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    San Carlo

    4.0 (51 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed 8:00 am - 11:00 pm

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    Recommended Reviews - San Carlo

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    Reviews With Photos

    Pigeon breast pate
    Laura F.

    I've been wanting to try San Carlo Cicchetti for a while now, so on New Years Day I popped in with my parents for a late lunch. Upon entering I could see that the interior was sophisticated and quite upmarket, yet still managed to have a welcoming feel to it, and the host who greeted us was very polite and instantly showed us to a table. Our authentic Italian waiter explained all about the Venetian culinary custom of cicchetti - which are small to medium sized dishes to share or eat alone, similar to the Spanish tapas. He recommended about 6-7 dishes for the three of us, took our drinks order and left us for some time so we could choose our dishes. He also explained that the dishes are served to the table as soon as they are made, to keep the food fresh and hot - so the food may arrive in 'stages'. We ordered olives and tapenade to nibble firstly, followed by bruschetta and the crab and avocado salad (that I didn't manage to get a photo of because mum scoffed it too quickly!) These dishes were all lovely. The Pigeon Breast pate was very rich, but outstanding! Next followed a Lasagne Al Forno, Ravioli with spinach and ricotta, Queen Scallops and prawns in chilli and garlic. All of these, again, were delicious. My dad also tried a Pizza Fritta - much to his delight was pretty much a cheese and ham doughnut. It wasn't for me, I found it odd but dad seemed to like it. Overall it was a great meal. It doesn't quite have the relaxed atmosphere that Spanish tapas has - it seemed a bit formal to be sharing plates and reaching over tables etc.. But still, it was lovely and I would recommend this place to anyone. As always, the cost mounts up the more you order so if you're really hungry then you'll spend a fortune here.

    Breakfast pancakes at 10am. Syrupy and delicious!
    Emma Louise M.

    Ah, San Carlo. It's been a long time since I've visited the Mac Daddy itself, curled up in splendid opulence behind Kendals, a place I'd often bring visitors to as a means to impress them, to prove that Manchester could do high price sophisticated dining with the added spectacle of waiters shouting at each other in Italian. Well, these visitors, my friends, were very rich, and one once gave a homeless man on Deansgate a 10 bob note after a good fee glugs of wine here, despite my protestations. See, these people knew very little about city living. I've yet to have been back to San Carlo for this very reason, as most of my visits here were during a time in my life where I was making massively unwise decisions. Shame it's tarnished a restaurant (as it has a few, ugh) but that didn't stop me checking out THIS San Carlo offering. When Jamie B informed me that they're open for breakfast from 9am, I couldn't resist. Especially after scoping out their menu. Yelp Breakfast Club, here we come! Apologies if anyone rocked up after 10.20am, but I'd scurried off to pick up my new phone. I already knew what I wanted to order before I arrived! For once I made the decision instead of my other half - rare, seriously - and opted for the full breakfast to share, with some blueberry pancakes and syrup. Now as soon as you enter this place you're instantly aware of how different it is to its big brother. Pale colours and silver granite patterns play off the decorative splashes of yellow, and the gold fairy lights add something unique too. It's far quieter, relaxed and more sophisticated - people come here for a completely different ambience, and it provides that in spades. I've only had the breakfast so I can't comment on their small plates, but I'll definitely be back to try them at some stage. We encountered a few moments of confusion upon our visit... One involved the coffee. The full breakfast is served with your choice of a pot of tea or coffee, so we ordered 'the full breakfast with the coffee, and the blueberry pancakes'. After the order had been taken we were asked what kind of coffee we wanted, Americano, cappuccino, latte... We responded that we just wanted the coffee that, er, comes with the full breakfast. 'So regular coffee,' we were asked. I got the feeling we might end up with the wrong coffee. When our breakfasts did arrive, we were handed two black coffees. This was a bit odd - it definitely says you get a pot of tea or coffee with the full breakfast, but perhaps they're used to folks ordering it separately? Anyway it was nice coffee, and the orange juice was great too. Of the full breakfast the stand-out stars were the sausages, the bacon for me (Chris didn't like the way it was cooked but I just loved how salty it was, and other than that, it was all about the pancakes. The poached eggs have left us with a hilarious future story... My husband to be Googling 'are eggs with dark orange yolks safe'. Yes, they are. It's to do with the hen's diet, apparently. The poached eggs were perfect in texture, but little else on the plate excited us. The pancakes were exciting. Reasonably priced and definitely something I'd order again. Despite being called blueberry pancakes they were simple, plain pancakes topped with blueberries and strawberries, and I'd have been interested to see blueberries strewn through the pancake batter to burst upon frying, but really they are good. They're done in a similar way to the ones at Gabriel's Grocery, and we all know how much I love those. I love them unhealthily. Obsessively. Dangerously. It's nice to find ones almost on par this central in Manchester. Wait, is it actually? So a few snags, but overall I'll be back for sure. The pancakes and the intrigue of the small plates, plus indeed brilliantly entertaining toddlers (well, that was just that morning, but still), have all been strong enough to warrant a return. Uenerry

