We’ve been searching out the best Italian food in Manchester. Italian cuisine has long been regarded as some of the best in the world, and unsurprisingly Manchester has a series of Italian restaurants that rival the nation’s best. Whether you’re looking for pizza, pasta or something fancier, you’ll find everything you need right here in this great city.
Salvi’s is one of a kind. It stands apart in the Corn Exchange, hidden underground, far removed from all the chain restaurants and smash-and-grab diners. This unassuming but loveable space is one of Manchester’s true hidden gems with wonderfully-cheery staff who know all too well how good their food is, and are damn proud of it. It’s not just the best Italian restaurant in Manchester, it’s hard to think of a better Italian eatery in the whole of the North.
Don Giovanni’s has been one of the city’s most well-known Italian restaurants for over thirty years, providing gimmick-free meals with a focus on traditional Mediterranean ingredients. Keep an eye out for the special events featuring guest chefs such as Jean-Christophe Novelli. Although the regular menu differs from these dishes, when he next returns, it’s certainly worth booking a table.
Based in an up-and-coming area of Ancoats, Rudy’s Pizza has a host of rave reviews and it’s no surprise why. The pizzas on offer are top-class, and the restaurant boasts a charming laid-back feel.
San Carlo Cicchetti is a little Italian outfit tucked under the retail wing of Kendal’s, a diminutive department-store-diner owned by its bigger brother across the road – Manchester dining institution, San Carlo. It is small, perfectly formed and serves the kind of small plates you’ll find in Venetian bars. In other words, San Carlo Cicchetti does a mean line in Italian tapas.
The Salvi’s name makes a good showing in this guide, and for good reason. Offering a bold, cheery and bright cafe atmosphere ideal for dropping in whilst shopping or before a night out, Salvi’s Pizzera Napoletana is the new best place for pizza in Manchester city centre.
The waft of pizza and the soft music are the final pieces in an atmospheric puzzle that makes PLY one of the most welcoming pizzerias in Manchester.
Kallos is a Greek restaurant and wine bar in Salford, serving up exquisite dishes throughout the day and evening.
Grand food hall with a superb outdoor space and a smart selection of in-house indie food traders
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Based at Nordie in Levenshulme, Soap Street Pizza put out the perfect pie: crispy base and inspired toppings.
Pip is the in-house restaurant at the long-awaited Treehouse Hotel, headed up by Bury-born chef, Mary-Ellen McTague.
Newly opened cakery in Stevensons Square, Northern Quarter Manchester. Get Baked brings all the Yorkshire charm and sweetness one of the city’s most popular squares.
Winsome delivers modern British food, cooked beautifully by chef-owner Shaun Moffat and his team.
Coffee, walls of sound and smart conversation at this pop-up cafe in the Northern Quarter.
A music-led bar and creative hub in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The very best of South African cuisine in an intimate, friendly space in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The Daisy is one of Manchester’s more in-demand basement bars, offering an underground Paris-inspired night out.
Colourful Brazilian fine dining at Caroline Martin’s intimate restaurant, Sampa.
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