We’re loving the lighter nights, sunshine and all the fresh ingredients that the new season offers and our chefs have been developing menus to reflect the warmer months.

Using the finest produce flown in from the markets of Milan, delicious flavoursome dishes bring a taste of the colourful Italian Summer to every plate.
The San Carlo Group kitchen team, led by Executive Chef Filippo Pagani, has expertly matched vegetables, salads, herbs and fruits such as artichoke, broad beans, peas, white radicchio, mint and parsley and combined them with main ingredients of the highest quality from cod, scallops and seabass to beef and pork.

At Cicchetti Manchester you can now enjoy new creations including:

• Carpaccio of beef marinated in red wine with artichoke and beetroot dressing
• Beef Calabrese with Sicilian tomato tartare and Stracciatella (the creamy part of burrata) from Puglia
• Cod Sapporo – Venetian cod dish marinated for 48 hours with red onion, brown sugar, white wine vinegar
• Spaghetti alla Cipolla – 24 hours in the making, a traditional comfort food with onion and monks beard from Tuscany
• Pan fried scallop with pea and mint risotto
• White radicchio salad with vinaigrette, Italian eggs, bacon and red onion
• Mashed broad bean, Parmesan, mint and basil on grilled bread with matured salted ricotta from Southern Italy
• Black salt baked seabass – whole fillet with peppercorns, lemon and parsley

Sensational new dishes at Fumo Manchester include the ‘Affumicati Fumo’ smoked specials presented under a glass cloche:

• Mediterranean Fishes Carpacci served with crispy seasonal vegetables, mint and olive oil
• Swordfish Carpaccio with Pachino tomatoes, capers and black olives

Fumo Birmingham also boasts new Summer offerings and our recommendations are:

• Oven baked Swordfish rolls filled with mix seafood, topped with fish sauce and served on a bed of pan fried courgettes in balsamic vinegar
• Monkfish loin wrapped in pancetta slices in a butter and lemon sauce served with roasted potatoes.

Book a table at your favourite San Carlo and enjoy the Summer specials – every dish is divine!

This month saw us bring the celebrated Italian ritual of aperitivo to Fumo at 1 St Peters Square in Manchester. Already billed by press as the classiest happy hour in the city, Fumo’s aperitivo offers two for one offers on a selection of signature cocktails, bottles of house wine, Prosecco and Peroni all served with delicious complimentary bar nibbles between 4 and 7pm from Sunday through to Thursday every week. These are no ordinary cocktails – from the refreshing and summery Hugo – a blend of Prosecco, elderflower and fresh mint to the ever popular Aperol Spritz or Wild Hibiscus Mojito, there’s something to suit every taste. Perfect for catching up with friends straight from work or a pre-theatre or dinner treat, pull up a chair at our sweeping marble bar and enjoy!

Rosso 43:

April’s Cocktail of the Month at Fumo is the ‘Rosso 43’.

A refreshing long drink made with freshly squeezed red orange juice, Spanish vanilla liqueur and topped with Prosecco.

This beautiful aperitif will bring back memories of Summer holidays and sunsets by the sea.

Ingredients:

40 ml Stolichnaya Vodka
25 ml Liquor 43
50 ml Freshly squeezed red orange juice
Top with Prosecco

Method:

Shake and strain. Serve over ice.

Our menus change with the seasons to reflect our food philosophy – using only the best, seasonal produce and allowing those ingredients to shine. Spring Summer is an exciting time for us as our Executive Development Chef Filippo Pagani sets to work creating those new dishes for you to enjoy. Available from the end of April, expect lighter, colourful dishes bursting with flavour, featuring artichokes, asparagus, spinach, wild garlic, lemons, tomatoes and lamb.

‘Jet Set Chick’ highlighted our six sites within a ten mile radius – all just as good as each other – in her ‘San Carlo for Every Occasion’ travel and lifestyle blog post.
Reviewing all of our outlets across Manchester, here are Asma Younus’ recommendations of which restaurant to visit when: Read more…

Fumo Sound is back at the end of the month with performances on Easter weekend in Manchester and Birmingham.

