The best places for pasta in Manchester

Once a staple of the Reddish food scene, A Tavola now resides in New Mills and they’re making a name for themselves there too. This is a proper neighbourhood Italian restaurant experience – you can expect only the freshest, highest quality ingredients – creating authentic Sicilian dishes including pasta and seafood, as well as sweet dishes like gelato and homemade pastries. From their picturesque little spot with sunshine yellow furniture, rustic brickwork and a covered terrace, you could almost mistake New Mills for Palermo.

If you’re looking for a pasta-centric place to mark a special occasion, Cibo know all about creating an atmosphere. Their spot in Hale is known for its impressive roof garden, and for being frequented by the great and good of the Cheshire footballer set. Now they’ve added a King Street spot to their empire, which is all marble tables and gothic windows, all set in one of the most stunning dining rooms in the city. The menu is equally as opulent, with tartares and crab meat starters, squid ink spaghetti, extravagant linguine dishes, risotto and a grill menu full of quality cuts. A perfect spot to enjoy a spritz with loved ones.

Situated in the heart of Levenshulme, a South Manchester suburb now overflowing with great options for food and drink, the fact Cibus has grown into such a firm favourite among locals tells you everything about what they’re doing right. It’s not just pizza, there’s brilliant regional pasta dishes, cicchetti (Venetian inspired small plates) and fabulous desserts. About that pasta though – forget classics and discover a new favourite from the likes of duck ragù pappardelle, cavatelli pasta with pesto and potato or calamarata pasta rings with a seafood ragu. Plus, their al fresco dining area is one of the prettiest we know of.

Damò is Roman slang for ‘something that just happened, or happened a while back’. When in Manchester, it’s also one of Altrincham’s most beloved Italian restaurants, which looks to create an elevated experience by offering diners a chance to really dive into a culinary journey through the Old Country’s authentic recipes, customs and flavours. This place comes highly commended for its English-meets-Italian brunch dishes and a lasagne that defies all expectations of how good a lasagne can possibly be. If you’re here for straight-up pasta, their duck gnocchi, cannelloni filled with aubergine and truffle ricotta pappardelle are as indulgent as they sound.

Never has a pasta bar been so long-awaited as Onda. After the viral success of their pop-up at Exhibition, and roadblocked residency at The New Cross, their dedicated space was opened in Oxford Road’s Circle Square to much excitement in June, 2024. For good reason too – their menu is simple and their plates are unfussy, piled with some of the freshest pasta around and coated in simple tasty sauces like fettuccine with garlic mussels or mafaldine ribbons with beef shin ragu. And while we’re here for the pasta, we couldn’t possibly mention Onda without mentioning the tiramisu – these guys serve up so much of this boozy, coffee infused desert that they had to install a dedicated drawer to serve it from.

The lockdown project of chef Ornella Cancila, formerly a baker at the excellent Pollen, this Denton deli opened its doors with a focus on pasta, focaccia and bread. And oh, what pasta. Her dishes are pure joy, with plates such as the mushroom ravioli with creamy truffle sauce and creamy pork sausage pappardelle leading the way, not to mention a lobster ravioli that will truly blow your mind. You can also pick up bakes, pastries and classic Italian desserts to eat in or takeaway from the deli. It’s definitely worth making the journey up to Denton if you don’t happen to be local, but don’t expect to just stroll in – this is a popular spot and gets booked up weeks in advance. It’s also spectacularly good value, if all that wasn’t already enough.

Although not purely Italian, The Spärrows is in fact a restaurant which serves up a selection of dishes from across the European continent, from Russian pelmeni to Polish pierogi, alongside the obvious Italian influences. Handmade fresh pastas and ravioli are the stars of the show, while the restaurant takes its name from the English translation of the central European späzle – little sparrows – which the pasta shapes resemble. The attention to detail here is next-level and the drinks menu is sake-centric too, just because that’s what the team are passionate about. Some of the city’s best food is being made in this contemporary spot on Red Bank.

