San Carlo Manchester King Street

San Carlo’s King Street venue has been around for decades. Two of them. The head bods opened this King Street branch back in 2005, when Manchester was much more mini, and the credit crunch was a twinkle in Tony Blair’s eye. 

And now look. It occupies a vast space on King Street, and it’s seemingly busier than ever, with well over a thousand covers on a recent Saturday. 

Of course, this isn’t the only San Carlo in Manchester. There are a few more branches scattered throughout the city and the rest of the UK, including Liverpool, Leeds and London. Oh, and the rest of the world too: Kuwait, Bangkok, Dubai – the list goes on. 

In short, it’s something of a big deal. But why? Traditionalists will put it down to their policy of avoiding fads and trends, focusing largely on classic Italian dishes and techniques. You won’t find Dubai chocolate on the menu here – though you might at, er, San Carlo Dubai. 

That doesn’t mean the Carlo team don’t try out interesting ideas. More that they swerve gimmicks. For example, from the antipasti section, the Costine di Maiale Orientale is a pleasing take on sweet and sour ribs. The chunky meaty bones come covered with a not-as-sticky, rich, tart coating, intriguingly billed as a ‘special San Carlo sauce’. 

That said, you can’t beat the classics. The mixed roasted shellfish doesn’t come cheap, at £42, but it does come in a dazzling copper pan, set up in the middle of your table, kept warm by a blue-flame-emitting base. It brings back vivid memories of both mucking about with Bunsen burners at school and sunkissed Mediterranean holidays. Win, win. 

The sauce is buttery, garlicky and flawless, plus there’s a big old range of seafood to play around with, lightly tangled up with soft sprigs of samphire. This is the kind of thing San Carlo do best: simple, timeless dishes that require precision and balance. 

Buon compleanno, San Carlo.