DJ Myles Langley and DJ Ben Martin will provide sets at both venues on Saturday 26 March before handing over for live sax sessions from ‘The Sax Guy’ and ‘El Sax’.

The saxophonists are really sensational so book your table for cicchetti, cocktails and Spring sounds early.

Fumo Manchester, 1 St Peter’s Square Manchester 0161 236 7344

Fumo Birmingham, 1 Waterloo Street, Birmingham 0121 643 8979

On top of its chic refurbishment, Cicchetti Manchester has launched its new winter menu, hosting a media lunch for more than 10 of the city’s well-known press and restaurant critics.

As with all of our food, dishes have been created from the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced directly from the markets of Milan and showcase the very finest in regional Italian cuisine.

The winter offering features a mix of classic favourites such as pigeon breast paté with black truffle and toasted Altamura bread and exciting additions including Venetian cod baked in an iron pot with onions and parmesan and Bruschetta with pumpkin, onion and salted ricotta.

San Carlo Cicchetti reinterprets the delightful Venetian culinary custom of cicchetti; delicious small plate dishes designed to share or eat alone. The Autumn/Winter menu is available now in Cicchetti and Fumo, Manchester.

New dishes include:

• Venetian Salt cod croquettes with lemon mayonnaise
• Salmon and beetroot Carpaccio with pistachio pesto
• Pappardelle Castagne with wild boar ragu & chestnut
• Slow roasted pork belly with winter spices, potato and cabbage
• Purple broccoli fried with onions, breadcrumbs, garlic and Altamura bread

And specials:

• Pumpkin & truffle risotto
• Venison with pearl barley, onion and Parmesan
• Cheese and truffle dumplings served in a chicken broth
• Fried small Sicilian red prawns with whitebait zucchini

Feedback has been positive with fabulous comments.  Read some of the reviews here:

Viva Manchester

Taste of Manchester

We look forward to welcoming you to the all new Cicchetti Manchester soon!

Take a sip from the witch’s cauldron this Halloween with the ‘Death of a Samurai’; a deliciously original cocktail from the expert mixologists at San Carlo Fumo.

With Midori liqueur as a base, alongside a mix of tequila and fresh lime juice, the drink is given a final spooky flourish of red ‘blood’ around the glass – perfect for a party this All Hallows’ Eve.  So why not come down and try it?

Ingredients:

• Midori
• Excellia Reposado Tequila
• Pistachio sugar
• Fresh lime juice

Method:

Mix all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a coupette glass.

Garnish:

To make the ‘blood’, combine 3:1 parts caster sugar to water, 100ml vanilla essence, 100ml red food colouring and 4 x drops of Tabasco sauce and bring to the boil.

Leave to simmer on a low heat for 5-10mins before allowing to cool naturally and then placing in the freezer to firm up before using it to rim the glass!

November’s ‘Spirit Session’ at San Carlo Fumo Manchester is all about rum.

Following last month’s Gin Tasting, Dave Marsland, ‘Drinks Enthusiast’, will be back at our One St Peter’s Square bar and restaurant to host the cocktail event alongside Bar Manager Sean McGuirk on Wednesday 4th November.

El dorado 3yr, Bacardi Oakheart, Blackwells Jamaican Rum and Chairmans Reserve Spiced are all on the menu, plus an exclusive rum cocktail made using Diplomatico Anejo.
For more information or to book please contact the bar team at Fumo on 0161 236 7344.

Other Spirit Sessions include our World Whiskies evening confirmed for Wednesday 18th November and the ‘Luxury Event’ which offers an extra special Fumo experience is held on Wednesday 9th December.
Fumo cicchetti dishes are not included in the ticket price. Places are limited. Cost per event varies so please check at time of booking.

A reminder of our Fumo Sound live music DJ sessions and sax performances for 2015:
Manchester – 24.10 07.11 21.11; 05.12; 12.12; 19.12; 31.12
Birmingham – 07.11; 05.12; 31.12