting Flourish Farm Salad as a starter then the Brown Crab Cacio e Pepe and the Mafaldine with Pork as mains. The pastas were cooked and sauced perfectly. The one nit I'll pick though--I wish there were pieces of crab in the cacio e pepe rather than just a finely ground sauce. On to drinks. The wine list is also elite. I indulged in an exquisite skin contact Sauvignon Blanc, and my wife found her platonic ideal of a white wine in the 2018 Branco Blend. I highly recommend you visit Manteca and chase your own bliss. read more

Overrated Customer service is great. Sitting at the bar is great. The fried olive is a great surprise. But that's kinda it. The Brussels didn't taste that fresh. While the pomegranate and duck slices were a nice tough, the Brussels themselves were flat. Brown crab pasta was interesting at the beginning but found it to be lackluster by the end. Kale pasta was fine - far too salty. Rhubarb sorbet might be the first rhubarb I did not enjoy. Beef fat fudge saved the meal. read more

A soft 5, but the highs were high enough to balance the few things I didn't love. It's perpetually busy, even 2-3PM on a Sunday. Teetering on the edge of cramped but not quite there. Open kitchens and god bless them all because I couldn't do it. Service on point throughout. The food. Lumache. The green pasta. It doesn't just photograph well but was a genuinely great pasta. The pasta itself just melted away. Amazing. Strozzapreti. The obligatory cacio e pepe. But with crab! Cer tasted it as "too fishy" but I thought it was rather flat. Pasta again good but not the same heights as the lumache. Apologies. We also had the pheasant. Not the main but the occasionally available app. Yeah, the one with the claw sticking out. Besides the claw it was like a pheasant schnitzel. No idea how they do that but so so good. Not just for show. We also had fried sprouts. Too creamy for me, lost the joy of frying by drowning the crisp. Balance please. Oh god and the pink fir potatoes. Just get them. Maybe two orders. Bonus for 500ml wine options, it's perfect for me. And, er, my wife. read more

manteca - Lumache - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Between 3 and 4 stars. I came here with a friend last minute and we overall were happy with our visit. The vibe is immaculate - super cool and trendy but not stuffy. The sort of place you can go with friends, coworkers, a date, even solo. It was super buzzy and busy throughout our visit. We got a cheap bottle of wine (around £30) which was good but we poured it ourselves throughout the meal. We split a bunch of small plates; all were good, but the two that were most impressed by were both the cheapest and the most filling: the kale pasta and the side of potatoes. Other things were a bit frustrating for it being a nice restaurant, like having to flag down a server for the check and the bathroom being in a weird and difficult-to-find area of the restaurant. With that said, it was very good and our total bill with drinks and a filling meal was under £40 pp. I would definitely recommend and return. read more

See all

Drastically over hyped.. I don't typically do reviews on here but this was so disappointing after hearing all the chatter about this being the best Italian spot in London. The bread was cold, ricotta didn't have much flavor. The meat pastas had a comically small amount of meat in them and way smaller portions than the other non-meat pasta options like the pesto. Menu was also smaller than expected. Just fine, but not worth going out of your way for. read more

The service was very good, but the food was incredibly lackluster and overpriced. The focaccia was over salted and the ricotta had a strong, overpowering, lemon flavor. The menu also rotates so I couldn't order one of the pastas I wanted. As for the pastas we got, they were both very underdone. I know the standard is al dente, but the pasta was so underdone it was almost crunchy. It was okay flavor wise, but not worth the pretty penny we spent on it. Desserts were just okay, we got the raspberry sorbet and the chocolate hazelnut truffle. Both taste like they came from the grocery store. Overall, the mediocre food is not worth the hefty price tags. read more

Delicious food, especially the pink fir potatoes. The ragu pasta was great, as well. Great restaurant!

The ambience and vibes were great! However, the food left a lot to be desired, which was disappointing since it came so highly reviewed. The pasta was very undercooked and hard to bite into. The selections from the grill took an extra hour to come out after the pasta and were underseasoned. Overall, we were extremely disappointed given the price and time invested. read more

5/5 stars all around. Ambiance, food, service were excellent. One of the best meals I have had in awhile

one of the best meals i've ever had in london ... really good pastas and solid food just generally! a relief. sit upstairs!!!!

