{"id":1026502,"date":"2026-06-14T17:50:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T17:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1026502\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T17:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T17:50:38","slug":"an-authentic-slice-of-sicily-in-the-northern-quarter-just-dont-call-it-a-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1026502\/","title":{"rendered":"An authentic slice of Sicily in the Northern Quarter – just don’t call it a caf\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just minutes after opening the doors to her caf\u00e9 bar in the Northern Quarter<\/a> on a Thursday morning, Maria Croitoru is already handing out free slices of pie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just something we do when we make something new,\u201d Maria tells the Manchester Evening News as she cuts into the still warm apricot jam Crostata. \u201cWe ask people to try it to see if they like it and if we need to change the recipe.<\/p>\n

“Only when we\u2019re fully happy with it will we start selling it properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the last two-and-a-half years, Maria and husband Leonardo Augello have been serving their freshly-made Italian-inspired treats at Marleo – a portmanteau of their two first names. Initially from a shipping container in Pollen Yard, in a short space of time, they\u2019ve become known for their focaccias, baked goods, and rice balls.<\/p>\n

Click here <\/a>for the latest on Manchester’s food & drink scene, gigs and more in our CityLife newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last month, the pair opened their new Marleo Little Sicily spot on Oldham<\/a> Street, just yards away from sandwich and bakery aficionados Bada Bing and Ad Maiora.<\/p>\n

\"Marleo<\/p>\n

Marleo Little Sicily, on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter, is open Tuesday to Saturday (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

But Maria and Leo have no plans to compete with the city’s lunchtime favourites, they want to compliment and add to the scene of thriving food spots in the area. It has proved to be a success in a short period of time as they often find themselves with queues down the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s too many Italians in Manchester, we\u2019ve realised,\u201d Maria, who comes from Lazio, near Rome, laughs from behind the counter at her Northern Quarter spot. \u201cWe\u2019ve found them all right here!\u201d<\/p>\n

She says that one big draw of their new spot is the option for customers to pop in for a quick espresso and a snack to eat – all enjoyed counter-side in true Italian fashion – before dashing off to continue the rest of their day.<\/p>\n

\"Marleo's<\/p>\n

Marleo’s freshly- made Arancini – ‘filled with heart’ – have an impressive cheese pull(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something we all do back at home,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s a big thing in Italian culture. People will go out in the afternoon during work, have a quick coffee and then go back to the office.<\/p>\n

“We don\u2019t really have bakeries, we have bars.”<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Maria says she refuses to label Marleo as a caf\u00e9, a deli or a bakery. It’s a bar, or a caf\u00e9 bar, if you must.<\/p>\n

She explains: \u201cI think we are one of the first in Manchester to have a proper Italian bar. Maybe people will come here for a little brioche or a cannoli, and then go back to work happy, right? That\u2019s the plan!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The cannolis are sweet parcels of perfection(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Maria says she and Leo moved to Manchester to help support her sister, Gina, with looking after her children. In a reversal of fortunes, Gina now works at Marleo helping support her sister. But baking has been instilled in both her and Leo\u2019s upbringing ever since they were born, with the relocation providing an opportunity to bring an authentic slice of Sicily here.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo\u2019s family have run a bakery in Trapani, which is near Sicily, for more than 30 years now called Panificio Augello,\u201d Maria explains. \u201cIt is very well known for its special recipes and techniques. I would get really sad every time we left there as I could never find anything like it, I would literally cry for their bread. So, we decided to think about how we could bring it here with their blessing. I won\u2019t say we stole their recipes, but we have been very much inspired by them!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/p>\n

Maria said she would literally cry out for the bread and baked goods she could, for a while, only find back in Italy(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

All of the baked goods, sandwiches and pastries are made from scratch using interpretations of these centuries-old recipes, requiring a 3am start-time each morning for Maria, Leo and the team to ensure everything is ready.<\/p>\n

Asked for particular favourites or menu highlights, Maria says their Arancini – featuring fresh saffron, Parmesan cheese and rice – often go down well. \u201cMost people have only tried the little versions of them, like finger food, so they are always surprised when they see how big the traditional ones are,\u201d Maria explains. \u201cBut people always say they much prefer the original once they\u2019ve tried them. We tell people we make them with a big heart because there is a lot of filling inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other must-tries are the traditional Bolognese lasagne, the Capollina – a flaky pastry with ham, cheese and onion – and the spicy baked Ravazzata featuring hot salami, ham and melted cheese. For afters, there\u2019s the sfogliatelle ricce, which is filled with pistachio, Nutella, and cream, and, of course, the dainty little cannoli filled to the brim with pistachio cream.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The freshly-made pork belly, potato and onion foccacia(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of the ingredients from back in Italy,\u201d Maria explains. \u201cOur family sends us a lot of produce that they use in their bakery, like herbs and seasoning.<\/p>\n

“The pistachios we use are from Sicily and our own olive oil is from the olives there too. Of course, it\u2019s not cheap, but we want to make everything ourselves and ensure it is all good quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria says one of the most exciting things in the few weeks since opening in the Northern Quarter is how people have maybe started off with something they have had before before eventually venturing out into something new. \u201cI\u2019m so in love,\u201d Maria says of how it feels to be welcomed with their two spots.<\/p>\n

\"Everything<\/p>\n

Everything is made from scratch, using closely-guarded family recipes(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really appreciate it when people like what we do. There is truly a very special community here, everybody has been so supportive of us and what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maria says the plan, once Marleo Little Sicily has truly established itself, is that she and Leo will be permanently based at their original Pollen Yard spot – \u201cit\u2019s our baby!,\u201d she proclaims – whilst their staff will front the Northern Quarter base. In amongst all that, they will also continue to appear at artisan markets and even host private functions, with their first catering booking for a wedding coming up very soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still cannot believe how lucky we have been to be able to open two places here in Manchester,\u201d Maria beams. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel real. We have so many plans and ideas to come, and it feels great that people have welcomed us so much here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marleo Little Sicily is on 95 Oldham St, Manchester, M4 1LW. They are also at unit 151, 15 Pollard St E, Manchester M40 7QX.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just minutes after opening the doors to her caf\u00e9 bar in the Northern Quarter on a Thursday morning,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1026503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,8885,2465,18960,8827,8886,9158,280,281,16,15],"class_list":["post-1026502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-italian-food","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-bars","tag-manchester-cafes","tag-manchester-restaurants","tag-northern-quarter","tag-restaurants","tag-street-food","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116749733286810187","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1026503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}