San Carlo

To those that read my last review you may see I was in a rush to judge after my first visit to this chain back in Manchester. I had low expectations when my friend took me away to Leeds for the weekend and booked up for San Carlo.
Needless to say I was expecting the worst when I walked into this restaurant! However I was nicely surprised — it was busy but the tables were spaced out thank god!
We were shown to a lovely table in a cozy corner of the room by our waiter and left with ample time to make our decisions!
I went all out and started with the aborigine in a spicy tomato sauce. There was plenty of it! I didn’t finish it all as I was saving space for my main but it was tasty with a kick of fiery chilli. I opted to have the lobster ravioli as my friend raved about this place and promised I wouldn’t be let down! And alas it wasn’t salty! There was 5 giant ravioli with plenty of the tangy creamy and tomato sauce and filled to the brim with tasty lobster!
We shared tomato garlic bread that was delightful combining the right amount of tomato to bread ratio it kept the crispness and had a lovely garlic hint.
We were nearly the last covers to leave and in line with the great service all night our waiter come over with a complementary shot of limoncello!
They ordered us a taxi to take us back to our hotel — couldn’t have asked for more from these guys! What a great evening… I will think twice about going back to the Manchester branch!

Lovely restaurant with excellent authentic Italian food but a little on the pricey side!

Me and a friend visited San Carlo leeds last night and had a brilliant night. Although it was a Sunday night the restaurant had good ambience and was busy. The service throughout our meal was exceptional, polite staff who topped up drinks.
We had scallops and lobster ravioli to
start which was tasty and the right size for a starter portion. We then had pizzas which were thin and full of flavour. The desserts however were the course to die for pannacota and the antique gluten free chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was light but so chocolatey!
Thoroughly enjoyed it!

I was trying to pick an Italian restaurant to go to, and I’d heard mostly good things about San Carlo so decided to try it out. From the outside it looks like it could be populated entirely by people who’ve suited up, so I felt a little underdressed before we got inside. To my relief there were plenty of people in casual dress too though, so the experience was a little more relaxed (I always feel a bit on edge when I’m somewhere that feels much classier than I am!).
The staff were very welcoming and polite and were very attentive to our every need, but without being bothersome. Our waiter was also very helpful with the wine — he recommended a bottle that was from the region of Italy he’s from, and it really was lovely.
The food was generally very good, but the viel was a touch overdone for my taste, and it was a rare moment when I didn’t actually finish it! That was the only negative thing about the evening though, and everything else I tasted was delicious, so I’ll probably go back again at some point if I fancy eating at an Italian.
But don’t forget — listen to the waiters if they recommend a bottle of wine!

I could not get past the size of the menu in San Carlo. The main menu folded out into a huge A3 document of pizza, pasta and other typical Italian fare. It’s breadth was already raising alarm bells with me on the maxim that no kitchen could turn out quality food with so much to prepare. This was heightened when I saw the specials menu. This alone had more selection than you would find in many restaurants. There was so much choice that it was almost impossible to choose.
Ultimately, the food arrived and it was absolutely fine. That said, one wonders whether it might have been even better had the kitchen focused on a smaller number of dishes. Certainly, nothing has inspired me to return subsequently. This said, there is certainly nothing to complain about, provided you are not the indecisive type!

I like San Carlo. I like the atmosphere, the seating, and most importantly, the food.
I eat pretty much anything Italian, and the pasta here was great. I don’t like tagliatelle when I’m eating with clients or colleagues, so they kindly swapped the carbonara pasta for penne (I like it when restaurants do that for you).
They do some nice wines too, and it’s not overly overpriced.
I would recommend giving it a go, if you like a good Italian!

Another Italian restaurant to add to the plethora in Leeds. However, this is a welcome addition. The restaurant is situated well to serve the traditional business district in Leeds and only a stones throw from the main shopping area.
The restaurant interior is smart, although a couple of annoying little points. Firstly, the lighting is ruined by spotlights, I almost felt as though I was in an interrogation room! Second issue, the toilets are so black and ill lit that you feel like you need a blindman’s stick to navigate the toilet! However, these are minor points to the main event the food!
The usual Italian fayre is available from pasta to pizza’s but all a step above the usual. The focaccia bread that comes as a side to a main dish is easily big enough for two people to share and is ideal as a starter. I had pizza as a main and the quality of ingredients really shone through from the mozzarella to the parmesan to the sun dried tomatoes, amazing! For desert checkout the Tartufo Flambé’ Con Sambuca which is as tasty as it is spectacular.
Drinks wise I can recommend the house white, which is good enough to hold its own against any of the more expensive alternatives.
Overall, the service was great, even when they messed up our starter, changed without any fuss, as it should be!
Overall £55.00 for starter, two mains, two deserts, large bottle of mineral water, bottle of house white wine and espresso for one — so average for a decent restaurant. San Carlo’s main competition in Leeds will be places like Bibis and Jamie’s Italian but honestly I think it will hold it’s own and becaome a firm favourite on the Leeds restaurant front.