Caffe Grande by Piccolino

Clarence Street, Manchester

Caffe Grande by Piccolino is renowned for being one of Manchester’s finest Italian restaurants. Located on the cusp of Albert Square, which at Christmas time is the very centre of the hustle and bustle, it’s housed inside a Victorian listed building. The charm of this decadent building adds to the opulence of the restaurant, which is grand and captivating from the moment you walk in.

The interior design features the best of both worlds: Carrara and Nero marbles imported from Italy alongside English oak and antique brass. Oversized chandeliers hang from the tall ceilings all the way down to shoulder height and the seats are all blue leather, a colour inspired by the Italian yacht Riva. The history and character oozes out of every nook and cranny.

Piccolino is built around the concept of all day, everyday dining. There’s a cocktail bar, a juice bar, a wine boutique, a grill, a pizzeria, an oyster and caviar bar and a food hall inspired by Harrods. I clocked several of the different stations on my way through to the table, with the dessert counter particularly catching my eye (surprise, surprise).

On 1:30pm on a Saturday afternoon, with several other restaurants nearby looking quiet to half-full, Piccolino was absolutely heaving. In fact, our table, which, luckily, we’d pre-booked, was the only one free when we arrived. It helps to reassure you that you’ve made a good choice before you’ve even sat down.

There’s a menu for all times of the day, but we chose to dine from the lunch and early evening menu, which available between 12 noon and 6pm, Monday to Saturday. You can have one course for £12.75, two for £17.75 and three for £22.75. There’s a choice of six starters, eight main courses and four desserts.

To start, I had Bruschetta Con Gamberoni: four deliciously juicy king prawns delicately sat on top of toasted ciabatta and drizzled in a chilli and lemon sauce. The prawns were perfect and the ciabatta was just the right level of tasty. It felt like a real luxury starter.

Bruschetta Con Gamberoni

For main course, I chose the mushroom risotto, a bit of a wildcard for myself. Risotto is something I’ve never ordered in a restaurant before. I’ve always considered it to be quite bland and boring, yearning for something a little bit more exciting than a bowl of rice. I’m pleased to confirm that this dish proved me wrong. The rice was neither stodgy nor sticky and the sauce was very flavoursome, full of mushroom and complemented beautifully with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. It went a lot further than it looked like it would too. Plus, it wasn’t too heavy, so made for the perfect lunchtime dish.

Risotto Funghi

This is one of the lunch menus the city centre has to offer. The quality of the food is exquisite and the quantity is just right. You’re more than satisfied but you don’t come away feeling stuffed.

Desserts usually let the side down on a set menu, but not here. The choice isn’t as vast as for the first two courses, but there’s still more than enough to satisfy everyone’s palate. It was a tough call. In my mind’s eye was the Tortino Al Cioccolato, whose description sounded as luscious as its title: a warm chocolate fondant stuffed with chocolate truffles and topped with salted caramel ice cream. However, I wasn’t in the mood for anything overly rich, so the Crostata Di Mele won the race: baked apple and almond tart with vanilla ice cream.

Crostata Di Mele

This magnificently hefty piece of cake was a light and fluffy almond sponge layered with apple conserve and topped with a blanket of toasted almonds. Served just the right side of warm with a slab of Italian vanilla ice cream, it was a stunning end to a stunning meal.

Grand Caffe by Piccolino has well and truly earned its reputation as one of the best restaurants in Manchester. It’s the highest end of Italian cuisine served up by attentive staff in decadent surroundings with a lively atmosphere.

It seems there’s a holy trio of Italian restaurants in Manchester. Alongside San Carlo and Rosso, I’ve now discovered, sits Piccolino.

Note that Piccolino is part of the Individual Restaurants group, who also own Gino’s and Restaurant Bar & Grill. If you sign up to the Club Individual, you can build up points across the three city centre restaurants to deduct from future bills. It’s worth a go.

All menus available at: http://individualrestaurants.com/piccolino/manchester/