Food & Drink

Inside Salvi’s new restaurant and deli on Deansgate Square

We paid the new site a visit to check it out - and left, three hours later, full to the brim and grinning like idiots.

Georgina Pellant - 2nd July 2022

Over on Deansgate Square, Salvi’s has just opened the doors to its latest restaurant.

A far cry from the cosy settings of the family-run brands’ other sites, this swanky new spot is something of a behemoth with a large covered and heated drinks terrace, elegant restaurant, Italian deli, bar, private dining room and exhibition space spanning 3,000 square feet.

Nestled underneath the luxury apartments of the Square’s many influencer residents, it hasn’t been open long but already features in a number of glossy and carefully edited grid posts – the opulent plant-filled terrace bar has clearly become a popular choice amongst Manchester’s glitterati already.

A huge gold sparkly pizza oven sits centre stage in the open kitchen and reminds me of a disco ball, like Salvi’s has entered its party era.

This year marks a decade since owner Maurizio Cecco opened his family’s first restaurant in Manchester’s Corn Exchange, and this new site feels like a celebration of that.

In the corner, an Italian deli is overflowing with gorgeous ingredients (all of which also feature in the dishes here) giving visitors the chance to pick up top-quality Italian meats, cheeses, oils, vinegar and more to take home.

A large table in the middle gives it a family feel, with a variety of different gelato flavours sitting on display close by behind a glass cabinet.

Keen to see how its new restaurant stands up against other Salvi’s in the city, we paid the new site a visit to check it out – and left, three hours later, full to the brim and grinning like idiots.

Serving everything from cichetti to contorni, Italian cakes and gelato, the menu here is just as expansive as the site itself.

The wine list is, as you’d expect, predominantly Italian, the cocktails similarly styled – a sweet and refreshing limoncello spritz, a Campari G&T, a sweet, Frangelico-spiked espresso martini.

We dig into huge plates loaded with the softest prosciutto di parma, gorgonzola drizzled with honey, smoked mozzarella peppered with sweet heritage cherry tomatoes, and Southern Italian grilled cheese with a sprinkle of balsamic, all designed to show off Salvi’s gorgeous imported produce.

Next, a giant bowl of mussels swimming in a rich and ever-so-slightly spicy tomato broth plops onto the table – adorned with slices of fresh bread, encouraging some hearty dipping as we attempt to soak up every last morsel of the shellfish’s accompanying sauce.

Pasta follows, and we dive into two of the restaurant’s best-selling dishes –  the pistachio pesto-laden pasta Nonna Teresa is an instant hit, the molten pork fat from its guanciale (pork cheek) all juicy and salty, adding beautifully into the mix.

Another bowl, this time of baby octopus and spicy sausage paste pasta polipo ‘nduja, is rich and bright, its salty morsels of cephalopod cutting through the tomato base.

Suffice to say, the quality is just as good as you’d find in the Corn Exchange or the Northern Quarter restaurants, or in Italy itself, for that matter.

Full to the brim but unable to resist dessert, we finish on a beautifully-light pistachio cake served with a dusting of iced ricotta on the side, joined by that aforementioned silky sweet hazelnut espresso martini – a heavenly pairing, even if your trousers are beginning to strain at the waist (as mine are).

It all feels very glamorous, but with that warm, friendly Italian service – keenly suggesting this, enthusiastically encouraging that – that reminds you you’re in a neighbourhood place, and they really want you to enjoy their food.

A beautiful new addition to Deansgate Square, we highly recommend you pay them a visit – and grab some goodies to take home on your way out.

Feature image – The Manc Eats