Gusto Manchester

With its high ceilings, grand island bar and nods to 1920s design, Manchester’s branch of Gusto feels perfectly at home within Deansgate’s ornate Elliot House. This elegant Italian restaurant offers a crowd-pleasing menu spanning pasta, pizza and main-course meat and fish dishes, with a weekday set lunch offering decent value. We started with a fresh, colourful romesco chicken salad, the char-grilled strips of breast nestling among peppery rocket, red pepper and tangy goats’ cheese. To follow, whole salt-baked sea bass had been delicately infused with lemon and Italian herbs before being filleted tableside with a theatrical flourish. Simple sides of garlicky roasted potatoes and creamed spinach arrived well-seasoned, though our French beans were slightly undercooked. The dessert menu is old-school – tiramisu, sticky toffee pudding and hazelnut brownies – yet well-executed, and a creamy pannacotta demonstrated a reassuring wobble. Gusto’s predominantly European wine list is another highlight, boasting a laudable by-the-glass selection.

We all love a good plate of Italian food, and Gusto Manchester offers up a menu full of enticing Italian dishes and more. Founded in Chesire in 2005, the Gusto brand has grown to 13 restaurants across the UK, each serving up a fresh and contemporary Italian menu.

Highlighted on its menu as something worth sampling are the Gusto Dough Petals – ‘petals’ of bread with toppings including classic garlic butter, tomato, crispy shallots, and homemade Romesco vegan mayonnaise dip, or slow-cooked pork with fennel, caramelised onions, and mozzarella. The perfect start to your meal. Moving on to starters proper (the bread was just the beginning, of course), there’s lemon and pepper calamari, classic burrata, slow-cooked meatballs (there’s a vegan alternative!), and an antipasti sharing board.

The menu continues to blossom when it comes to main courses. Again, there are starred options to guide your choices, like the honey-glazed duck and balsamic, and the whole sea bream to share between two. You can add on a range of dishes as additional sides, including Italian fried courgettes and truffle mash.

Interestingly for an Italian restaurant, you’ll also find a classic burger and vegan burger on the menu – although Italian flavours are maintained through the addition of pecorino cheese and mozzarella. Of course, there’s a range of hand-crafted sourdough pizzas, with all of the usual toppings you’d expect, and a vast selection of pasta and risottos. Whether you’re an Italian food purist, or looking for something a little outside of the box, there’s more than likely something for you at Gusto.

The restaurant is classy, decorated with subtle, rustic pieces like burnt orange seating, exposed brick walls, and sweeping olive trees. Take a seat inside and soak up the calming and authentic atmosphere whilst you dine on plate after plate of delicious Italian cuisine.