Bruco

Bruco is one of Ancoats’ newer restaurants, opening in the old Trove premises in late 2024. It’s also a few steps from some of Manchester’s elite-tier restaurants, such as Mana and Erst. Lofty neighbours to keep up with. 

The menu is a loose collection of Italian small plates, smallish plates and not-so-small plates – nothing too strict or ordered. It’s high-end food in laid-back surroundings, with prices that are pleasingly agreeable. 

Pop in for an after-work snack and an Aperol Spritz, or corral a gang of mates and share your way through the menu over the course of an evening. The menu shifts to a panuozzo (think pizza-sandwich) focus during the daytime, and there’s a weekend-only breakfast menu available on weekends.  

Like all the best places in Ancoats, it all just works. The staff are charming and happy to be there, while the space itself is a sun-capturing delight. It has the relaxed feel and confident air of a restaurant that has been around for years rather than months. 

As for the food, Bruco might mean caterpillar in Italian, but there are no proto-butterflies on this menu (it is full of mouthwatering grub – just not the larval-stage kind). It’s an elegant selection of bright, imaginative Mediterranean food, taking in flatbread, pasta, antipasto, carne, seafood and more. 

The fennel salad is one of the many highlights. It’s a colourful array of booze-steeped fruit, leaves, and vegetables with a light but zingy mouthfeel. For something more arresting, the nduja and honey flatbread is a burly baguette-style option, drizzled with a sticky, fiery condiment. Both at opposite ends of the taste register, both wonderful. 

From the Little Bigger section, the beautifully cooked Orkney-sourced scallops are the juiciest marine molluscs we’ve had in a long time. At Bruco, provenance matters. And the near-addictive nduja and lime dressing doesn’t hurt either. 

As for the short rib lasagne, it should have a new section called Lot Bigger. This is a hearty beast of a dish that comes sizzling and bulging with slow-cooked beef. Possibly a bit much for a hot summer’s day, but wait til the seasons change and this will take all the autumn-winter food accolades going. 

No such issues with the tiramisu. It’s a twist-free take on the classic coffee-infused dessert – simple and incredibly light. A flawless finale to a meal packed with such bold, powerful flavours.

It’s early days, but Bruco has the makings of an Italian-led Erst. The dishes are ideas-led without feeling gimmicky, and from start to finish, everything feels effortless. Highly recommended.