Salvi’s Cucina

I’ve been curious about Salvi’s for a while and was highly impressed by the way they dealt with our big group — glasses of prosecco were continually refreshed and the starters came on a monumental board and featured probably the best mozzarella you’ll get in Manchester.
For mains I shared a risotto with cheese and barolo (red) wine. I haven’t had much purple food in my life so that alone was quite exciting. It’s a very rich dish and might be good to split and share rather than have to yourself. It’s got a good strong flavour though, and is something a bit different.
I’ll definitely be back to try more of the menu.

I went to this restaurant with group my Unilocal friends. Great atmosfer. I order great cocktail drink aperol spritz. I very like sour and bitter teasty and this drink was perfect. I’m big lover of calzone pizza and unfortunately I don’t fund this in menu. I ask head waiter and he told me don’t worry we will make calzone pizza special for you. Wow I was so impressed. When my calzone arrived I was in heaven big, teasty with lots of items inside. I can full recommended this place.

Heard some great things about this restaurant so had to give it a try. The staff are great, quick and friendly and the manager works on the floor to schmooze with the customers and keep everything running like clockwork. Some features were a little too ‘rough around the edges’ for my taste — the place mats were torn squares of sugar paper, some looking a tad too DIY and messy, however on the whole there was a good atmosphere and authentic feel. I really liked the open kitchen so you could see the chefs at work.
I was a little disappointed not to find prawns or calamari on the starters as Italian restaurants always do these best. I opted for the burrata mozzarella, rocket and sundried tomatoes in the end — it was nice, but a little bland. For the main I went with the prawn, tomatoes and courgette pasta. It came as spaghetti — I’d have preferred pasta as I’m a bit of a messy eater (!!) and the sauce was heavier and richer than I expected — I was expecting a light tomato base. Having said all this, it was delicious and would certainly recommend! We were too full for dessert so admitted defeat, although the tiramisu looked awesome.
The restaurant was pretty cold & we were sat just in front of the wine store so felt like we were a little in the way of waiters needing to go in and out. Mixed feelings about my experience, I think certainly worth another trip to be sure!

A lovely restaurant with delicious food and slightly patchy but overall endearing service. I came here with a group of Unilocalers and I think we would all agree that our waiter seemed like he was on another planet. I thought that it might be a language barrier but I heard another member of staff speaking to him in Italian and although I don’t speak the language it seemed as though she was having as hard a time as we were communicating with him. At the end of the meal as I was trying to leave, he stood in my path saying nothing with a blank expression and I just had to weave round him. Very odd, but no harm done I suppose.
Back to the food and drink. I opted for a delicious and refreshing Aperol Spritz which was just what I needed on a warm day. The menu is bigger than I expected: I thought it would be one of those rustic places that has about five options. But choice is good too, although I tend to have a brain meltdown when there’s too many things to choose from. After much deliberation I settled on a sausage and broccoli pizza.
When it arrived — wow. For once I was glad I didn’t have a starter. It was ginormous, hanging over the sides of the plate it was served on. One thing I will mention is that the green vegetable on the pizza looked and tasted nothing like any broccoli I’ve ever seen before. In fact I’m fairly sure it was kale or another type of cabbage. I’m not complaining really as it was delicious and I don’t discriminate between vegetables but I’m fairly sure it wasn’t broccoli. Don’t quote me on that, I’m no broccoli expert.
They were kind enough to box up the half that I couldn’t get through so I could take it home with me. It was a wonderful lunch the next day, eaten cold out of a tupperware (I’m all class).
I really enjoyed the meal but I can’t say that Salvis totally bowled me over. I’ll definitely be back some day, but maybe not in a rush.

A modern yet classic Italian that satisfies.
The modern look of this place is very appealing but there’s plenty of nods to the Italian heritage with old black and white photographs and classic Italian dishes. The open kitchen is a good idea and the seating is intimate but not too squeezed in.
I got gnocchi with Italian pork sausage which I enjoyed. However I think I would order a pizza in the future as they were getting rave reviews and were massive. Boxes for leftover pizza were nearly inevitable.
I had an Aperol spritz cocktail which I haven’t had before but it definitely grew on me.
I’ve walked past this place before without noticing it. I’m glad to be better informed now of where to get a proper Italian meal.

I have heard really good things about Salvi’s Cucina and it certainly lived up to its excellent reputation. The menu is really extensive and there are some really interesting and authentic dishes to try. I like the restaurant’s colourful décor and the black and white photos on the wall. The service was friendly and efficient. I ordered the swordfish and smoked mozzarella spaghetti which was beautifully presented and full of flavour. I can’t believe I have left it so long to try here and I certainly won’t be leaving it so long before I go back again.

Delightful Italian restaurant on John Dalton Street in Manchester city centre. Well thought out with lots of seating and an open kitchen.
There is an extensive menu of Italian food and drink as well as a daily specials board. It’s great to have a choice of a few different Italian beers to choose from. They even have Italian soft drinks. The Aperol Spritz cocktails were very popular with our group.
Skipping a starter we all went for a main course. It’s just as well because the portions are nice and generous. I ordered a Pizze Boscaiola which comes with mushrooms, Italian sausage and mozzarella. Served on quite a large plate, my pizza was overhanging the edge of the plate! It was perfectly cooked. Nice thin base, not too crisp and not too soggy. The ingredients tasted wonderfully fresh. Unless you’re absolutely famished, one of the pizzas would serve 2, perhaps with a side of something.
Toilets are at the back of the restaurant, and there’s only 1 for each sex which I didn’t think adequate for the size of restaurant. If someone is taking their sweet time in there you can be in for a wait (as happened to me!).
I’m looking forward to many more return trips to Salvis. It’s one of those places where you could take someone who is visiting Manchester and be confident they’ll love it.

