Manteca, London review: an ‘absolute belter’ of an Italian restaurant
This Shoreditch hotspot is a blooming nice place where you can have a genuinely great meal
Between the visit and writing this review, Manteca was declared the UK’s 11th best restaurant in the National Restaurant Awards. That places Manteca – and its Bib Gourmand – between L’Enclume in Cumbria and The Angel at Hetton in North Yorkshire, who can claim four Michelin stars (and one green star) between them.
You could look at all of that in a number of ways. One, the NRAs are a little all-over-the shop or simply work to a different scale than Michelin. Two, that’s the sort of pressure no restaurant really needs. Three, expect to see Manteca step up to a star in 2023… And, having subsequently popped back to Manteca, I can assure you that it’s none of the above.
Manteca is as Manteca was: a blooming nice place, run by charming, knowledgeable people, where you can have a surprisingly good value and genuinely bloody great meal. If there’s pressure, they’re not showing it. If there’s a star inbound, well, it’ll happen because Michelin likes what they’re doing, not because Manteca is trying to impress the judges.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What should you order?
Manteca, according to Google, is a “simple, Italian-inspired diner” where “fire-cooked nose-to-tail cuts of meat meet hand-rolled pasta.” That’s not a bad description as it goes. There’s an ethos towards sharing, the cooking makes a great spectator sport (at least three of our selections come from this influence rather than the menu) and that nose-to-tail thing (and whole animal butchery) shines through in several dishes and, particularly, the house-made salumi (and the glass fronted ageing room is an interior-design flourish I’d like in my flat please, however impractical that may be). The restaurant itself is sort of standard Shoreditch industrial chic but, after pop-ups in Mayfair and Soho, there’s a style and energy to the space that makes it feel like Manteca is finally home. It’s also as comfortable as it is practical, which comes as something of a surprise given the trendiness of the postcode.
So, once settled, what should you order? Well, assuming you’re not vegetarian or vegan or have any dietary requirements… anything. Or, indeed everything. And, by the time we’ve skipped through the menu – effectively broken down into snacks, small plates, pasta, bigger mains and sides – we’ve erred much, much closer to the latter. And, frankly, there’s not a misfire among them. Sure, there are things I’d order again – and, in the case of the fried olive (stuffed with pork sausage) we do – and things I wouldn’t, but all is good. And, frequently, very good, the salumi a case in point. Some places being so self-sufficient feels like a gimmick, a little bandwagon chasing but whoever’s running the programme here knows what they’re doing.
Fat tastes good…
The “signature” dish – if Instagram-coverage is an indicator of such things – is probably the pig skin ragu, parmesan, crispy skin and, it’s a little bowl of rich, fatty, crispy, porky genius and indicative of Manteca’s grasp of the rule that fat tastes good. There’s fazzoletti with duck ragu and duck fat pangrattato (breadcrumbs), there’s a Herdwick Cull Yaw chop… everywhere you look this is cooking for flavour, not fitness. I mean, salumi roasted potatoes anyone? You just have to really, right?
There’s a short, regularly changing list of puddings. The wine list has a good selection by the glass, and knowledgeable staff will happily steer you through the lesser-known grapes. With small plates coming in around the £8-£10 mark, pastas at around £15, you can also leave well-fed and watered for around £40 a head. You probably won’t – and doing so requires levels of willpower I simply don’t possess – but you could. Irrespective, it’s good value for the quality of ingredients and cooking on display. Eleventh best restaurant in the country? That’s debatable, however, Manteca is an absolute belter with considerable promise for the future.
Manteca, 49-51 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT; mantecarestaurant.co.uk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Saint Paul de Vence: a paradise for art lovers
The Week Recommends The hilltop gem in the French Riviera where 20th century modernism flourished
By Alexandra Zagalsky Published
-
'People in general want workers to earn a decent living'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What might a Trump victory mean for the global economy?
Today's Big Question A second term in office for the 'America First' administration would send shockwaves far beyond the United States' shores
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How London fell back in love with the brasserie
The Blend From Brasserie Zédel to Café François, we sample the best bistros in town
By Charlie Teasdale Published
-
Why a Michelin star can spell danger for restaurants
In the Spotlight Winning chefs face heightened financial pressures, changing customer demands and professional limitations
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
8 award-winning restaurants to visit this fall
The Week Recommends It's the season for dropping magazine restaurant and chef awards
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
A foodie guide to Seattle
The Week Recommends From bustling markets to burger joints, these are the best spots in the city
By Neil Davey Published
-
A foodie guide to St Andrews
The Week Recommends The Scottish seaside town has it all, from cheese toastie shacks to Michelin-starred restaurants
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published