Carluccio’s

Undoubtedly the worst meal we have ever had in a place supposedly known for good food.
I think maybe the chef had the night off and the pot washer was cooking.
We wont make that mistake again.
The only reason I gave one star is because it wont post no stars.

Came here for cheeky treat for myself on a Friday after work before getting on a train! Why not, eh? I use to frequent the original Carluccio’s in Market Place, which I love, so I was very happy that Manchester City Centre was getting their own one, albeit in the train station. The restaurant is beautifully fitted with distinct sections having their own set of matching furniture, creating zones for a quick bite to eat, or more cosier seating by the kitchen pass. I was a bit greedy and got my favourite spinach and ricotta ravioli in sage butter — the pasta was slightly undercooked but there was plenty of filling and fragrant sage. I couldn’t resist a side of the Funghi Fritti, which I have not tried before and was half expecting a breaded garlic mushroom affair but it was a mixture of oyster mushrooms and chestnut mushrooms covered lightly in panko crumbs and well seasoned! They were light, crispy and juicy inside — I would definitely recommend them as a side for ANY main! To finish off, I opted for the ricotta and raspberry ice cream and melon sorbet, which was rich and packed with fruity flavours.
I did want to knock off a star for their location, but on seconds thoughts, train station and travellers deserve some good grub too! Kick start your weekend/​little trip here! They also do breakfast! Or why not come pick up a delicious coffee and pastry to go?

After a long day out, there was no way I was going to be cooking dinner. We were thinking about where we could get a bite to eat, but on a Saturday night in Manchester without a reservation, we were thinking maybe takeaway might be a better option. Coverage was spotty on the train, but I managed to do a little research using the Unilocal app. I listed off a couple of options and didn’t realize that Carluccio’s would 1) show up on my takeaway search and 2) would be at Piccadilly. After I mentioned it, Mr. Snarky said that he could go for Italian.
When our train arrived we made our way over to Carluccio’s. It is nicely tucked away upstairs, away from the hustle and bustle. In fact, unless you were dining semi-​al fresco (not in the main restaurant, but not really outside since it was still in the train station) or saw the departures screen, you could forget that you were in a train station. Some people were really dressed up and I wondered if they had just come to Piccadilly for Carluccio’s. We were greeted and seated along the back near a window facing the city.
Our waitress was quite eager, but that didn’t really give us time to look at the menu. There was a fixed price menu, specials on the back of that, and then the regular menu. I had trouble choosing, but we did notice that there was Tasting Trio of Pasta for two. We had no trouble choosing the first two pasta dishes, but we had trouble deciding on a third. Eventually we came to a consensus, so we decided to have the Tasting Trio with the Lasagna, Tortelloni de Cervo, and Lobster Spaghetti. Mr. Snarky also fancied the Pea and Ham Soup to start with, so he had a starter and figured that I would just have some of his starter ;).
The soup is actually a large portion with a nice sized piece of Foccacia bread. I don’t think I have ever had a Pea and Ham soup, so I had some. It was nice, but I wouldn’t put it on my list of favourite soups. Mr. Snarky thought the soup was far too salty, but he also tends not to add any salt when he eats. I thought it well spiced, on the border of being a touch too salty. The Foccacia bread was nice, although there was a part that I was eating that wasn’t fully baked… I like my bread doughy, but not a huge fan of raw dough.
As we were working through the soup, the waitress came by and asked if they could start making our mains. After giving her the ‘ok’, the food didn’t take very long to come out and to be honest, there wasn’t much space on the table for everything. They bring out two medium sized bowls and then a board with three plates of pasta. It is a lovely way to serve the pastas… kind of wanted to take the board and plates with us. I didn’t. My favourite pasta was the Tortelloni de Cervo (Venison) which had been lightly tossed in melted butter. It was simple, but lovely. My second favourite was the Lobster Spaghetti. They do combine the Lobster with Crab, but we did get a few nice pieces of seafood. The sauce was nice and light with a touch of chili. I wasn’t really a fan of the Lasagna. Mr. Snarky really likes Lasagna, but I tend to be quite picky about my Lasagna and tend to like homemade versions. On this occasion, Mr. Snarky found the Lasagna to be bland.
It is quite a bit of food, but if you would like to try a couple of different pasta dishes, it is a nice option. When we couldn’t eat anymore, we sat there wondering where our waitress went. After constant visits to our table, she was nowhere to be found. It was getting late and we wanted to get home and of course there didn’t seem to be any other staff to help… the manager was on the phone running about and the barrista was making coffees for takeaway. Eventually we spotted the waiter that seated us, but it took three tries to get his attention.
After getting his attention, we were able to get takeaway box, but still no bill. Our waitress reappeared, talking to the other waiter as he was pointing to our table. She came over, began to clear the table, and asked if everything was ok. She also asked if we would like desserts or coffee, but we told her we would like the bill. It took a bit of time, but eventually we got the bill. It would be nice if they could balance out their service. Not a bad option if you happen to be at Piccadilly, but I’m not sure that I would go out of my way to eat here if I am out on the town in Manchester.

