Big Mamma Group has finally announced it’s heading up north, opening a lavish Circolo Popolare restaurant here in Manchester.
These much-loved Italian restaurants are dotted all over Europe at this point, including beautiful spaces in London, Barcelona, Milan and Brussels.
These restaurants might catch your eye with their extravagant interiors but it’s their authentic, homemade Italian food and exceptional produce that’ll keep you coming back for more.
Inside each restaurant in the Big Mamma Group you’ll find maximalist interiors dialled up to maximum – if it’s patterned, colourful, shiny or textured (or ideally, all of the above at once), it’s hitting the Big Mamma interior design brief.
The result is joyful, decadent, escapist restaurants that’ll do their best to whisk you off on an Italian escape without leaving the vicinity of Deansgate.
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Big Mamma’s first foray into Manchester will see them open a Circolo Popolare at St Michael’s, Gary Neville’s landmark £400m development.
Big Mamma is coming to Manchester. Credit: Jerome GallandA Big Mamma restaurant in Hamburg. Credit: Jerome Galland
Expect glinting bottle walls as you make your way into the jasmine-clad, 280-cover trattoria, inspired by the island of Sardinia.
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The decor here will involve masses of antique trinkets, testa di moro (authentic ceramic busts), and even an Italian wishing well.
They say the space will be adorned with festoon lights and a eucalyptus-clad ceiling, so you’ll feel as though you’ve stumbled into an overgrown, lush courtyard.
Big Mamma is embracing the rain and heading to Manchester with Circolo Popolare. Credit: Supplied
Upstairs is the ‘villa hideaway’, a cosy terracotta den where you can see head chef Alfonso cooking British seafood on the grill at the kitchen counter.
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The menu will also feature Neapolitan pizza, which you can order half-and-half with your amici.
Big Mamma has pulled together its largest-ever selection of produce sourced from 170 family-run Italian artisans, ranging from Puglian burrata to Parma prosciutto.
There’ll be a three litre bottle of Amaro roaming the restaurant ready to pour you a shot, plus XL jugged cocktails.
And as for desserts, expect pistachio tiramisu scooped table side (or order the full tray).
Circolo Popolare from Big Mamma Group will open at St Michael’s in Manchester this June.
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Daisy Jackson -
4th March 2025 