    Courtesy of www.sancarlo.co.uk
    Katie B.

    San Carlo is well known as being amazing. Even if you book you normally have to wait a little while to be seated. There are quite a few tables crammed in to a relatively small space to it feel quite full. Going at lunch time, there's less atmosphere than in the evening For an evening meal, be prepared for some C-list celebrity spotting - Kym Marsh and the like, maybe some footballers if you're lucky so that's quiet entertaining. The cocktails are incredible so sit at the bar for a drink before going for your meal. If it's not too busy, build a rapor with the one that serves you and they'll treat you really well. Check the blackboard for the constantly changing drinks specials. The seafood is really good - get the Mixed Fish Mediteranneo to share. King prawns, sea bass, salmon, tuna steak, mussels.. cooked in a tomato and wine sauce and served with bread to mop up any extra. However, as steaks go it's fairly standard and I can say I've had better. Also, a friend of mine had a mussel starter where half the mussels were dead and therefore would have been dangerous to eat and would have made her incredibly ill. Fortunately she spotted it. I think San Carlo is more of a destination restaurant because it's a celebrity haunt and has built up its reputation well. It is a great restaurant and totally worth a visit or three but be aware there are other great restaurants in Manchester.

    Andrew Y.

    This is the review for the main San Carlo Manchester restaurant. Not the the one inside House of Fraser - which is actually called San Carlo Cicchetti. Been here 3 times. Gradually getting worst unfortunately (several years between 1st and 3rd visit). First time was shortly after going to Milan so I had a taste of what proper Italian food should taste like. I had a seafood spaghetti (same as what I had a couple times in Milan) and it was delicious. Not quite as good as Milan but still really good. From what I remember, the service was good too. Another time I went I came I think was with my parents and brother. Once again I went for the seafood spaghetti. Maybe it was because I had such a good one the previous time but it was "pretty good". Certainly would go back again and nothing particular wrong. However, the latest time I went was about a week ago for a friends birthday meal. It was a Saturday lunch at about 1pm and not too busy when we arrived. Its a big restaurant and there was maybe about 10 tables occupied. One thing I did notice was lots of staff. I counted about 15 front of service staff - so more staff than tables occupied. Even though this was the case, it didn't feel like they were 100% attentive. On at least a couple occasions we tried to get someones attention but they all seems to be talking to one another. As for the food, for starter I had the calamari fritti. When I arrived I was a bit disappointed how it looked. Very pale. Taste wise it didn't have that much flavour. Also, it came with a loud of green chills which seems a bit odd. Strangely the chillies didn't give any kick to the calamari itself, even though the chillies were spicy - when I tried one. For main I had, once again, a seafood spaghetti - I do love my seafood. It was a slightly different one to last time. I think previously its been a mixture of seafood - some prawns, clams, mussels, squid etc. This . This time I had the Spaghetti Alle Vongole e gamberoni - basically clams and prawns spaghetti. Tasted OK - nothing special at all unfortunately. Another issue was with my friends meal - the birthday girl - who had the whole sea bass. When it arrived, she found it it had not been de-scaled. She questioned this and they ended up just removing the skin - which wasn't ideal since she wanted the skin. We asked about the fish and the de-scaling and apparently they don't bother de-scaling fish when its a whole fish! Its well known that San Carlo is a place lots of celebs go, it seems especially footballers. If you go to the toilets, you will pass lots of photos of all the celebs who have been here. So my rating of 3/5 takes all 3 visits here into account.

    Victoria B.

