Italiana Fifty Five, the sleek Italian spot with locations in the city centre and Didsbury Village, are known for their impeccable service, comprehensive seasonal menu and eye-catching yellow interiors.
What you may not know though is that they’re super-serious about fresh pasta in particular.
In the front window of their Wilmslow Road restaurant, in its leafy Didsbury surroundings, you can see chefs lovingly prepare various types of pasta on traditional equipment, from rigatoni cylinders to pleasingly squiggly ribbons of reginette.
Honestly, you could watch this mesmerising process all day.
Spectating is great, but it’s better to try it. New additions to the menu include a carbonara, made to purist’s exacting standards (guanciale, egg, parmesan, and absolutely nothing cream-based whatsoever).
There’s also a fresh and veggie-friendly ravioli with spinach and sage, an 8-hour braised beef shin ragù with pappardelle, and an oven-baked vodka sauce dish, complete with satisfyingly crispy bits on top.
Other new additions to the menu include a cappellacci di burrata, which is a few steamy, oversized parcels of burrata and ricotta, served in a meaty Tuscan sauce, and a funghi-heavy reginette dish. People who love pasta but don’t necessarily love cheese (trust us, they exist), should direct their attention to the aubergine rigatoni.
There’s a couple of autumnal-leaning starters too: a bruschetta topped with globes of stracciatella di bufala, and some Sicilian-style arancini too. In terms of Mancunian fresh pasta players, Italiana Fifty Five have firmly entered the arena.
Read more:
Schofield Brothers to open a new bar
Music mental health charities launch new initiative
New members club to open in Manchester