After a good experiance with the branch in Leeds, I decided to visit here and my experience was even better.
I prebooked my table for around 12:23, I was greated and taken to the table by the guy who spoke to me on the phone and he didn’t moan or call me for being 20 minutes late and he already had a nice table with the view of Manchester and a gluten free menu set out for me. I really liked this as even though I have prebooked and said I was gluten free before, they always forgot the menu.
The store is quite nice, quite hidden in the top floor of Piccadily Station. The staff are really nice, we even shared a laugh when I shown her the ant size portion of my food, I got in Leeds.
I ordered quite a posh drink for £2.80, it was very interesting with Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Cream and Water all in different jugs to make an itallian drink. I found it to not be the best drink I have had but still the presentation was good and it tasted satisfactory.
Like in Leeds, I ordered Scrambled Eggs with Salmon on Gluten Free bread and I was expecting a very small portion yet again but today on my visit, the portion was much larger and it still tasted quite nice, even the bread tasted a little better. The food was better or equal to Leeds in everyway especially considering the portion and bread.
The Scrambled Eggs from this place are surely the best Scrambled Eggs I have had.
They do have screens for train departcher times in the resturant too.
The service for food was quite fast and unlike the Leeds branch, they gave me time to sort out my drinks rather than giving them both to me at the same time,
I feel this place is definitley the best Carluccios branch and deserves 4 star, the only reasons I fail to give more:
— Not the best of locations, it is well hidden in this station and I would rather have it in the city centre than go out of my way to come here but it is worth it.
— Prices could of been more favourable for the customer
— They could of offered to let me have the pen they gave to me to fill in the registration form.
— I would prefer the staff to have Carluccios on their shirts and have name tags.

Not a bad option at all if you find yourself in Piccadilly Station and needing some maximum refreshment — in fact Piccadilly really does seem to have got itself sorted in the past year and a bit when I think of how bad the food and drink options used to be!
All the usual Italian specials are on offer here but it’s for cheap (good quality) coffee that I hit this place for (thanks to Amir R for the tip) — much much cheaper than all the usual chain coffee places inside the station.
There’s loads of seating inside and an area outside (outside…is it classed as outside seating when it’s inside the train station??) which always seems to be shut off. could just be the time of day I go though!
Not bad, check it out if you’ve time to spare but if you’re after a full meal and have loads of time then go into the NQ.

Carluccio’s at Piccadilly is a little oasis in the hustle & bustle of one of the UK’s busiest train stations. Tasteful modern décor, friendly service without being forward or pushy and a menu that doesn’t appear to charge a premium just because it’s at the station.
I had spaghetti carbonara which was beautifully presented, tasted delicious and contained a very generous amount of bacon. At £7.95, a reasonable price for any main course at a city centre Italian restaurant.
Coke costs £2.30 for a 330ml serving, and comes in a glass bottle — I love those! I ordered a green tea afterwards which I think was £1.85 on the menu, but only £1 was charged on the bill — bargain!
If you want something other than a burger, then this is the perfect place to eat whilst waiting for a train

Had the fixed price menu. 2 courses for £10.95. You get a choice of 3 different starters, 4 mains (including 1 vegetarian one) and 4 desserts.
I went for the starter/​main combo. Starter I had the chicken liver pâté which I thought tasted good. Could have done with more toasted ciabatta bread.
For main, I had Milanese Di Pollo which was basically flattened chicken breast in breadcrumbs. I was disappointed with this really. It came with a small amount of salad and a lemon. The plate was missing something I felt. The chicken was pretty dry. I was worried it would be, since it was chicken breast but out of the 4 main options, it was the «best». The other options as pasta with spicy sauce of tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies, the veggie ravioli and a pasta with a spicy sausage sauce. And I didn’t fancy any of them.
I have been to the Carluccio in Spinningfields about a year or so ago and remember it being alright. So maybe I choose the «wrong» dish?
The service was very good though.

I’m a regular at Manchester Piccadilly, but haven’t ever eaten there other than the odd sandwich or late night burger. Like most people I wouldn’t really think of having a sit down meal at a train station, but one delay and a packed platform later, here we were.
Even in the train station, the gentle hubbub of the restaurant all but drowned out the sound of the trains and the announcements
I went for the Chicken Pâté to start — rich and creamy, with some sweet red onion jam and crunchy toasted foccacia.
For my main I had a very delicious Gnocchi Al Gorgonzola — the gnocchi was nice and soft, the closest to homemade I’ve tasted. There was plenty of peppery spinach sat in there too, and a sprinkle of Parmasan finished it off nicely. The only quibble I’ve for its that whilst the sauce in with the gnocchi was nice and creamy, it was a bit too subtle as far as the Gorgonzola is concerned. That said, I do enjoy a strong cheese taste.
The service was… relaxed, which is fine for a leisurely meal, but worth bearing in mind if you have a train to catch.
If you’ve got the time and fancy something to eat, this is one of the nicer options…

Currently I commute into Manchester so I’m pretty familiar with Piccadilly, regularly speeding through on my way to a lecture and occasionally grabbing a coffee, mostly chosen by whichever kiosk had the shortest queue.
This week was the first time I’d even really considered going to Carluccio’s. Granted, I’ve only ordered a take-​out coffee and pastry and haven’t eaten in (bolognaise accompanied by boarding times over the tannoy… no thanks), but I was genuinely impressed with the to-​go offer.
I think it’s worth taking the time to visit the branch on the second floor, as what you cant see from the station platform is that a mountainous spread of freshly baked pastries, cakes and macaroons awaits you once you’ve crested the escalator. And most crucially, the almond croissant of MY DREAMS!
Seriously, if we’re being honest I’ve got a bit of an pastry problem and after living on Northern territory for more than 6 months now, this is my first Unilocal-​worthy almond croissant encounter (am I missing somewhere? If so please do let me know!). This was flakey and light, not too sickly sweet, sprinkled with almonds and a good splodge of frangipani hidden within.
So one croissant and a latte to go, guess how much? Go on, bet you can’t. Just TWO ENGLISH POUNDS! My jaw hit the floor and the combined sugar rush, caffeine and bargain induced elation had me skipping out the door.