Chorlton’s Lucky Mama’s is a must-visit if you’re into tonnes of homemade pizza and pasta, but with a twist. Inspired by owners Mamadou and Gaby’s shared Senegalese, Spanish, Chilean and Italian roots, the fresh pastas and Roman pizzas are playfully irreverent. Whether it be oversized spaghetti strands, pizza dough for bowls or a ‘rasta pasta’, which promises a jerk infused creamy parmesan sauce. It’s not one for pasta purists, but those with an open mind and an empty belly should give it a go immediately.

They were Sugo, then they were Sud, then they were Rigatoni’s, then a different Rigatoni’s. Storied history aside, we couldn’t be happier that this South Italian kitchen has stuck around in our city, whichever name they go by. Operating from their original base in Altrincham, they offer a restrained menu of fewer than 10 mains in total, and a handful of starters and sides. When the offering is this good, that’s all you need. The house special of beef shin, pork shoulder & nduja ragu and the scoglio with an prawns, mussels and a spicy kick are enduringly unbeatable though.

Tucked away in the back streets of the Northern Quarter, you’ll find Manchester’s tiniest Italian restaurant, Sicilian NQ. What it lacks in space, it truly makes up for in taste, as this restaurant packs a punch with its authentic dishes like gnocchi, arancini and polpettine meatballs. They’re good enough to make you feel as though you’ll walk out onto a sun-drenched palazzo, rather than Turner Street. Sicilian NQ also proves that Italian food can also be vegan-friendly, with a dedicated all-vegan menu featuring dishes such as portobello tagliatelle, spicy vegan girasole and a vegan oreo gelato.

A recipient of – or nominee for – pretty much every single food award that we’ve had in the city, it wouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if Lupo had won an Oscar, or indeed a Nobel Peace Prize – purely for the quality of their produce alone. Now based in Prestwich, Lupo is the quintessential Italian cafe and deli experience, with superb coffee, outstanding baked goods, cannolo, pizzas, pasta, cakes. Fresh pastas are abundant, like spag bol, cacio e pepe as well as more wildcard options like lobster ravioli and gnocci alla sorrentina. Plus, gluten free pasta is available, which is quite remarkable for an authentic Italian spot. Well worth the glamorous trip out to the Mountheath Trading Estate, you won’t leave empty handed (or hungry).

Hiding in plain sight behind red velvet curtains, discouraging photography and social media shares, Louis is all about transporting diners back to another era. Inspired by the Italian-American speakeasy, and big on glamour, the menu is fittingly nostalgic. Dishes steeped in culinary heritage, then elevated through the use of specialist ingredients hand-chosen for their quality. Like Iberia meatballs in marinara sauce, green lip breaded mussels, osso buco alla Milanese, and caesar salad from scratch. And, of course, all the pasta – like spicy linguine clams, rigatoni alla vodka and truffle cacio e pepe – is made on site.

San Carlo is synonymous with refined Italian dining and, let’s face it, a bit of football player-adjacent glitziness. But when it comes to food, they consistently deliver the seasonally-inspired goods. Pasta-wise there are slow cooked ragùs, truffle ravioli and other cosy dishes making use of the full spectrum of fresh pasta variations. San Carlo has loads of spots across Greater Manchester, and while they all have a slightly different look and feel – from the classic elegance of King Street’s original spot to the sleek grandeur of Oxford Road’s San Carlo Fumo Bar & Grill – they all share an indulgent but un-stuffy feel.

This Salford-based Italian restaurant has made quite the name for itself in the time since it arrived on Chapel Street. Owned by much-loved restaurateur Beppe, Vero Moderno offers a different approach to Italian cuisine that never strays too far from its roots. The restaurant has been described as ‘one of the top Italian restaurants in the UK’ by the Sunday Times, and it’s not hard to see why, especially if you’ve ever had the pleasure of tucking into taglierini del pescatore – fresh egg pasta with mussel meatballs, cod and baby squid. It’s also a hit with Manchester’s footie squads, too, with a whole host of them popping in to show their love for Beppe and the team.