Italians love festivals and the ending of the old year and beginning of the new year, Il Capodanno, is a great time to celebrate in Italy.

It’s also a great time to celebrate in the UK, if you choose to see in 2016 in San Carlo style, with our superb five-course menu available at our restaurants nationwide.

As with most Italian celebrations, food plays a major role at New Year, so gather your and family and friends together for a fabulous feast.

From Bristol to Birmingham and Leicester to Leeds, options on the set New Year’s Eve dinner menu include Tagliolini Con Aragosta, Special egg pasta from Venice cooked with lobster, brandy, cream and with a hint of tomato; Seabass Signor Sassi, Pan fried seabass fillets white wine and garlic, seasonal winter mushrooms and a choice of homemade Italian desserts.

Our Christmas lunches and dinners are filling up fast so if you’d like to celebrate with San Carlo this festive season, don’t delay in booking your table.

We’re well in to October so it’s now officially acceptable to talk about Christmas.

The festive feast at San Carlo this year includes our Italian version of classic dishes such as Turkey with chestnut stuffing, chipolatas wrapped in pancetta, served with Italian gravy and Tournedo Rossini, Fillet of beef cooked in Madeira wine sauce topped with pate as well as seafood such as Seabass Signor Sassi, pan fried seabass fillets, white wine and garlic, seasonal winter mushrooms.

At Christmas indulgence is allowed and our traditional Italian desserts are sensational – Tiramisu made with Savoiardi biscuits soaked in Marsala wine, coffee and mascarpone cheese or Pannacotta made from fresh cream, served with fruits of the forest.

If you’d like to reserve a table for our five-course special Christmas Day lunch, New Year’s Eve meal or book an office party, lunch or festive family gathering during December contact your chosen San Carlo restaurant for more details and a booking form or download our Christmas menus at

Looking for larger private dining space for a festive party? We have rooms available at our San Carlo restaurants in Manchester and Leicester; Fumo Manchester and Signor Sassi, London.

Catering from 15 to 150 each venue is unique. Menus are designed to suit your requirements and our all Italian team will ensure your special occasion runs smoothly. So, if you’re arranging a cocktail party, business lunch, celebration dinner or family gathering please do get in touch.

We’re now serving Galvanina soft drinks at our San Carlo restaurants across the UK.

Presented in delicately embossed, beautifully crafted bottles, the 100% natural fruit drinks not only look stylish but taste delicious too – and Galvanina is, like us, an award-winning family-run Italian so our brands are perfect together!

Made from the finest organic fruit juices and naturally filtered, gently sparkling spring water, these fresh blends bring you a real taste of Italy, wherever you are in the world.

Visit San Carlo Group soon and enjoy the perfect Italian refreshment with a perfect Italian meal. We recommend the sharp yet sweet Sicilian Lemon Galvanina.

Our Christmas and New Year menus are now displayed on the San Carlo Group website and in our restaurants nationwide.

If you’d like to join us for a seasonal celebration – our five-course special Christmas Day lunch, New Year’s Eve meal or our set-menu during December – contact your chosen San Carlo restaurant for a booking form and reserve your table early to avoid disappointment.

Looking for a private function room in the East Midlands? 

San Carlo Leicester’s upstairs space seats 120 and is ideal for large Christmas parties and formal dinners.  Festive menus can be designed to suit your requirements, with our all Italian team making sure every occasion runs smoothly.

For details of San Carlo Leicester’s private dining contact the restaurant manager on 0116 251 9332.

As we wave goodbye to Summer we’re certainly not dreading the darker nights and cooler weather because with a new season comes a whole host of incredible fresh ingredients … and amazing new dishes.

As we welcome Autumn we look forward to wholesome and hearty specials created using the finest produce from Italy.  This month our chefs are getting excited about Venison, Guinea Fowl, Porcini Mushrooms, Artichokes, Figs and, ‘the diamond of the kitchen’, White Truffles.

We’ve already tasted the new seasonal dishes at Cicchetti Covent Garden courtesy Group Executive Chef Filippo Pagani, and outstanding is an understatement.  Well done chefs!

You’ve been asking for them and we’ve been busy working on them. Now we’re delighted to announce that our Christmas menus are available and we are taking bookings for seasonal celebrations.

This year’s options include San Carlo’s version of traditional dishes such as Turkey with chestnut stuffing, chipolatas wrapped in pancetta, served with Italian gravy and Rack of Lamb as well as seafood favourites including Supreme of Salmon and Norwegian prawns cooked in a pink peppercorn sauce and Seabass Signor Sassi, pan fried seabass fillets white wine and garlic, seasonal winter mushrooms.

If you’d like to join us for our five-course special Christmas Day lunch, New Year’s Eve meal or reserve a table for an office party, lunch or festive family gathering during December contact your chosen San Carlo restaurant for more details and a booking form.

This issue we feature Birmingham Living Magazine’s visit to San Carlo Birmingham. Here’s what they had to say about our award-winning restaurant in Temple Street which opened in 1992: Read more…

Fancy three courses? Prefer sweet to savoury? Then our ‘Dolci’ menu is definitely worth a try. All home made with an Italian twist, our desserts and gelato are truly delicious.

‘Scannolo Siciliano’, cannolo stuffed with ricotta cheese, candied fruits, chocolate chips and Grand Marnier and ‘Crostata di Mele’, a traditional Italian-style tart, are both very popular choices.

If you don’t mind sharing we recommend our ‘Dolci San Carlo’, a selection of mini bites or the ‘San Carlo Special’, chocolate, hazelnut and vanilla ice cream with crushed Ferrero & warm Nutella sauce. Enjoy these specials with a complimentary glass of Vin Santo.

Just make sure you ask for extra spoons,because, we can guarantee, our desserts are so good everyone will want to try!

It would seem Summer is the season of change at San Carlo Group as this month we also introduce a new menu at our San Carlo restaurants nationwide.

Using the finest produce flown in from the markets of Milan, our Group Executive Chef, Filippo Pagani, and his experienced kitchen team have developed meat and grill dishes and seafood specials – combining main ingredients with seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruits.

New creations include:

• Nodino di Vitello Burro e Salvia, Veal cutlet specially imported from Tuscany and cooked in butter and sage.
• Abbacchio Ligure, Baked rack of lamb with red wine and mixed herbs.
• Pappardelle Cipriani ‘Alla Piemontese’, Famous Cipriani pasta ribbons, sauteed with porcini mushrooms, garlic, parsley butter, Parmesan shavings and drizzled with truffle oil.
• Branzino al Sale, Baked salted and crusted whole sea bass, flamed with vodka (Special).

A selection of Grills, cooked using charcoal and wood, are also a new addition. Chateaubriand Steak (28 day aged) served with a Bearnaise sauce and 35 day dry aged Ribeye, Sirloin and T-Bone steaks now sit alongside old favourites on our extensive San Carlo menu.

A feature dish on the Florentine Grill is the Tomahawok Steak (for two), a large bone-in steak with a big, rich flavour – one of the rarest and most expensive steaks from the USA.
Filippo Pagani said: “Every chef enjoys creating dishes to mark a new season. We use the freshest ingredients and produce of the highest quality so every mouthful is divine!”

The Summer menu is now being served in San Carlo Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol and Leicester.