Circolo Popolare Launch Preview

Big Mamma are thrilled to launch their first restaurant in the North, and of course it's right here in Manchester!  Following the opening of acclaimed restaurants Gloria in Milan, Barracuda in Brussels, and most recently in Barcelona, Circolo Popolare is set to take Mancunians on the ultimate authentic Italian trip via the country’s excellent cuisine and exceptional produce. 

Circolo Popolare is a modern trattoria filled to the brim with collective joy and good times, bringing the electric atmosphere and playful spirit of its namesake in London and Madrid, to take guests on the ultimate celebratory Italo-escape. 

We booked in to get an early look during the soft launch period, which runs until June 2nd.  After that, proper bookings are open and the venue is officially launched on June 6th, but until that time the guys are taking the opportunity to get well-rehearsed whilst giving you a bargain at the same time.

Set within a spanking-new development, St Michael's, off the thoroughfare of Manchester’s Deansgate, the glinting bottle walls catch your eye as you're led into this buzzing jasmine-clad trattoria; a glitteringly expansive 300+ cover space set over 2 floors!

We delved into the menu with gusto and picked options from as many sections as possible, to give you guys a through overview of what you can expect. 

Gnocco Fritto con Stracchino (£8.50) took me back to the streets of Modena where I first ate the dish almost a decade ago and instantly fell in love with at the time.  Circolo Popolare's version was stuffed with oozy, creamy Stracchino cheese.  Absolutely dreamy, and it's fantastic to see one of my favourite Italian dishes on the menu!

Focaccia with Garlic (£5) was a dish which seemingly every table around us also ordered!  Superb quality bread with a textbook crust, sliced down the middle and filled with a garlic/ricotta style cream filling. 

Arancini Al Ragu Di Salsiccia (£9) was another must-order and is set to become a staple on the menu and will appeal to most customers' tastes.  A rich ragu/risotto filling, crumbed and deep fried to perfection, scattered with a grating of Parmigiano.  You'd need to be in a seriously bad mood to not enjoy these.

Our two servers on the night, Oss and Faith, were both wonderful, showing few signs of it being the first service to customers, despite it being a soft launch event where everyone's there as a test pilot whilst paying half price in a purposely packed out/strained dining room, yet still expect perfection.  The whole team handled service like true pros.

Spaghettoni Al Ragu Di Agnello (£19) was our chosen pasta course.  A deeply flavoured and obviously slow cooked lamb sauce, with a zingy mint-driven salsa verde which completed the plate's flavour profile and took the whole thing to another level. The pasta was cooked perfectly, aka al dente, with plenty of texture, something which our server gave us advance notice of.  As much as we prefer pasta to be cooked this way, I suspect that things may need to change for the Manchester market once feedback arrives in the coming weeks. 

A Pizza was our next dish, in this case the 'Looking for Truffle' (£21), which was the name of the goods.  But we didn’t need to look very far for the truffle at all because half of the truffle in Alba had been shaved onto the pizza!  A white pizza topped with ricotta and truffle cream, sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella, with that unmistakable scent coming from the shaved black truffle. Earthy, luxurious and truly decadent.

Tiramisu (£8) is having its moment back in the limelight, and every single restaurant in the land now seems to be serving it again.  Circolo's version is scooped at tableside for that theatrical touch which was nice, as was the tiramisu itself.  A superb balance of cream and well textured savoiardi which had been steeped in just the right amount of booze, topped with a more than healthy amount of cocoa powder.  100% one of the best iterations we've had in the city all year. 

'The Incomparable Lemon Pie' (£8), which is the actual menu description, was our second dessert pick, and mark my words; it’s a dish which Circolo Populare will become known for across Manchester.  It's super IG friendly in appearance, and more importantly than all that, it's very well made and utterly delicious!  Lastly, it's also a bargain price.  This dish alone justifies a visit.

So Circolo Popolare looks set to become Manchester’s ticket to the ultimate joyful Italian escape, with 100% homemade Italian cooking, authentic artisanal products, fabulous service, and good times aplenty.

** Our experience was gratefully comped **