    Always love San Carlo for special occasions and surprised there aren't more reviews since it's one of the most well known restaurants in Manchester. This is the original and best of the San Carlo chain, located on King Street West opposite its little sister restaurant San Carlo Cicchetti. Went there for my mum's 60th and as usual in December, it was packed to the brim with rather inebriated people and decked in fairy lights. Great atmosphere, dress code is dressy. By dressy I mean girls in sparkly dresses that barely cover their underwear and heels that make them walk like bambi. There's a bar near the door where you can grab a drink before your meal and you'll see photos of celebrities and footballers who've visited San Carlo all over the walls. It's highly likely you actually will see someone recognisable in there. Venue is big and rather noisy- lots of people watching to be done. The food is always of a high quality and authentic- typical Italian dishes including pastas, bruschetta etc. I had the tuna carpaccio off the specials menu, followed by the spaghetti bolognese and the panna cotta for dessert. My mum had the melon and Parma ham followed by the Saltimbocca A La Romana. Portions are pretty big and filling, I could have happily had a starter portion of the pasta. Thoroughly enjoyed my meal. The restaurant is on the pricier side- total for 3 people with two glasses of wine came to £117. But with San Carlo it's always a bit of a treat and you get the atmosphere. All the waiters and staff in there are Italian and the food comes rapidly- can't complain about the service. Have been here a few times and would always go back.

    Tagliatelle bolognese
    Calvin T.

    The San Carlo name never lets you down. I tried the bolognese tagliatelle and spaghetti carbonara and its as good of an italian food as it gets in Manchester. The portions were very decent for about £6 per plate. It is even cheaper than Zizzi and it is so much more delicious. Can't believe I haven't been here while living so close to it. Will definitely be back soon to try other food.

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    10 years ago

    Great atmosphere and authentic food. Great, rich favours and good value for money. The place has a real buzz to it. Try the spinach soufflé!

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    San Carlo Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - San Carlo

    They have a Carbonara beyond reproach, and though their 'special menu' has not changed in years, I hope it never does, because the Lobster Taglioni should never be replace

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    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar

    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar

    4.5(16 reviews)
    0.3 miCity Centre
    ££

    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar is an independent, family run Italian in Manchester. It is located in the…read moreCorn Exchange and can be accessed through the entrance with steps outside, or by being escorted through the basement by security if you require a lift, which is the case for the majority of the restaurants in the Corn Exchange which have a basement other than Pizza Express. Manchester as a city, one of the main and major cities of the UK is dominated by chain Italian restaurants who have multiple branches to each of their names, so Salvi's is a refreshing change and although the pricing is slightly higher as you'd expect from an independent (they have two branches in the city) with a lack of offers you'd normally receive from the major chains, one could say it is justified due to higher quality food and service than the average Bella, Carluccio's and Prezzo etc. They do have some gluten-free options such as the risotto which I opted for, priced at £14.95 this is perhaps slightly above average but based on the quality and portion size it is justified, however, I do feel a smaller portion perhaps at a lower price would have been a good idea, or perhaps with a side dish such as some form of potatoes, as these were proper Italian sized portions which alongside the traditional Italian decor, reminded me of being back in Rome. (Large A5 menus too!) I ordered the Risotto Ai Funghi, it was seasoned perfectly with a mixture of the parts of the mushroom which made it taste fresh, with good, juicy pieces of the vegetable throughout the dish, added with the saffron it was quite enjoyable. The rice could have been slightly softer similar to other risottos I've had such as at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel, in Manchester but all in all the taste, freshness and seasoning was all very good. The staff throughout did seem quite nice, there was slight confusion at first in taking my food order but this was sorted quickly, I also liked that despite being a naturally gluten-free dish they wrote gluten-free on my receipt and when sending my order to the kitchen which of course let them know so they'd cook it separately etc. It would have been cool to see a gluten-free menu or a member of staff talk to me about more gluten-free options (being able to order pizza and/or pasta would have been fantastic), but they still did a good job. I also liked how attentive the staff were in ensuring I was never out of the water, the water was presented in a premium jug which I also liked, it felt as posh as tap water could get. The spirits and booze are also priced well here if you fancy a drink at around £6 for a double mixer. Moving back on to the overall feel - a slightly dark and cool vibe, similar to what one would expect at a proper Italian restauraunt reminding me of being back in Rome also made this a much nicer place to be in than the typical chain Italians which dominate the city. Other than the food quality, I also found the takeout containers to be good quality, with the portion being so big I had to take home just under half of my risotto, it took a few minutes to come back from the kitchen but it was once again presented beautifully in a Tupperware dish and brown paper bag, this is compared to messy, dodgy cardboard boxes and bowls I'm usually given so this was a nice gesture again. I would have liked to see risotto on the menu with meat hower, with the only two I noticed being a saffron and mushroom or seafood risotto, but that isn't meant to take away from the good quality risotto I did have and enjoy on my visit. Also adding more gluten-free options such as pizzas and pasta and talking gluten-free guests through them would also be nice. The main issue I had during my meal was an issue with the grated parmesan which I normally have with my Italian food eating out, I was told it contained gluten which confused me as it is cheese which is naturally gluten-free so I'm not sure if they add something to it to give it flavour, but if they do it certainly doesn't need it and the fact they're adding gluten to cheese really makes no sense, but then again this could have been a rare mistake from the staff member. One of the few good quality Italian in Manchester city centre, not without its flaws such as those previously mentioned and the restauraunt feeling a tight squeeze (despite being large, they seemed to sit all tables next to each other - I understand why they'd do this to improve service and cleanliness but even a gap of one table between customers would have been so much more relaxing and comforting), but overall this is a great, yet not perfect place but the quality of food and service definitely deserves a four-star rating, this once again goes to show how good this place is like the lowest it has ever been rated on Yelp is numerous four-star ratings.

