Eats

Ornella’s – The tiny Denton restaurant vying to be named one of the best in Greater Manchester

A tiny space that's destined for big things.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 15th November 2024

Ornella’s is one of those brilliant Greater Manchester restaurants that’s doing a totally roaring trade without rabbiting on about it too much.

From its tiny spot in the middle of Denton, this cosy Italian has got its head down and focused on cooking, and cooking really, really well.

The results speak for themselves. You will quite literally wait months to get a table here.

In fact if you’re thinking of making a reservation, you pretty much have two options – wait until next June, or eat lunch (as we did) at 11.30am on a Wednesday. Did the early hour stop me drinking a large Aperol Spritz though? Of course not. 

Ornella’s will always be worth the patience it takes to get your bum on a seat.

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It all started as a lockdown project for Ornella Cancila, where customers would come and collect carefully-made Sicilian dishes from a bench outside her home.

And now it’s grown to be one of those local spots that Tameside residents are proud of, and everyone else in Greater Manchester is jealous of.

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Inside Ornella's Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Ornella’s Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Ornella's Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Ornella’s Italian restaurant in Denton. Credit: The Manc Group

I’ve encountered a lot of people who have been to Ornella’s, and haven’t yet heard a single bad word said about it.

It’s actually on this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival shortlist, after being named the best affordable venue in the region last year.

Inside, there are just a couple of rows of tables in front of a deli counter displaying top-quality meats and other deli items.

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Let’s get stuck into that main restaurant menu though, which is way more comprehensive than you’d expect for such a small space.

An arancini that looks exactly like Donald Trump. Credit: The Manc Group
An arancini that looks exactly like Donald Trump. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside another Ornella's arancini. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside another Ornella’s arancini. Credit: The Manc Group

There are a couple of different arancini on the menu, one of which looks exactly like Donald Trump – a rotund orange fried ball topped with a bright white wig of parmesan.

That one is stuffed with caramelised onion and saffron (unlike the real deal), while another comes with nduja and mozzarella with a hot honey drizzle.

A clear menu highlight is the pistachio carbonara with crispy guanciale pieces that burst in little salty mouthfuls against the rich and creamy pasta sauce.

There’s also a beef short rib that releases its grip on the bone with a gentle prod from a fork, falling into a pool of creamy parmesan gnocchi. It tastes exactly like how it feels to step into a warm house after being pelted by rain all day, or pulling on a pair of socks that have been warmed on a radiator. Pure comfort. 

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The pistachio carbonara from Ornella's Kitchen. Credit: The Manc Group
The pistachio carbonara from Ornella’s Kitchen. Credit: The Manc Group
Pistachio gelato in a Sicilian brioche bun. Credit: The Manc Group
Pistachio gelato in a Sicilian brioche bun. Credit: The Manc Group

Truffle fans can’t go wrong with Ornella’s creamy truffle mafalde, covered in generous shavings of truffle and pecorino.

Ornella is generous with all of her cheese portions, actually – the sourdough garlic bread also arrives blanketed in the stuff.

I kick my feet under the table and actually giggle after taking a bite of the oven-baked conchiglioni shells, which are filled with pumpkin cream, sharp cheddar, pork sausage and a sourdough crumb. It flits from sweet to salt with every chew.

And then for desserts, you’ll find proper Italian pistachio gelato, served in a soft Sicilian brioche bun, and a Biscoff and white chocolate cheesecake that had me and my mate jousting with our forks for the last bite like really sh*t knights.

Ornella’s might not be a big space, but it’s destined for big things. Just good luck getting that reservation…

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

A pub in Stockport has launched a full Scotch egg menu

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson A pub in Stockport has launched a full Scotch egg menu

It’s one of the world’s greatest snacks, especially when paired with a decent pint – and now a local pub is doing a whole Scotch egg menu.

The Davenport Arms over in Stockport is running a ‘Scotch Egg Week’, with a whole host of different Scotch eggs.

There’s even a dessert one, made with a Creme Egg instead of a real one.

The historic pub, which is known locally as The Thief’s Neck (and displays both names on its signs), is filled with cosy corners and snug rooms.

It’s an independently-run pub that operates under the Robinson’s Brewery family, with beers brewed just down the road in Stockport.

And now the local boozer is doing a full menu of homemade Scotch eggs, for one week only, each served with the perfect condiment.

There’ll be ‘The Classic’, where pork meat is wrapped around a perfect jammy-yolked egg, served with house piccalilli.

The Manchester Egg
The Manchester Egg
A classic Scotch egg
A classic Scotch egg
The Davenport Arms, known locally as The Thief's Neck
The Davenport Arms, known locally as The Thief’s Neck
Inside the pub
Inside the pub

Or you can get the much-loved Manchester egg, which features black pudding and a pickled Scotch egg, served with mustard mayo on the side.

Fish fans can grab a smoked haddock Scotch egg served with a curried mayo.

And for vegetarians, there’s one made with cheese and onion instead of meat, served with a house tomato relish.

There’s even a sweet one – a Creme Egg encased in brownie mix, and then wrapped in a Biscoff crumb, served with ice cream.

And if you really can’t decide, The Davenport Arms will do you a full platter of all of the above, for £29.95.

The Scotch Egg menu is available from Monday 30 March until Saturday 4 April and you can see more HERE.

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Featured image: Supplied

Eats

One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Mount Street Dining Room & Bar in The Midland hotel is finally back open

One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.

Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.

The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.

The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.

The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.

Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.

But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.

The beautiful bar area
The beautiful bar area
A glimpse of the menu at Mount Street
A glimpse of the menu at Mount Street
Cocktails and British food
Cocktails and British food

The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.

Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.

Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pears and Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.

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Featured image: Supplied

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