{"id":274736,"date":"2025-07-19T12:48:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T12:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/274736\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T12:48:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T12:48:27","slug":"i-tried-the-tiny-but-brilliant-italian-cafe-hidden-away-on-a-prestwich-industrial-estate-named-of-one-the-uks-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/274736\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I tried the tiny but brilliant Italian cafe hidden away on a Prestwich industrial estate named of one the UK\u2019s best\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The small but mighty trattoria has just been named the best local restaurant in the North West<\/p>\n

Jenna is the What’s On Editor for the Manchester Evening News, covering everything from new restaurant and bar openings to gig reviews and live coverage of major events and festivals across the region. Jenna joined the M.E.N In 2022 having previously worked as a freelance food and travel writer and as editor of Supper magazine.<\/p>\n

\"TuckedTucked away on an industrial estate, one of the best restaurants in the North West<\/p>\n

The school holidays have finally arrived. Swathes of worn-out teachers, many of whom crawled across the finish line to the end of term, can now pack their bags, head to the airport, and head off on their long-awaited summer jaunt.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, parents pick up the mantle and traipse off to sunnier climes with their young ones in tow, but no doubt with a question mark over whether they\u2019ll actually get a minute of peace and quiet.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the rest of us who avoid – or can\u2019t fork out on – the pricey seasonal flights and instead rock up at beer gardens in the Northern Quarter and pretend we\u2019re living La Dolce Vita.<\/p>\n

If you fall into the latter camp, there\u2019s somewhere a little out of the way, that might just bring you a little bit closer to the sun-soaked streets of Rome though.<\/p>\n

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Nestled at the end of a Mountheath Industrial Estate in Prestwich lies Lupo – an Italian joint that promises the \u201cmost authentic taste of Rome you will find outside of the Eternal City\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lupo restaurant in Prestwich (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just scooped the award for best in the North West<\/a> by top culinary bible, the Good Food Guide, for dishing out hearty and reliable Roman pizza and pasta, alongside knockout pastries and sublime coffee.<\/p>\n

Lupo Caffe Italiano was joined by five other brilliant Greater Manchester restaurants in the top 100 Best local Restaurant Guide, including Chorlton tapas spot Bar San Juan and Sparrows, the European Sp\u00e4tzle specialists nestled beneath a railway arch.<\/p>\n

Though Lupo might appear to be a hidden gem based on its location, the small but mighty all-day trattoria received dozens of nominations in this year\u2019s awards, and has won over fans from near and far since starting up in 2014.<\/p>\n

It began its life in Salford, blazing a trail for Chapel Street, which is now a bustling hub of independent businesses. It\u2019s moved about a fair bit since, for a myriad of reasons outside of the owner\u2019s control, ranging from engineering works to pandemic-induced dry spells.<\/p>\n

The dessert cabinet at Lupo(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s since put down roots in Prestwich, albeit a little off the beaten path, with customers happy to navigate the winding road past warehouses, lighting wholesalers, and electrical suppliers.<\/p>\n

They are handsomely rewarded though. It could easily be a soulless industrial cabin but instead it bursts with character and colour, every corner of this postage stamp-sized unit working overtime to create a homely and charming trattoria feel.<\/p>\n

Owner Nico Pasquali has adorned tables with red and white gingham tablecloths, hung pictures of the Italian capital to the walls and stacked shelves full of Italian produce from tins of tomatoes and sardines to aromatic bottles of Chiano Conti from Sicily.<\/p>\n

The glass-fronted counter is the first sign that making a choice here will be difficult.<\/p>\n

Inside Lupo restaurant (Image: Lupo )<\/p>\n

Row upon row of sweet treats have been carefully arranged, some of them boasting so much cream they almost burst out of the top of the cabinet.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s choux pastry piped full of Chantilly cream, sweet pastry fritters eaten during carnival, pizzetta, Bolognese buns, donuts stuffed with Nutella, custard and pistachio, and tubs of tiramisu.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s even before you\u2019ve grappled with the main menu. But while the menu might be overwhelming, this tucked-away trattoria is anything but – it\u2019s a bit of a culinary sanctuary actually.<\/p>\n

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They\u2019re not showing off here, it\u2019s actually very understated, unpretentious and ultimately, homely. Lovesong by The Cure quietly plays out from the speakers as I take my seat, a piping hot cappuccino (\u00a33.70) quickly placed before me and my food order taken casually as if I\u2019ve been here before.<\/p>\n

Orecchiette with Italian fennel sausages and Romanesco broccoli at Lupo(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s traditional cooking at its very best, no gimmicks, endless add ons or over fussy descriptions, just Italian food done properly.<\/p>\n

Top quality ingredients are flown in from Italy or handpicked fresh from Lupo\u2019s allotment, and provide the backbone this stellar selection of dishes.<\/p>\n

Rigatoni with guanciale (cured pork cheeky from Umbria), and Roman-style fried tomato rice balls with a heart of fior di latte piques by interest, as does the paired back Pecorino Romano, with parmesan cheese and a generous amount of black pepper but it\u2019s the orecchiette with Italian fennel sausages and Romanesco broccoli (\u00a316.50), that I land on after hearing the boss has just polished off a plate for his lunch.<\/p>\n

Carefully placed in front of me, the generous bowl of pasta glistens, as the uneven cubes of sausage fill up the UFO-shaped orecchiette, and a dusting of pecorino cheese along the rim of the dish gets carefully flicked into the pasta and tossed in.<\/p>\n

A doughnut plump with Nutella (\u00a33.80) and shortbread cookie filled with chocolate (\u00a33.80)(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a pleasantly nutty, sweet taste to the broccoli which works to complement the richer, denser sausage flavour. I enter into an almost trance-like taste as I make my way through the portion, totally transported away from an industrial estate in North Manchester to those promised streets of Rome.<\/p>\n

There’s no space left, but I feel slightly sad I didn’t take anyone with me to try the pizzas, burrata or battered courgette flowers. That said, I pile a load of sweet treats for later into a carboard box, including a shortbread cookie filled with chocolate (\u00a33.80), a doughnut plump with Nutella (\u00a33.80), and somehow scoff a cream dense cannoli into my mouth as I drive off, feeling well fed, relaxed and utterly convinced of Lupo’s quiet brilliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The small but mighty trattoria has just been named the best local restaurant in the North West Jenna…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,1285,393,4884,2465,8886,3044,280,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-274736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-bury","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-restaurants","14":"tag-prestwich","15":"tag-restaurants","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114879982059597602","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274736","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=274736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}