    I very much enjoyed the sight of distressed overheated Italians joyously realising that this place…read moreis about as close to being in the piazza back home as they are going to get in Manchester. Aperol Spritz is the best in town and the food looked and smelled amazing, especially the garlic prawns. Am excited to come back to eat. Only thing is they need to get some outdoor furniture - people sitting on the high chairs from the bar in side that were lowered to a uncomfortable level weren't as relaxed as they should have been in what otherwise is a delightful slice of la dolce vita overlooking one of the smartest, if not exactly picturesque, areas of the city centre.

    Photos
    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar - Pasta Carbonara

    Pasta Carbonara

    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar - Bread & oil / vinegar and the caprese salad (2017)

    Bread & oil / vinegar and the caprese salad (2017)

    Salvi's Mozzarella Bar - Mozzarella tasting board

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    Mozzarella tasting board

    Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant

    Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant

    3.1(10 reviews)
    0.3 miCity Centre
    ££

    Chef needs replacement.- I ordered Spaghetti with clam sauce…read moreA few pieces of clam was in the spaghetti Not what I would expect for the price. Other restaurants give me a dozen little neck clams with the order Also,the pasta is not dried out.

    I have a love-hate relationship with Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant, the staff are great and the food…read morecan be so good, but I've also had a couple of bad experiences here, to the point my friend has refused to dine here again if I wanted to. So I'm torn! I've reviewed this place a few times in the past, but after a mix of accidentally deleting a review and wanting to combine them to avoid it being a snooze-fest, I added this one here. I've previously awarded them one, two and four stars. My first experience here was back in July 2020, I was upset with the temperature of my food, the price, menu changes and social distancing on offer, after expressing my concerns, I was invited back by the manager, Lorenzo to give them a second chance. Lorenzo was really friendly and wanted to make my second visit perfect, the temperature of my food was good, and the vodka and coke I ordered were great too. Despite being inside the Corn Exchange, this is a pretty large restaurant and I do like the decor, and they have made it pretty comfortable. My biggest problem is the inconsistency, I have had a couple of visits here where my pasta has been lukewarm, and my friend did complain her food was dripping with grease, that isn't like authentic Italian food should be! The staff are also great, perhaps this is to try and warrant the service charge, which is a principle I disagree with, especially if it is just one person looking to come in for a quick lunch. Gino's in my opinion can offer the best gluten-free pasta I've had not just in Manchester, but in the whole country, but it's a question of when, rather than delivering those standards every time which is frustrating, and with prices much higher than most Italians in the city (many of which are located nearby within The Corn Exchange), it's hard to excuse that. 3*

    Photos
    Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant
    Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant - Looking forward to this

    Looking forward to this

    Gino D'Acampo My Restaurant

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    Croma - surroundings

    Croma

    4.3(71 reviews)
    0.2 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.