Last Saturday afternoon brought me to Salvi’s Cucina and what a lovely little restaurant it is. I must have walked past Salvi’s so many times, they have a prime location on John Dalton Street, but until Neil C. mentioned them to me, i honestly had never thought to go.
We arrived in the early afternoon for a late lunch and the restaurant was so busy! and rightfully so. The manager found us a table but mentioned that they would need it back in 1 hour as it was reserved for a booking. We didn’t mind that, so we took our seats at a little table near the window.
The menu is full of authentic Italian dishes, some of which i would loved to have tried, but the heart wants what the heart wants — and for me, that was pizza.
The pizza’s looked fabulous so after ordering some marinated mixed olives to share as an appetizer, i ordered the Pizza Tirolese — Porcini mushrooms, bufala, speck and mozzarella. It was huge, the base was thin and crispy and the toppings weren’t too heavy and went together very well. As much as i wanted to, i couldn’t finish it.
I had a lovely glass of red wine in here too. I didn’t choose it, as i would have no idea which wine to choose, but luckily Neil C. knows his wines. He chose Barolo and it was very nice.
I can imagine i’ll be back to Salvi’s Cucina in the future!

Friendly place run by Italians more could you want?! They serve Aperol spritz cocktails (win in my book) so we started the meal with 1 of these.
Opted for the sharing appertivo platter for 2 which was a handsome (should that be hamsome?) mix of hams, buffalo mozzarella, olives, peppers and other tasty antipasti served on a wooden board. There were 3 different types of mozzerella one of which was a smoked one which was very tasty — shows my ignorance as i often find mozzarella a bit bland but these were all delicious.
Main time i opted for the seafood risotto because i love risotto and im rubbish at making it whereas pasta i can cook. My friend went for the lobster raviolli off the specials board (£14) which did sound great.
Now this is why this is more a 3 star rather than 4 review — they brought me seafood pasta rather than risotto (yeh first world problems i know!) which although was swapped without hesitation it meant that my friends raviolli was kept warm and wasn’t as fresh as it could have been.
Minor hic up and it means that i will have to go again just to give them the benefit of the doubt. Rest of the meal passed without a problem so I would go back — it was the first Friday after new year when i visited so maybe the waiter was having post Christmas and new year blues and misheard me :)

Can you describe a restaurant as ‘handsome’? Well if so, Salvi’s Cucina most certainly is. When you enter you feel as though you’ve left Manchester behind and stepped into a Naples eatery — it’s modern in décor but traditional in atmosphere, with a busy open kitchen.
After a friendly welcome we perused the menu, where their famous mozzarella which is flown in weekly from ‘back home’ is listed alongside Napoli-​style pizzas, both bianche (white sauce) and rosse (tomato sauce), pasta, risotto and a few seafood and meat mains.
For starters, most of us opted for the bruschetta, which you can get with just tomato or with taleggio cheese. The latter was very good, with just enough served to whet the appetite.
Perhaps, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have ‘double carbed’, as the pizza I ordered for my main course was humongous. The Diavola comes with two varieties of salami and the thin base was slightly dense yet tasty. I couldn’t finish it though as it unexpectedly filled me up, but the staff were more than happy to box up the remaining quarter for me to take home. FYI it tastes just as good the next day :)
The wine list is wholly Italian (well, what would you expect) and we shared a good bottle though I’ve forgotten its name now so that’s no help whatsoever…
For simple, yet rich, Italian food, you’ll probably find no better place in Manchester than here. Keep your gaze away from the large front windows and you’ll feel like you’re in Italia. Buon appetito!

I was so happy that I got to Salvi’s new place yesterday and that it was actually as good I was expecting — what a fantastic space and I love what they’ve done with the restaurant! If you like the Salvi’s mozzarella bar in the corn exchange, you’ll love this place as there’s loads more seating, a much bigger menu that now does pizza and it’s just a lot more of a formal (without being off putting) place to go for a bite compared to the mozzarella bar.
I went at 430pm so pretty quiet but I was well greeted by Anthony the manager and it was great to see the restaurant all open plan with smiling chefs ready to leap into action. I actually wanted to go for something like risotto or pasta but I basically didn’t have enough time to wait for the risotto as it must be cooked from fresh (30 mins wait) and they were out of ravioli. Being in a rush I went for the pizza and had it bianca (white) with broccoli, pancetta and mozzarella — what came (in about 10 mins) was the biggest personal pizza I think I’ve ever seen and for £10 was amazing value. Luckily my friend and Unilocaler Jimmy K was walking past at exactly this point and I invited him in to share it with me — it was needed!
I’m only giving this place 4 stars today as I want to go back and check it out properly on an evening, enjoy some wine etc — plus there were quite a few ingredients on the menu they didn’t have so I can’t give it a max score today. Saying that, everyone knows my love of the other Salvi’s so if they nail it next time I drop in it could well be heading for all star in my eyes!

Was only a flying visit. Macchiato nice! Pizza yummy and beware of its size. XXXL.