NOTE my rating is actually 3.6/5! Not to be over dramatic but I wanted to warn other people who consulted online food critique blogs too. I saw reviews showing pictures of pig snout and then came here to learn it's not on the menu. And pig tail Ragu- also not on menu. Nothing on the menu even pointed to use of anything out of the ordinary... or our server didn't really suggest any alternatives close to what I was looking for. I'm an adventurous eater and was very curious about the texture of these parts so I was dismayed that this was going to be an ordinary Italian dining experience. Also- the reviews I read were this year too so it wasn't like it's ancient history. Their website says nose to tail cooking too but it's never really marketed again in the menu. And if they do use nose to tail (server didn't really talk about this at all), I would've liked to see them showcase the different textures/flavours as opposed to masking them. I'll put that aside for this review, because to be fair I could've just looked at the menu online and quickly learn that none of the things I was looking for were here. Some context, I went with a group of 6 people and we did family style with all the dishes. A common theme across all dishes is that the presentation was a bit lacklustre. The focaccia was pretty good, it had a nice crust and super soft interior. The olive oil paired with it had a nice flavour to it. Surprisingly, the greens were great?? I say this as a meat lover. My favourite were the Brussels sprouts. Every pasta dish I had the pasta noodles were all over cooked- you do need them to be al dente to give it a bit of chew and to capture the sauces nicely. Else it just feels like a mouthful of mush. If you want to do family style, I think the pasta dishes might be a bit too small for that- we were a group of 6 and we ordered 3 plates. We only had one pasta noodle each, which for us was fine because it allowed us to sample a little bit of everything without stuffing ourselves with carbs. We had John Dory, Yorkshire pheasant, porchetta for our mains. John Dory was good, nothing special though. Yorkshire pheasant was tender and it had nice crispy skin. Well seasoned. The porchetta- I was disappointed with. It was over cooked in my opinion- meat was a bit chewy yet the skin wasn't crispy. Crispy skin is the best part! read more

See all

Food was delicious! Saw a TikTok recommending the restaurant and so glad that we gave it a try! Great service! Definitely make reservations! read more

See all

I'm giving it five stars for the food. Incredible. Deer shoulder that melted in mouth. Pork ragout that was tremendous. Homemade ricotta and great bread. Excellent desserts. Really good wine list including Mexican wines from Baja and on-tap wines that really impressed. The ambiance was great, with the open kitchen creating a very cool vibe. Service was awful. Waited two hours for main course. The wait was worth it and the staff moved in to help our poor waiter struggling through his first day. I can accept this kind of crap now. The entire world faces service issues thanks to scarce labor. Including my company. So I try to focus on the overall product. This place has it. Well worth the visit. And it ain't in SoHo. Lol. Not even. read more

Really delicious! The sweetcorn ravioli and sirloin steak was a highlight. Didn't have a chance to try the desserts Servers are friendly and recommended loads of dishes. They say you should pick around 5-6 dishes between 2 people. I felt that seems about right. Seats are a little bunched up so getting up and moving around can be a little cramped. Overall would go back read more

See all

Wonderful food and service. We loved all the housemade salumi, pasta and pork chop. Our only issue was that it's a bit of a long walk from the nearest tube station at Old Street. read more

See all

Food was excellent! Service was good! Vibe was good! We thoroughly enjoyed our time there!

NEXT! Don't come here! This restaurant seems like it almost made it. It could be a Michelin star but the problem is the staff. The food is "good" not amazing but a solid good. The service is terrible. They're checked out. Each wait staff seems to he more concerned with their experience of the night. Our first entrees were great. ( A little too much salt but fair). With that said, they forgot our entrees. Actually they gave them to the table next to us. No one noticed till I asked if that was the duck pasta. And the table said, no, its the meat. At that point the bartender realized it was the wrong entree. ( Don't worry if anyone is allergic, forget that thought). Okay, things happen... where is our entrees ... never to be found. We left with no main course. Did they pay for the meal? No!?! Did they charge us and take off the two drinks .. totally not enough. If you want to go to a restaurant and compete with the vibe of being "cool." And have a service staff that is concerned with their vibe. This is it. The food is not the "star" here. read more

This place was phenomenal. The food and drinks were homemade, fresh, delicious and the service was amazing. My husband and I hope to come back the next time we are in London! read more

Fortunate to be seated at opening bell, place filled instantly, but the attention to our meal did not wane. Every bite was unique and outstanding.....luxurious!! My best meal in town. read more

This place was amazing. It was our favorite place that we ate at while in London. Everything we ordered was incredible. Highly recommend the focaccia bread, meat platter, and cacio e Pepe (not on the menu but always available!). Definitely going to come back to Manteca whenever I am in London. read more

manteca - Cacio e pepe - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

My partner and I visited Manteca on Oct 10th, 2022 and we were blown away by the exceptional food, wine and service. We especially enjoyed the duck liver parfait, the middle white pork chop (the meat and fat melts in your mouth) and the beef fat fudge *chefs kiss* It's noisy and buzzy, and seating is very close together, which is why I highly recommend this spot for a romantic date night! read more