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    Croma
    Croma
    Croma

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    Noi Quattro - Pretty awesome pizza

    Noi Quattro

    4.7(3 reviews)
    0.6 miNorthern Quarter

    TL;DR - Truly authentic Neapolitan pizza, without the queues…read more When did Manchester become the place for some of the best pizza of your life? I've no idea, but I'm not complaining. We called into Noi Quattro for lunch after a friend recommended it, and found the place completely deserted. I've no idea why it was so quiet, but it is tucked a little out of the way and I suspect the nearby Mackie Mayor swallows up a lot of passing trade. The venue is large and modern, very nicely decorated. We were seated in the window which gave us a great view. The menu had a good variety of pizzas on it (several of which catered to vegans) and there were a couple of specials up on the board... I went for a mushroom pizza, Sparky went for an anchovy and olive one. Both were really delicious and we washed them down with a couple of beers. Pizzas here are truly authentically neapolitan - let's be honest, most people will compare these pizzas with those offered by Rudy's, and they are easily on the same level. I gave Rudy's 5 stars, and I'm giving Noi Quattro 5 stars too. The pizzas are really delicious and I really don't understand why people weren't queueing out of the door here like they do at Rudy's.

    We ordered chips, three pizzas (margarita with olives, spicy salami one and the one with the…read moreaubergine and peppers) and a couple of drinks each. The pizzas were all well cooked and full of flavour. I particularly liked the base. The waiter was especially lovely to our 3 year old kid and went out of his way to talk to him about what he'd been up to today. The place was bright and airy and it had a good feel to it. There was one table with four swings around it. There's plenty of regular seating too. I'd definitely come again for a pizza fix.

    Salvi's - GF Carbonara

    Salvi's

    1.0(1 review)
    0.5 miNorthern Quarter

    Salvis' NQ opened in December 2019 and is the newest branch of Salvi's, which have a couple of…read moreItalian restaurants in the city centre. After having a good experience at their branch in the Corn Exchange, I decided to try out their new store which is a slightly different concept, but still with a selection of Italian classics including pizza, pasta and risotto. The overall feel of the place is pretty good, they've added some authenticity with their decor and the place obviously does feel new and I do like the open kitchen concept, however, the kitchen was so noisy, I presume they were using a machine which sounded like a really loud blender to make the pasta but it was so loud and seemed never-ending. I was surprised to learn they had gluten-free pasta here, I decided to opt for that and I rather wish I didn't - not only did it take a long time to prepare but my first dish, but the pasta was hard and chewy, I'm not sure on the type of pasta they used as they were shaped like penne but much thicker and shorter. After sending my dish back, the staff member seemed to rush to get me another dish even though I did specify I didn't want one as I presume it would be the same - I gave her the benefit of doubt on the basis that the restauraunt wasn't busy and I presumed it wouldn't take too long for my replacement dish - however, I was wrong and had to wait another 25-30 minutes for a dish which might have looked worse, but at least it was edible. Luckily the second lot of pasta had a lot of sauce which removed most of the dryness, making the pasta edible, even though it was still dry and hard at parts. The dish also didn't taste or remind me of carbonara, the sauce was really salty and there wasn't enough meat either. This normally came to £12.95 however with the ongoing promotion for 40% off Sunday-Thursday when pre-booking with OpenTable in January, it came to £7.77 but considering I only ate the dish due to how hungry I was (after it took so long to arrive), I do think it is overpriced especially for the quality of the dish. There was only one staff member working on the floor, she seemed really nice and even offered me some olives while I waited (she just brought them over - I don't like olives), she seemed really slow and for most of the time, she was talking to either the kitchen staff or what I presume was off-duty staff / on break, meaning it took longer than it should have done and was rather hard to get a staff members attention. After having such a good experience at Salvi's nearby in the Corn Exchange, this place was the opposite from awful food which costs slightly more than anywhere else nearby (excluding the January 40% off promotion which isn't well advertised / easy to obtain), the service where I felt forgotten even though the restauraunt was mostly empty and the food not being up to standards in terms of taste and waiting time. It just for me was a dining experience from hell and I don't understand how they could mess up most of these things so bad considering there must have only been 7 customers in the restauraunt across three tables, including myself and the table of staff members on break. Avoid at all costs. 1*

    Photos
    Salvi's
    Salvi's
    Salvi's

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    San Carlo - italian - Updated May 2026

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