Eats

The Sicilian street food spot tucked away on the rooftop of a beloved Manchester boozer

One of the city centre's best bars just got even better.

Danny Jones - 1st December 2024

You’ve probably heard the term ‘hidden gem’ thrown around a hundred times in Manchester this year alone – it’s used far too often, we know that – but there’s nothing really secret about this Sicilian food spot in Manchester, we’re just helping spread the word.

Because it really is unbelievable and they deserve to be shouted about.

If you’ve ever been to a concert at one of the Manchester Academy venues on Oxford Road, you’ll likely have seen plenty of fellow gig-goers heading next door to a bar called Big Hands, both before and after the show. Many of you have probably enjoyed a pint or two there yourselves and, if not, fix that.

However, what we’re here to talk about is the fact that on top of being a long-standing student favourite along the busy university strip, it now boasts some of the very best Italian food we’ve tried anywhere in the city on its gorgeous, plant-laden rooftop terrace.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by THE MANC EATS 🥡 (@themanceats)

After spending the best of a decade as T’arricrii, Manchester’s arancini experts rebranded as Rizzo’s (their family name, not some random homage to Grease) earlier this year and with that has come an evolution of their Sicilian street food concept.

While they were previously known for those delicious deep-fried balls of risotto, cheese and other fillings, often being the quickest to sell out of all the traders in Hatch, we’d argue they’re now serving up an even bigger showstopper: ‘sfincione’.

But we’ll come to that later…

The first thing to say is that one of Big Hands‘ biggest appeals, besides the obvious prime pre and post-gig location, the affordable prices, the fantastic playlist and the all-around flawless atmosphere, is their rooftop area. A haven for all seasons.

It’s not just a pretty setting with extra seating for the punters: complete with a mini-garden, twinkly lighting and now this lovely little hatch serving unreal Sicilian food, it’s established itself as one of our favourite hideaways in all of Manchester, be it a summer suntrap or festive-feeling corner to cosy up in.

best pre and post gig pubs in manchester

big hands beer garden mancheester — Pretty as a picture. (Credit: *The Manc Group*)

rizzos big hands manchester — Pretty as a picture. (Credit: *The Manc Group*)

Now, onto the food. You’ll be forgiven for not having heard the word sfincione before, as sibling duo Riccardo and Romeo are pretty much the first ones to bring it to Manchester’s pizza-loving masses – at least authentically, anyway.

Put simply, it’s proper, Sicilian, tray-bake pizza; the base is more like a focaccia than it is any traditional, Neapolitan you’ve ever had and without it, we never would have been introduced to the increasingly popular Detroit-style pizza you’ll find at the likes of Ramona in Ancoats or Corner Slice in Failsworth.

Even further up Oxford Road you’ll find the recently opened Detroit Slims, which does exactly what it says on the tin, but it never would have been without families like the Rizzos perfecting the pizza-making back in Palermo for generations.

Family is what this place is all about. These pizzas have often been referred to as ‘grandpa/grandma slices’, both by Italian natives and their descendants in America for centuries, and that’s because the recipes have been passed down from grandparents to mums and dads, as well as the kids after them.

For instance, Riccardo and Romeo let us in on their super hush-hush ingredient for the oh-so-special sauce that goes on the bottom of their various options, which levels up even their ‘plainest’, barebones slice to some of the most flavourful pizza we’ve ever tasted. No hyperbole here, just straight-up facts.

best cannolis in manchester — You can get aubergine, cured meats, ‘nduja and more as toppings, but even their most simple Margherita equivalent is a flavour bomb.

rizzos sicilian food manchester — You can get aubergine, cured meats, ‘nduja and more as toppings, but even their most simple Margherita equivalent is a flavour bomb.

We won’t be telling you that secret ingredient, of course, as that would just ruin the magic but we can tell you it’s deceptively simple and it really does work wonders. Let’s just say there’s some serious umami going on and we’ll now be using it in all of our homemade pasta sauces from now until forever.

As you can see, their trademark arancini still has pride of place on their quaint and adorable counter but now it shares the spotlight with their sensational sfincione, and rightly so. There’s also traditional cannoli with possibly the freshest ricotta and a supreme crunch to them – the perfect sweet after the carbs.

Serving up all this from 5pm till late from Tuesday-Saturday (we’re talking midnight on weekends), Rizzo’s at Big Hands has just cemented itself as comfortably one of the best places to fuel up before a night of music or reward yourself after the jumping up and down is all said and done.

Celebrating their 10th anniversary year, we’re so happy the Rizzo brothers are now wearing their names (and tiny little arancini logos) proudly on their shirts: they’ve come to love it here in Manchester but no way near as much as we’re head over heels with them.

They’re always experimenting when it comes to combos and seasonal specials; we truly believe they’ve hit their stride with this food. With a delivery service in the works too, Big Hands is about to even busier than ever, so please pay them a visit while you stand a chance of beating the queues. Whether you’ve got a gig on or not, you won’t regret it.